Oct 23, 2007
Redding
Pink harness helps locate dog on the run
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by CHIPP REID
Hersam Acorn Newspapers
A reminder of one dog’s brave battle against cancer helped another canine find her way home after a five-day adventure.
When Peter Athan’s Shar-Pei died over the summer from cancer, the Redding resident and his family decided to wait until getting a new pet. The wait lasted two months, until Mr. Athan saw an ad for a “Shar-Pei mix” at the New Milford dog shelter.
“I went up and saw her and it just took one look and that was it,” Mr. Athan said. “That’s usually all it takes with a dog.”
The four-legged femme fatale Mr. Athan spied was a “6- or 7-year-old adult Shar-Pei mix” named Rosie.
“She had been at the shelter for two years,” he said. “I am sure she was terribly insecure when she arrived at our house. We have had dogs all of our adult lives, so we were sure we knew how to keep her safe.”
Rosie arrived at her new home on Pine Mountain Road on Oct. 4. In less than 12 hours, she was off and running, quite literally.
Mr. Athan put Rosie out on the deck of his home to let the dog enjoy some sunshine. A three-foot high fence surrounds the deck, so Mr. Athan said he was sure Rosie would be fine. The precocious pooch had other ideas.
Somehow, the pudgy little pet managed to jump over the fence and off she went.
“She didn’t seem high strung,” Mr. Athan said. “She seemed very calm. I don’t know what spooked her. There was no indication of being frisky. Maybe she was just nervous. We’ve had dogs all our lives and this is the first dog that managed to hop over the fence.”
Prison break
When Rosie took off on her tour that eventually covered Redding, Ridgefield and finally Wilton, she had on a token of the Athan’s previous dog. That animal fought a brave battle against breast cancer and despite grave predictions from veterinarians, managed to survive for four years following cancer surgery. The Athans decided to reward their dog by buying a bright pink harness for her — the same color as the ribbons the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation uses to raise awareness about the disease in humans.
“If it wasn’t for that pink harness, Rosie wouldn’t be here now,” Mr. Athan said. “It literally saved her.”
After leaping the fence, Rosie scampered off toward Route 7. Mr. Athan, when he noticed the pooch had flown the coop — or deck, in this instance — got into his car and started looking for his new pet. He also began posting signs asking for help in locating Rosie. Prominent in the dog’s description was the fact she had on a bright pink harness.
“I started getting calls even before I had all the signs up,” Mr. Athan said. “I also called the animal shelter and animal control and started driving around the streets looking for her.”
Site-seeing and sightings
Rosie’s initial journey took her to Branchville, where some folks spotted her trying to cross Route 7.
“They called to say they chased her toward the railroad station but then they lost her,” Mr. Athan said.
The next day, Oct. 5, more calls came in. Now, the four-legged freebooter was romping near Branchville School. Students and teachers saw Rosie cavorting on school grounds, although she remained skittish any time someone went near her.
“I went over there and actually saw her in the woods,” Mr. Athan said. “She kept running off when anyone would get close to her.”
Rosie remained around the school for two days before she started working her way up Florida Road.
“About a dozen people from Florida Road called me,” Mr. Athan said. “Again, anytime people would try to get near her, she would run.”
Mr. Athan continued to track his wayward pet as she cavorted along Florida Road for the next two days.
“She was halfway up to Main Street,” he said. “One lady was very upset when she called because she couldn’t get a leash on her.”
The next day — Oct. 10 — Rosie hit Wilton, where she began to view the homes along Indian Hill Road. More reports came in. “One lady on a horse started looking for her,” Mr. Athan said. “She raises dogs so she hoped maybe Rosie would go to her.”
Meal time
After five days on the run, one thing was certain: Rosie wanted a meal. She began sniffing around some kennels belonging to Jennie and Kevin Hynes on Thunder Lake Road in Wilton. Something else was certain, too, Mr. Athan said. A lot of people cared about Rosie.
“Friends, family and Wilton Animal Control joined in the ever-widening search,” he said. “Two kind women volunteers from the New Milford Animal Shelter, from which we adopted Rosie, came to Ridgefield for a day to join in the search — hoping she might recognize their voices.”
In the end, it was a free meal and the smell of other dogs that brought Rosie to heel. The Hynes put some food out for Rosie, but one of their own dogs scared off the rambling rover. A second try brought Rosie back and this time, Mrs. Hynes got a leash on her.
“It was around 10 p.m. when I got there and the Hynes and their two daughters were outside, playing with Rosie,” Mr. Athan said.
Once he got home, Mr. Athan said he made sure Rosie hadn’t suffered from her walkabout and quickly worked on making her a part of the family. When his granddaughters came over on Oct. 13, he said they had a ball playing with the pooch.
Mr. Athan said without the pink harness, he doubts if he would have seen Rosie again.
“I figured someone might call but I got calls every 10 minutes for a week. Not an hour would go by without a call,” he said. “Without that pink harness, she would’ve been just another animal. I am absolutely positive that without the pink ribbon, she would not be here.”
As relieved as he is, Mr. Athan said he didn’t plan to let Rosie out of his sight any time soon. As for the deck, it now has a five-foot fence.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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