(By Virginia Creasy)
I became a Sheltie fancier in the late 1970s while living in College Station, Texas, where the mascot of Texas A&M is a Sheltie, though not a "show-quality" Sheltie. I fell in love with the intelligence of the breed and who would not melt in those eyes. I got my first Sheltie in October 1980; a female named Lady Shelly of Cherry Hill, UD ("Shelly"). I got my next Sheltie in 1983; a female named Cherry Hill's Windsong ("Windy"). Windy finished Novice and 2 legs of her CDX when she said, "no more, Mom." I then got two more females in 1985; a blue merle, Cambridge's Indigo Krystle ("Krystle") who got her CD and Cherry Hill's Summer Serenade ("Sunni") who is pointed. All these wonderful shelties now are waiting for me at the rainbow bridge.
I now live in Scottsville, VA, close to the Sheltie Spa and the Rueckerts. On November 3, 1996, Mary Rueckert called me and said they were going to decrease the size of their kennel and wanted to know if I would like to have Rory (Heart O' Gold Northern Lights), a charming, but small, red male. I thought about it briefly and said to bring him over and we would see how it went. I was not into having a male mainly because I didn't think they would be as affectionate (or as housebroken) as my "girls." Mary brought Rory over and I watched out the window as she told her little dog goodbye and I cried. The next day on November 4, 1996, he turned one year old.
It didn't take the "little guy" too long before he was totally wrapped around my heart. My husband, Ed, soon began to call him "Glorious" because we felt he truly was glorious. We had to do some retraining with him because he was very comfortable around a lot of dogs, but a bit shy around people.
We made it through the first year, but not without a few trying times. Even though I took him to obedience class, he never quite learned COME! Then we got to the "terrible twos."
On December 22, 1997, while I was at work, and Ed was home with the doggies, Rory slipped the immediate fence around the house and decided to take a stroll through the woods. When I arrived home that afternoon, Rory was still among the missing. We started a search around our property (43 acres), but to no avail. It was hunting season in our area which was a little unnerving because he closely resembles a little red fox. However, the hunting season turned out to be to our advantage. Word spread through the hunters and they kept an eye out for him.
On the second day, December 23, 1999, a hunter called our home and told Ed that he had seen our dog over on Ed Jones Road, which is about 2 miles away. He described him as a small, real red dog with a "bob tail." Of course, we knew where that tail was-between his legs, up to his chin. Ed immediately went to the area to look for him and to pass the word along to the people on the road to look for him. It was a rainy, messy day and in the area where Rory had been seen, the trees had been harvested, so it was a muddy mess.
My, how we hated to tell the Rueckerts that Rory was missing, but it had to be done. Mary in her concern and haste to get here became a little flustered and managed to get a speeding ticket (70 mph) on the country road, break out the back window on her van and ruin a new pair of Reeboks.
To top everything else off, we had to go to Richmond, VA, about 65 miles from our house, to pick up my mother from Texas for the Christmas holidays. It was a rainy, cold, miserable night and all I could do was cry.
Every spare minute was spent looking for Rory. When we weren't physically searching the area, we were passing out fliers and contacting every person on that road. We eventually put out a "have a heart trap" and put some food in it. We would check that trap many times a day. The food was never gone and there were never any tracks around it. My heart was breaking more and more every day. We were getting enough sightings by people so we knew he was still in the area. However I knew no one would ever be able to catch that dog. I was the only hope of that.
The nights were the worst. As it would start to get dark, my heart would sink lower and lower and I would cry as I have never cried before. We had terribly cold weather and SNOW. The snow helped! Ed, who is a pilot, borrowed a plane and flew over the area very low in hopes of spotting the red coat against the white snow. No luck! Our friend Henry Smith pitched in to help. It seemed that the whole area was trying to help us find Rory. And we looked night and day, high and low. There were people out helping us at night looking for him. It was an all out effort.
My poor mother spent her entire Christmas trip watching her daughter cry and look for the dog. She had to return to Texas on December 30 - 8 days after my beloved little dog disappeared.
On that day Ed finally saw Rory, but when he opened the car door to get out, Rory ran off. Then Henry saw him, but again Rory ran off. We decided to move the have a heart trap to the area where Ed and Henry saw him. I went over and put one of his toys and his little blanket in it along with some pupcorn and Puperoni. I decided to take Sunni over and walk her up and down the road and around the have a heart trap. Henry had told Ed to walk back to our house through the trees (maybe 3 miles) to leave his scent and tracks. Hoping Rory would pick up the scent and find his way home. While I was walking Sunni around, Henry had spotted Rory's footprints in the snow and tracked him to a hedgerow of hemlocks and, lo and behold, there was Rory asleep on the side of the stack of hemlocks. Henry knowing his temperament didn't try to run up and grab him, he just watched and tried to slowly move in on him, but Rory woke up and got up and started walking away. Henry knew better than to try and chase him down, so he just headed him towards the have a heart trap. At that time, I had put Sunni back in the car and was walking back down the road, feeling very low - everyone had seen Rory but me. Just as the tears were starting I looked up and there he was crossing the road towards the have a heart trap. I was maybe halfway between the trap and my car with Sunni in it. What should I do? Chance going back to get Sunni, or ease my way to the trap in hopes of getting him? I studied that for what seemed like 30 minutes. I decided the best thing to do, would be to not lose sight of Rory. I eased my way as quietly as possible down the road and when I got a clear view of the trap, he was lying in front of it, licking his paws. I continued to approach him and the trap-not making a sound and I finally got down on my knees and as I did, Rory looked up. He didn't try to run away. I spoke very softly to him and told him to stay as I eased my way closer. He got up and started to walk away, but he stayed. I just kept talking to him very quietly and easing in closer until I finally just laid down on my stomach and I got a hand on him. Then I could pick him up. What a wonderful feeling that was. I got back to the car and called Ed on his cell phone and said, "I HAVE HIM IN THE CAR!" Ed had just walked the 3 miles and was right in front of our house, but he said it was the best phone call he had ever gotten.
It was New Year's Eve, 10 long, horrendous, cold days, but we had Rory - "the Glorious one" home.
I never want to lose a pet again. You worry about them being cold and scared and hungry. We learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. The first and most important thing is to remain calm (though your insides are completely torn up) and get the word out as quickly as possible and ask for people's help. Set a have a heart trap with their favorite toys and treats and something that has their scent on it.
Of course, I guess the really most important thing is just not to lose these precious little creatures in the first place, but even with care it is going to happen occasionally.
I look at that little 14-pound dog and I am amazed at how he survived. We sort of figure he has his Eagle Scout badge at this point - you know outdoor cooking, camping, hiking and survival. He survived, in the cold and mud with no steady meals and only lost ½ pound and was fairly clean. He had holed up in the hedgerow of hemlocks on the backside, which was over a steep bluff, and he only had to worry about things coming at him from 3 directions. We felt that was pretty clever on his part. For several days after getting him home, he slept with his ears up and on ready.
· Home · Our Dogs · Puppies · Facilities · Philosophies · Stories & Poems ·
· Friends & Pets · Sheltie Tetherball · The Grapevine · Seasonal ·
· Rescue · Sheltie Links · Awards · Contact Us · Site Map ·
© 1999 - 2001 by John E. Rueckert - All Rights Reserved
· Friends & Pets · Sheltie Tetherball · The Grapevine · Seasonal ·
· Rescue · Sheltie Links · Awards · Contact Us · Site Map ·
© 1999 - 2001 by John E. Rueckert - All Rights Reserved