Sushi went missing!

Last Sunday we experienced such a helpless feeling when our dog Sushi went missing. It was a normal day and we were cleaning out the garage and had the door to the house propped open since we were going in and out so frequently. During this time, it has to be the point where Sushi wondered off (which she NEVER does). Too bad we didn't realize it when it happened. After cleaning up around the house we decided to head out and grab a bite to eat for lunch. We left the house for about two hours. We came home and put on a movie for the kids and just relaxed. After a bit, Rob asked the question of "Hey - where is Sushi?" It is not uncommon for her to hide upstairs in the closest to get in a nap. She often keeps to herself and we'll usually go a few hours without seeing her. Once we realized that it had been awhile since we saw her we started frantically searching the house. We were calling out her name, looking in every room. We went out in the backyard to see if maybe one of the kids let her outside. Nothing. We went around to the front of the house and rang the doorbell several times (since she ALWAYS barks at the sound of the bell). No barking came from our house.

At this point, we started to get really worried and were back-tracking in our mind of where she could be or how she could have gotten out. This is when we realized that it probably happened when we were cleaning and had the door open. We put the kids in the car and started driving around the neighborhood looking for Sushi. We had the windows open and were calling her name. Everyone on our street knows Sushi. We stopped and asked all of the kids if they had seen her. They all grew very concerned and were sad for us that we couldn't find her. We continued driving around for about two hours looking through every subdivison and park. I drove down the Frontage Road by our house but still came up empty handed. I posted her picture out on Facebook and asked all of my friends in the area to keep their eye open for her. Many of my friends shared my post on FB. I called Animal Control and the non-emergency police but nothing had turned up.

By then it was starting to get a little late. We didn't know what else to do. It was such a feeling of helplessness. I hated the thought of going to bed not knowing where Sushi was. Had someone found her? Was she wondering around the neighborhood alone? What if she got hit by a car? What if she got eaten by a coyote? Was she hungry? I was so sad. We went to bed but had a hard time sleeping that night. The next morning there was still no sign of Sushi. We both had to go to work. Rob tried calling Animal Control again, but nothing. Sushi was not wearing dog tags either. We usually don't put a collar on her at home because she has such horrible allergies and skin sensitivities. She usually scratches so bad, we normally keep it off. Sushi does have a micro-chip in her so I was hoping that would be a way for someone to return her to us. That morning I reached out to a few coworkers (who all live close by) to ask everyone to keep their eyes open for me. One one co-worker was so sweet and said she'd have her son walk the neighborhood after school to try and find her. Rob made a poster with Sushi's picture and was going to post it at Jewel and Wal-Mart after work.

Then around lunch time I received a phone call from my friend Melissa (who is also our daycare) to deliver the great news that Sushi had been found!!! It is such a small world and incredible on how she was found. Long story short, it turns out that a family who Melissa also watches found Sushi the day before and had taken her in for the night (not knowing it was our dog). Apparently, Sushi was clear on the other side of our neighborhood just walking down the sidewalk. This family found her and took her back to their house. Once they found her, they also brought her into the vet to see if she had a chip. When they took her in, they were told Sushi didn't have one. (We need to look into this because we have the paperwork from when she received it. I am wondering if it got dis-lodged or something). Anyways, that morning Melissa overhead the little boy talking to her daughter and he was telling her that they had found a bull dog the day before. (Sushi is a pug). They put two and two together and Melissa reached out to the Mom to find out more information on the dog that they found. Sure enough, it turned out to be Sushi! We were thrilled and so happy. All of the worrying had made me feel horrible, so it was such a relief. We made plans to reunite with Sushi after work and picked her up from Melissa's house. Leah was so happy. She didn't fully grasp the concept that we thought Sushi was gone. She had told that she was tired of Sushi playing this hide and seek game and just wished she would come out. It makes me feel so good knowing that Sushi was in a warm home, had been fed and well taken care of while she was away. We'll need to keep a closer eye on her now. It is out of her character to roam away from our house. We usually keep her off a leash and let her run around our front yard. I hope we never have to go through this again! I appreciate the effort everyone put in to help us find our Sushi!