By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
April 8, 2010
A Missouri dog missing for 16 months is safely back home in what his owners say is nothing short of a miracle. And they're sharing this "unbelievable" tale to bring hope to other pet owners who haven't seen their beloved dogs or cats in months.
"My advice to them is to keep praying and keep looking," says Henry Parente of Gladstone, Missouri. "My wife and I had almost given up hope."
The couple's dog, a nine-year-old Shar-Pei mix named Suede, bolted from their home in January 2008 when some deliverymen accidentally left a door propped open. Suede's mom, Whiney, ran off with him.
Henry and his wife, Sharil, learned about their best friends' disappearance during their honeymoon in Hawaii.
"We were devastated," Parente recalls. "My wife had the dogs for several years. She'd just moved to my house in Gladstone and the dogs were not familiar with the area.
"My dad was in town and was staying with the dogs while we were in Hawaii," he adds. "We thought the dogs had enough change in their lives by moving to my house and we didn't want them to go to a kennel. My dad was really broken up when this happened."
The search is on
Friends, family, and animal control officers immediately started searching for the run-away dogs. "Everyone was in full chase," Parente says. "We'd get up at 3am in Hawaii and try to organize people on where to search."
Despite these efforts, the couple soon received heartbreaking news. A car had struck and killed Whiney.
"We didn't think Suede would make it without his mom," Parente told ConsumerAffairs.com. "He'd been with her all his life. And he was a dog that stayed in the house for 24 hours a day except to go outside for walks or go to the restroom."
The cold Missouri winter also made them worry about Suede's chances of survival. "The temperature was zero degrees," he says. "I really didn't think he'd survive three days outside."
The couple, however, remained optimistic. They continued to receive reports that people had spotted Suede a few miles from their home.
"We started searching when we returned from our honeymoon," says Parente. "We'd hear about a dog that had shown up at someone's back door. When we'd go check, the dog wouldn't be there or it would be the wrong dog. There were constant false starts. Then the leads started drying up.
"But we kept praying every night that we'd get to see him again."
Ghost dog
In the nearby hamlet of Claycomo, Missouri, rumors of a ghost dog soon started to circulate throughout the community.
The phantom canine fit Suede's description.
"I'd get calls from people who'd say there's a dog running loose," says Jeffery Holman, with the town's public works department. "But then they wouldn't see him for a while.
"I'd actually seen him during my rounds," he adds. "It started about a year ago right now. I tried to approach him a couple times, but he was stand-offish and skittish. And he'd take off. He was like a ghostly figure."
Last week, the ghost dog materialized three nights in a row -- in the same location.
"This one guy's house backs up to a tributary that runs through town," says Holman, who is also the town's animal control officer. "And for three nights, the guy said the dog was sleeping under his shed."
Holman immediately set up what he called a live, humane trap to catch the elusive canine.
Gotcha
"The next morning, he was in there," Holman says. "I knew he'd been running and I was worried that he'd become feral. But I saw that he had a collar and tag on. I decided that I was going to get brave, open the cage, and see if he'd let me touch him."
Suede, a former housedog who had survived two brutal winters in the wild, welcomed the human contact.
"He let me pet him, hug him and pick him up," Holman says. "I called the number on his tag and they (the vet clinic) said the last time they'd seen him was when he was boarded in 2008 while the owners went on their honeymoon."
Holman's next call was one he says animal control officers can't make often enough -- a call to reunite a lost pet with its owner.
"When I called Sharil it was almost like she was in disbelief," he says. "She told me she'd just had a talk with her husband the day or two before about how they've got to be able to let go (of Suede) and stop thinking that he's still out there. And then, I called and said I had him. She just couldn't believe it."
Home again
On April 2 -- Good Friday -- Suede and his owners were finally back together after 16 long months.
"Sharil sat in the back seat of her car with him and she was crying," Holman says. "It was great to see them together."
The former ghost dog is now known in Claycomo and throughout the Kansas City area as the miracle dog.
"It's just amazing to me that a dog like this, a complete house dog who had never be outside of his home except to go to the bathroom, lived through the last two winters," Holman says. "And this last winter was really tough.
"I do think he's a miracle dog."
Suede's owners agree.
"For him to have survived this long is mind-boggling," Parente says. "The one question people ask when they hear this story is: 'How did survive outside all this time?' The vet said it's unbelievable. Somebody must have been feeding him because he's not emaciated."
Suede's "Incredible Journey", though, aged him a little.
"He sleeps a little more than I remember," Parente says. "And his feet are so flat; he must have been walking forever. His fur was also matted and he had fleas and worms. But he's been groomed and is now being treated for worms. Overall, he's in good shape. It's amazing."
In the past few days, Suede has easily adjusted to a comfortable life back at home.
"His favorite place is under our dining room table," says Parente. "It's still surreal to us to have him back. For the first couple of days, we'd look at him and say: 'Suede, you're really here.'
"We want to get the word out about Suede to give hope to those who haven't seen their dog for months," he adds. "It's a miracle, an Easter miracle, that's he's back."
