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Tracking device would have saved time and worry
By Jackie Gately

Once again, my dog, Buddy, makes it clear to me that he needs a GPS tracking collar.

The last I saw of him yesterday was his hindquarters bounding off into the snowy distance. Usually within an hour or two, Buddy tires of the adventure and returns home. But not this time.

Night fell and temperatures dropped, and still there was no sign of my cheery yellow lab. My household took on a somber mood. My children looked for assurance of Buddy’s eventual return and well-being. I couldn’t tell them with any honesty that Buddy was safe.

I put in calls to the dog officer and dog pound. I drove up and down streets at a snail’s place, and cruised the nearby stretch of highway with my hazard lights flashing. I wondered, would my almost-white dog be visible at night and in the snow banks if struck by a car?

After tucking the kids in to bed, I dozed on the couch, hoping to hear a bark at the door as the night wore on. There was no such luck.

When I awoke after a restless night, it was only 12 degrees. Still, no Buddy. My children were heartbroken and I was worried sick. Was Buddy injured somewhere in the woods? Was he far away and disoriented? Or, worse, had he frozen to death in the cold? I was pretty sure all the lakes were frozen… My fears started to get the best of me.

To ease my mind, I took action. I made calls to the Highway Department, searched PetFinder.com, and phoned animal control officers and veterinary hospitals in neighboring towns. It wasn’t until mid morning when I got the call from the local dog officer. She had found Buddy, 24 nail-biting hours later and a full 27 miles from home. Thank goodness!

Apparently, Buddy had been raiding a neighbor’s birdfeeder and they mistook him for a hungry stray. They were kind enough to let Buddy in from the cold. He ate their cat food; terrorized their cats; jumped on couches; played with kids; scoffed whatever he could off the counters – including a full stick of butter. And somehow, despite all that, the visiting grandfather took a liking to him!

So, Grandfather took him to his house in the city. He walked him on the city streets, treated him to pig ears, and let him sleep beside his bed. When my neighbor finally called animal control in the morning to report the find, the dog officer knew it was Buddy. What other dog would manage to get five-star treatment at an all-inclusive overnight in the city for free? For a while, we too, planned to treat Buddy like royalty. But I couldn’t help but think we would have all had a better night if I’d simply collared him with a GPS tracker device.

Jackie Gately is a freelance writer who has a new appreciation today for her yellow lab, Buddy. She can be reached at jackiegately.wordpress.com

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