I woke up to a perfect morning last Sunday, and decided to take our daughter’s dog Ollie for a walk.
Ollie is what vets would call a “mixed breed” or what people would refer to as an askal (asong kalye). We adopted her late last year when she was just a few months old from the Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary.
I was checking out photos of puppies for adoption after our dachshund Sola died. Everyone in the family was so heartbroken over losing Sola who died on a stormy night while giving birth.
Although an askal, Ollie grew up to be like a person “with breeding”. She would keep herself clean all the time, and with her long hind legs, she would trot like an aristocrat, like she was walking down the runway in a pageant. She’s so well-mannered, she’s hardly rowdy with kuya Max, our dachshund who grew too fat for her three legs (an amputee — another long story), or her sister Ginger, a beagle.
Ollie and Ginger were born on the same day to different mothers but found their way into our home under different circumstances.
Most times, the three dogs would just play by themselves, or with us in the backyard, or inside the house. Whenever I would take them out for a walk, they would do so with their tail tucked between their hind legs. It must be a scary experience for them, not being used to leaving the safe confines of their comfort zone.
That Sunday, Ollie and I walked to Piapi Beach and turned north. The plan was to turn left again at Chizstix Country, and head back home upon reaching SU Aggies. A simple walk around the block.
I never expected the whole thing to turn south.
Upon reaching the 2Go office halfway through the road along the beach, we saw about five stray dogs who seemed to comprise the local gang in the area, the ASOsasyon. As we were walking towards them, the asosasyon boss stood up, and approached us in a threatening manner. At least, I felt threatened. (Since Ollie is female, the all-male gangster may have been eagerly looking out for a fling.)
Ollie sensed that as well, and wanted to walk faster. She started pulling me by her leash, while I kept looking behind to drive away the advancing dog. Soon, there were two dogs, and then three. And maybe that was when Ollie sensed it was best to flee!
Before I knew it, Ollie broke free from her collar, running back towards where we came along E.J. Blanco as fast as her long legs could take her.
I was confident she would be waiting for me when I got home, but started to worry when I got home, and discovered that Ollie wasn’t there! Irma joined me in the motorcycle to go find Ollie around the neighborhood, looking out for any black dog, or keeping an ear out for a familiar bark as we passed by. After an hour of fruitless searching, which took us to Looc, Piapi, Bantayan and Daro, we decided to go home to plan our next move.
After breakfast, we went out again, this time in the car, beeping the horn with the same “code” we would use whenever we arrived home. The sound of that horn usually sent the dogs scampering to the gate to greet us. We kept glancing at the rear view mirror, hoping to see Ollie chasing our car — just like in the movies. At least, that’s how I remember dogs being portrayed in the movies.
We did several more trips during the day, until about curfew time. It was late at night when we got a message on Facebook that a “black dog that appeared scared” was spotted somewhere between the Silliman ballfield and the water district. We never realized how huge that distance could be. Off we went, tapping our car horn, and making one big turn around the City, just in case.
We had lost Ollie.
The thought of not seeing our faithful dog guarding our bedroom door at night, and her not being around to run to us for comfort whenever a thunderstorm struck was sad. Ollie didn’t know how to forage for food, and we wondered how she would get by. She had literally descended a few notches down the food chain.
We were consoled by a verse from Matthew: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…” and we were reassured that Ollie would be all right.
Before sunrise on Day 2, we were out of the house again, looking for Ollie. By then, the appeal for help I posted on Facebook had been shared 70 times, and friends I haven’t heard from in a long time, and even people I didn’t know, took time to post encouraging messages.
Christine Askew who runs the Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary in barangay Cantil-e, also shared my post on the DAS Facebook page, which gained a life of its own.
My friend since grade school, Arnel Amor, advised me to post Ollie’s pictures in the neighborhood, citing his experience with his own dog which resulted in a happy reunion.
That was the next best thing we could do after fruitlessly driving around the City so many times, and getting tips that our lost black dog was seen in San Miguel (Bacong, I presume), and –you won’t believe it–in Marikina.
Was there something we missed to do? Somewhere we failed to check? I recalled someone saying the City gets a lot of requests from the public to check the CCTV cameras for leads on a myriad of concerns — a lost wallet, bag and what-not. I was sure that wouldn’t be the first time they were asked to help look for a missing dog?
I inquired from retired Gen. Lyndon Rey Lawas, the City’s consultant for peace and order, who advised me to first have the incident recorded in the police blotter, and ask help for me secure the approval to check the CCTV cameras.
So yes, I soon learned that this was not an unusual request. Police Senior Master Sgt. Dante Maribao, desk officer that Monday, patiently wrote the report on the police blotter, and referred me to an investigator who wrote the request to City Hall.
I got to City Hall soon after 4 p.m. We were thinking it would be sunset soon, and Ollie might spend another night on the streets.
At the CCTV Control Center, we started searching for the videos starting Sunday around 6am, recorded from the cameras at the junction of EJ Blanco and Flores Ave. (near Lantaw) where some kids selling butong earlier told us they saw Ollie running down that corner.
And voila! True enough, the video showed Ollie running from Flores Avenue, turned right, and was running right in the middle of E.J. Blanco Road! Then she stopped, and entered the old Ausejo compound, about 200 meters away from our home. The videos did not show her coming out — that was good enough a lead.
After thanking the CCTV staff, I went to the compound along EJ Blanco wherein a gardener confirmed having seen an unfamiliar black dog that morning. “I tried to call her but she moved into that corner over there,” he said, pointing at an undeveloped grassy portion of the property.
I tapped the horn. No Ollie. I decided to walk around property, expecting to see a weak dog lying around somewhere in the grass.
Then, a bark! Ollie was sitting on a mount right next to the fence. She didn’t recognize me at first, and just barked. She seemed to be scared of anyone and anything. I kept calling her name, while approaching her slowly, until she stopped barking, and started wagging her tail. What a wonderful moment that was!
I carried Ollie back to the car, and headed home, where she drank all the water and ate all the food she could. It was a joyous reunion.
I was reminded of a sermon preached a long time ago by Dr. Harry Pak about a boy who lost a sailboat in a lake. Soon, he found his missing sailboat being sold in a downtown store. He bought it and said, “Now, you are twice mine!”
I told Ollie that, too!
When walking your dog, use a harness, not just a collar. That’s also the advice from fellow fur-parents.
While searching for Ollie, we realized that Dumaguete truly has a huge problem with stray dogs.
People are only happy to help. Ollie’s story touched the hearts of many netizens who shared our story hoping it would lead to our dog’s recovery.
The Dumaguete CCTV system is a huge service to the people. Aside from being a crime deterrent and a crime solution tool, this digital technology also saves the constituents a lot of time and money in finding solutions.
I recognize that I’m simply writing about a dog who was missing. But my experience made me think how miserable it must be for others who are in more dire circumstances or who may be experiencing bigger problems. There are problems that seem too big to write about — probably people who have lost loved ones or jobs to the pandemic — and we have nothing to offer but sympathy. We read of social media posts about people with medical problems, problems at work, problems with society.
We all hope for a solution, and we can only hope that somehow, we find the solution. (Alex Pal)
