This story involves a cute dog gone missing for 38 days, a heartbroken daughter and mother, a helpful cop and a rare supermoon.
It was back on Oct. 8, during a windstorm, that Sadie – an 8-year-old Chinese Crested with cute little hairy paws – bolted out of Renee Jones’ yard in Edmonds’ Westgate neighborhood during the early morning hours.
Renee was watching Sadie because her mother, Ardis Santwire, who lives in a condo on Fourth Avenue South, was visiting friends in Eastern Washington.
That night, the wind made strange sounds in and outside the house. Trees rustled. Sadie – used to the relative calm of the condo she shared with her sister, Sasha – started howling. Renee tried to calm her by petting her and speaking softly.
Renee returned to bed. No one knew it then, but a board placed in front of a dog door blew down, allowing Sadie to make her escape.
The next morning, Renee and husband – along with their three children – hustled out the door to attend three separate soccer games. When everyone returned home at 4 p.m., they realized Sadie was missing.
Investigating, Renee found a hole dug under the fence in the backyard, and the search was on.
Ardis arrived back in Edmonds the next day, and immediately started knocking on doors. She and Renee printed flyers, contacted various vet hospitals, the Edmonds police. PAWS. Everett's animal shelter. Craigslist.
No luck.
But then the night of the supermoon arrived. Some think a full moon brings strange happenings. This time, when it was super-close, it brought a miracle.
It began with a phone call to Renee from Animal Medical Center in Shoreline on Nov. 14, four hours after Renee took down a “lost dog” post on a 100th Avenue West telephone poll.
“Hello, is this Renee? You’re the alternate number on the chip.”
Sadie had a microchip, which allowed the vet to identify her owner.
The call went to Renee because Ardis was at a doctor’s appointment that evening for a CPAP sleep study that she had waited months to attend – she was wired up, the whole nine yards. A first call from the Animal Medical Center to Ardis didn’t go through – no reception.
Renee, equal parts relieved and over the (super) moon, tried calling her mother from her cell. This time, the call went through. Ardis was so excited that her blood pressure skyrocketed. But after it calmed down, she stayed for the test she had waited so long for.
SHORELINE POLICE OFFICER SAVES THE DAY
Both Ardis and Sadie wanted to know: How was Sadie found?
This is where things get scary weird.
Sadie made it to Shoreline, Shoreline police Officer Nicholas Manley said, as he told them the story.
Manley saw a coyote with a small dog locked in its jaws. Manley chased the coyote for about 10 yards. The coyote dropped Sadie. The officer picked her up and rushed her to the vet hospital.
“I’m pretty sure running after coyotes was not in his job description when hired,” Renee said, “and he probably wasn’t wearing a pair of comfy running shoes.”
Ardis had Sadie back, but Sadie wasn’t looking too good.
“Our precious Sadie was terribly matted, thin and flea-infested, with puncture wounds where the coyote grabbed her and left bruises,” Ardis said. “In 38 days, she somehow survived losing three pounds, and I am sure she was very weak and not able to find proper nourishment. We didn't recognize her.”
But Sadie recognized Ardis, and was glad to be home.
“So many things lined up that night,” Renee said. “A cell phone call that shouldn’t have gotten through, a dog I didn’t think could survive that long, an officer and a dinnerless coyote and, of course, the light of the Pacific Northwest’s cloudy supermoon.”
If you have a pet that’s not chipped, you might want to do yourself a solid.
“Chip and register your pets,” Renee said. “It really can work in your favor.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Ardis and Renee will meet their hero, Officer Manley, for the first time.
“We can hardly wait to express our gratitude in person,” Ardis said. “This Thanksgiving is very special.”
(Edmonds Beacon - Nov 22, 2016)
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