So as Maggie darted passed my rescue crew & toward the main road, my heart sank. I thought she will not be coming back. I was convinced that I would find her lifeless body on the main road. I did not give up, no did my rescue crew. We then expanded our search to larger areas. I even searched my own street in hopes that she would find her way back home. No luck. As my rescue crew & I grew tired of combing the streets, we decided to take a break. Off to the hospital I went.
I arrived at the hospital to find out that my mom broke her hip & will require surgery. That's just great. Now what? I have no emotional support with my husband & children in Florida. I wrestled with the thought of calling my sister in Virginia. I prayed to God for strength. I made the decision to call & left a massage explaining in detail the situation. She did return a message responding, I don't know what to tell you. Do you want my to come up? Yeah, I know to others this would be a no brainer, but my family is very dysfunctional. I shouldn't have to tell a 53 year old woman what to do. At this point I just wanted to scream in anger.
I finally spoke to her & she decided that she would leave the next morning to come home. Thank you, Lord. I thought that at least if she is here, I can catch a flight out tomorrow after her surgery.
As far as my mom's condition, she was heavily sedated for the pain & was going to be transferred to a med/surg floor. At this point, I felt helpless & I couldn't do anything else for her. She was stable & in good hands. I made the decision to leave & go look for the dog once again.
It was now about 4 pm on Friday. My husband called for an update after a successful arrival in Florida. We discussed the plan that I would stay until after the surgery & to make another attempt to find the damn dog. If all goes well with the surgery, I would leave for Florida on Sunday. I was so torn about the whole decision but we planned this trip months ago & my sister at this point was coming in.
I returned to my mom's house for one final attempt to find Maggie. I placed all of her blankets, toys & food on the porch in hopes that she would smell them & find her way back to my mom's.
I grabbed a bag of treats & walked the neighborhood about 3 times calling her name & shaking the bag of treats. No luck. As I stopped to talk to a neighbor, another neighbor asked if I found the dog. No I replied. She then said she saw her crossing another main road by the golf course. I then jumped in my car & off I went. I had that sick feeling once again that I would find her body on the road.
I stopped the at the golf course to inquire about the dog. No reports of a dog on the course. The man was very nice & told me that he would send out a few guys to look for the dog. I then searched the areas that would surround the golf course. My optimism at this point was turning very grave. I can't tell you the vast amount of woods that surround the golf coarse. I touched base with my sister & she changed her plans. She is not coming. She forgot that she has 3 doctors appointments next week with specialists & it would take 6 months to get another appointment. Go figure.
My mother in law called & said that she would return to help look for the dog before the sun goes down. I searched & searched. Reality set in. I began to tell myself that there is no way in hell that I will find this dog. How do I tell my daughter that her dog is gone & grandma's condition is fragile. I drove the outlying streets near the golf course & stopped & asked a few gentilemen if they saw the dog. No luck. One of the men suggested I put a sign up in the local store/gas station. At that moment a light bulb went off. I decided to stop at hte store & ask. So off I went.
I spoke to the gas attendant & he said that he saw the little brown dog with the red leash dart down the main road about 45 minutes ago (Maggie is now know as the little brown dog with the red leash). I then called a friend that lived on the main road & asked if she saw her at some point today. She replied no, but offered to come out & help look. I parked the car on a side street & began to walk to main road & look near an open field. I crossed the main road (my house is just behind this main road) & asked the neighbor if she saw the Maggie. Shse replied, no.
I heard barking. I called again & listened. I didn't get my hopes up because the neighgbor that lives near me has the same bread. I called again. I heard a bark. I continued to call & the bark became more familiar. I ran through the yards until I reached my house. I walked up the drive toward the barking. How to my surprise do I find sitting on my back porch, Maggie. Barking at the door waiting to be let in the house. My heart at his point filled with joy.
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