It all started in Cleveland the week of the TTCA Regional Specialty, ten days before Christmas. A month earlier we had been contacted by a family in Cleveland who had previously owned a Tibetan Terrier and had lost him to old age a couple of months before. They reached us after talking to Jane Reif who referred them to Penny White, who in turn referred them to us. It sounded like a wonderful home - and they were looking for a young adult. We had just made a decision to find a placement for Chin, who is 17 months old. It all seemed like a perfect match. We decided, because we would be traveling to Cleveland for the show, that Chin would come with us and be placed on a trial basis for the 4 show days. If things did not work out she could come back home with us.
We left on Wednesday, Valerie Weston and myself with TT's Katy, Alilah and Kela who were all being shown at the regional -- and of course Chin. We arrived in the late afternoon in a snow/ice storm. The Cleveland family agreed to meet us at our hotel to go over the contract and other particulars about Chin. Chin is what I would call a very soft dog. She spent her young life with her littermate Charlie. They were always together -- they were shown together, went everywhere together and spent all of their time at home together. She was very dependent on Charlie. We had just placed Charlie in a great show home in Michigan the week before, and Chin had spent the next days lost and saddened because Charlie was gone. We thought the best thing for her would be to quickly have a change of scenery, get into her new home and start life on her own. She was having fun playing with the other dogs in the hotel room and enjoying her trip.
The new family came over around eight in the evening. We spent an hour talking about Chin, her personality, and special quirks. We were very clear that because of her age and recent loss of mate Charlie, she should get to know them gradually and be kept indoors for a few days --maybe put some newspapers down since she was paper trained. It was stressed that it was important for her to feel comfortable and confidant within her new surroundings. I took her out to the car, gave her a kiss and she was off to her new life.
Then began the nightmare! We received a call around 1:00 in the morning - CHIN WAS GONE! They had arrived home around 10:00 and while her dinner was being prepared the husband took her out on a leash to see if she might "go". The weather was horrendous -- an ongoing ice storm of the kind that coats the trees and crusts the snow. She apparently became startled at the sound of falling ice, backed up, slipped out of her collar (which was not attached tightly enough) and ran away as the husband began chasing her, crashing through the ice covered snow. We had broken a cardinal rule about buyers having a fenced yard. The home was in a very upscale neighbourhood of the eastern suburbs of Cleveland. Expensive homes on large 2-3 acre lots surrounding by forests, fields and ravines. Because this family had owned a Tibetan Terrier before we did not think to ask this important question about fences. It certainly was not their intention to loose her...just a lot of things went wrong at the same time!
All poor Chin must have know was that her life had been turned upside down. Charlie was gone, she went on a long car trip -- and then some new people took her away in a car and as soon as they got home scared her even more by taking her out in a storm and then (in her mind) chasing after her. She did not even have a chance to look around the house or eat dinner.
The Search...After the call Valerie and I drove for 40 minutes through the ice storm with a sinking feeling in the pits of our stomachs. My first reaction was anger at the people who had let this happen. I knew that they did not do it on purpose, but I was still angry because we had warned them to let her get used to her new surroundings before venturing outside. It was unwise that she was taken out in a storm at all, and that her collar was not correctly secured. When we arrived the family admitted that she had gone missing at 10:00 and they had not wanted to alarm us because they thought they could find her. So when we arrived at around 2:00 in the morning it was almost four hours after her disappearance.
They had called the police who were looking and the radio stations who had announced her loss. We found out in which direction she had fled and tried to trace her tracks. We trudged through the dark in the storm calling her name and frantically looking everywhere. Then a policeman called to say he thought he had spotted her a mile away. We drove to this location and again looked and called and looked and called --no sign of Chin anywhere. We continued looking all night long until daybreak.
We decided I would take Valerie back to the hotel to look after the other dogs and that I would come back later. I grabbed 2 hours sleep and resumed my search efforts throughout the next day. We had some posters made and put them up in major public buildings in the area. The Cleveland family were searching the streets by car, and I was walking through the ravines and private properties. I felt absolutely heartsick by the time 24 hours had past. Chin had spent the night in freezing wet and icy conditions and had not eaten since Tuesday. This was Thursday. The hardest task was phoning my wife Joy, to tell her what had happened. I felt it was my fault, and was overcome by guilt.
I spent from Thursday to Sunday looking for Chin 20 hours a day. Alas, to no avail. The only breaks I took were on Saturday and Sunday to return to the city and attend the dog show for a few hours of change. On what should have been a thrilling Saturday, Alilah won the breed over some of the top specials in the US in a large entry of TT's. But I will tell you it brought me no joy at all, so deep was my despair over Chin. After the specialty Sunday we packed up our gear and headed back to look for her in the remaining daylight hours. We could not bring ourselves to leave for home yet, and decided to stay overnight until Monday to try again. This time we took two of the dogs out with us in the hope that they might attract her if she was near. Suddenly a report that she was spotted! We rushed to the location and searched for the remainder of the day ... no luck.
Valerie had to get back to work the next day. I have never experienced a worse feeling than when we were driving home from Cleveland without Chin. You play the scene out over and over in your mind, and the sorrow is overwhelming. Could I have done more? Was it too soon to place her after Charlie left?. She had been gone almost a week now, but at least there were a few milder days that melted much of the snow. Maybe she had survived. Ads were placed in the Cleveland newspaper. The family made some additional posters and were still looking for her.
Heading Home...
We had contacted all of the groomers, animal shelters, veterinarians and anyone else we could think of who might have seen her. Our only hope to cling to was that someone had taken her in. In may ways it would have been easier to know that she was dead rather than imagine her alone, frightened and suffering. In my travels throughout the ravines and forests I had seen deer, foxes and all kinds of wildlife. I though that in no way was Chin prepared for this. She was a couch potato, a house dog. How could she survive this ordeal, how could she fend for herself in strange, wild surroundings in mid-winter? We arrived home Tuesday.
The next day I was shipping a dog I brought back from Margy and Ron Pankeiwicz to Jo Hannam in British Columbia. Jo told me an encouraging story about a dog that had been lost for 3 weeks in Alberta. Catherine Shearer related a story from Sandra White regarding a TT that had also been lost for 3 weeks but safely found. All of our Christmas plans went into the dumper. We could not do anything without being swept with misery. After one day we received a call from the family in Cleveland. Someone had spotted her Sunday and Monday about a mile from where she disappeared! Another person had spotted her Saturday.
The bad news was that almost 3 feet of snow had fallen on the Tuesday after we left and was being referred to as the 'blizzard of 95' in the Cleveland press. But at least we knew she had survived for 5 days. After discussing what else we could do, and after Valerie graciously agreed to look after the rest of our dogs, we decided that we had to go back to Cleveland. Joy flew out on Thursday to spend a day with the family looking for Chin. I left by car late Thursday night and arrived Friday morning. By this time the family were on their way to Florida for a vacation, so we were on our own. I stocked up on supplies: a high powered floodlight that runs off the car battery, warm clothes, a newly created poster of Chin, a map of the City and search strategy.
Back To Cleveland...
Joy and I booked into a hotel. We spent Friday, Saturday and Christmas eve Sunday putting 3000 posters in every mailbox in the suburban community and surrounding communities where Chin vanished. We felt that the best approach was to get as many eyes and ears on board as possible and decided posters were the way to go. It was depressing seeing everyone going about their Christmas business. We only went back to the hotel to sleep. The rest of the time was spent stuffing posters in mailboxes and searching.
One advantage of this rural large lot community was that all of the mailboxes were the roadside type. We drove up to each one and put in a poster. We certainly got to know the nuances of rural mail box delivery! We put over 3,000 kilometers on the van. Christmas eve consisted of a more searching, McDonalds for a meal and to bed late at the hotel. Over the past three days it had continued to snow. If not for our predicament, the outdoor scenes would have been lovely, with new sparkling snow, Christmas lights and all around us the festive good cheer of the residents. Finally Christmas day arrived and we decided that this had to be our last day. We met an early morning jogger and gave him a poster. He was very sympathetic toward us poor Canadians, so far from home on Christmas Day, and on such a sad mission.
The rest of the day we spent stuffing mailboxes. Late Christmas day we left to go back to Canada. It felt even more terrible than the first time I left Cleveland. We honestly felt that there was nothing else we could do, and in my secret heart I thought Chin was gone forever. A low point was reached when we got stuck in a ditch and sat there in the van at a precarious angle wondering what else could go wrong. We got a tow out of the ditch and continued our search, but our hearts were heavy with failure. We arrived home late Christmas night.
The next day was equally depressing -- we could not get Chin out of our minds. The only consolation was being reunited with the other dogs. However, even that pleasure had its painful moments. When one of the dogs scaled the grooming stool steps, exactly as Chin used to do, Joy was reduced to tears. I thought, my God I will have to compose one of those sad obituaries for the TTCA journal.
The Miracle...
But on Wednesday a miracle happened! The family from Cleveland had arrived home early from Florida. They had purchased another Tibetan Terrier in the meantime, and she was arriving the very next day by plane. They arrived home at 3:00 PM. and on their answering machine was a message that Chin had been found! They called us with the news when they were on their way to the vet with her for a check up.
I prepared to set forth at once to Cleveland to pick her up. I learned that the jogger we had met on Christmas day had gone home and told his wife about our situation. He said they felt terrible about us being so far from home on Christmas day looking for our poor little lost dog. He said that they prayed for us that evening. What a good person. He spotted Chin while he was jogging. He chased her for half an hour through deep snow and finally tackled her. Thank God it was someone in good shape. Who else would have done this. When Joy and I were searching, we were utterly exhausted after a mere 5 minutes tramping through the drifts.
I arrived in Cleveland that night picked up Chin and drove her home to Burlington. Before leaving I talked to the wonderful man who had found her and thanked him profusely. He was thrilled to have brought our search to a successful finish. A dog lover himself, he asked only for a photograph of Chin. He considers her recovery a miracle of sorts, and so do we. Chin and I arrived home at 2:00 in the morning, but Joy was waiting for us. She was ecstatic to have Chin home again.
We bathed her immediately in case she had picked up something unspeakable. Joy managed to brush her out without having to remove much coat other than tangles on her tummy and legs. We took her to the vets the next day, who said she was in amazingly good condition. She was very matted of course, and pretty skinny, but all other signs were good. She received an antibiotic shot and was wormed as a precaution. What a proud testament to the hardiness of this breed. Two weeks in freezing temperatures and snow - and she survived.
I phoned the people who knew her and were aware of our trial, such as Penny White. Many friends suffered through this ordeal along with us, and I was eager to share our happy ending. We appreciate the calls and support given offered by all the Tibetan big people and other friends. I wonder if I seem too dramatic in my description of these events. But you can't imagine the intensity of the feelings experienced when a disaster like this happens.
I realize more than ever that these 'little people' are truly special. They have a strong instinct for survival. Dog shows and their associated politics and competitiveness mean nothing compared to the basic trusting companionship of these wonderful dogs. We have learned many lessons. Chin slept pretty soundly for the first few days home. I think she was exhausted. She is more 'leany' than usual. She follows us around. She has been getting a lot of special treatment and I just wish I could hear the stories of her incredible adventure.
I am sure she has told the other dogs.
John George - Samsara Tibetans
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