This is the story of our Saturday.
Cass was woken up by a phone call and she immediately got me up. Charlie and Fielder were staying with her parents and we were going to pick them up after our home inspection. Cass's Dad was calling to tell us that Fielder had slipped her collar and taken off. They were unable to find her.
We raced to get dressed then raced to the car. I drove like a complete jerk driver or a polite Chicago cab to get to Plainfield as fast as possible. Cass called to get details and find out what we needed to do. It turns out Cass's parents had been calling since late last night. Fielder had run off at 10:30pm Friday night. It was now 8:30am Saturday.
We got there and of course went almost immediately to the paths and trails surrounding Cass's parents' house. There were no signs of her. Her tracks are usually pretty distinctive because of her short legs. In the tall snow it is almost like someone kicked a path for others to walk. There were no signs of her tracks going into the woods or across the various tiny lakes surrounding them. This was good because these woods are inhabited by coyotes.
As we were searching Cass's Mom was calling the local police and shelters to get a report out. At this point we realized that our best hope was that she was taken in by someone and that they would call. Cass and her Dad raced to get fliers made up and then raced back with them so we could post them everywhere.
I went east of their house and began tacking fliers up on stop signs and light poles. It was now about 10:00am and I was mentally preparing myself for the eventuality that we would not find her.
I stopped and dropped off fliers at the gas station, 7-eleven, and Nabby's on 59. While at Nabby's I received a phone call from the Animal Care Center of Plainfield. Someone had just brought in a dog that could be her. Cass had been there with a flier maybe 15 minutes earlier. Everyone remembered because of how hysterical she was.
I do not know Plainfield well enough to figure out where this person was calling from. Later I would realize I was all of two minutes away. She said that Cass was on the other line so I told her to switch over and talk to Cass. I raced back to her parents' home in case Cass was there so we could go together. Cass called me while turning into the drive to her parents' house, the same drive Fielder had disappeared on.
Cass's first sentence was "Cal, theycalaidajfkfffffffwwaaallllsifey!" I knew what she meant so I tried to calm her down and told her to get there safe first and call immediately to let me know if it was indeed Fielder. I had to repeat these instructions a couple times to make sure she understood exactly what was needed.
I got back to the house and told everyone and we waited. I hugged Charlie tightly while staring at my phone. Cass called a couple minutes later and I could make out "It's her!" through the heavy tears and joy.
Julia raced me over to the ACC. I sped inside and asked Pat (a family friend who had also been alerted) where she was: Exam Room #3. I knocked and swung open the door. Then I wrapped Cass and Fielder up in a big hug.
It turns out when Cass got there that the place was crowded with people (this was still true when I got there and I was lucky to pick Pat out quickly). Saturday is adoption day at this facility. Cass instinctively was able to pick out a large black man standing in the waiting room crowd as the person who saved Fielder. His name was Bernard.
Cass was crying a bit but managed to ask Bernard what color the dog was. He first said "White." Cass managed to control her panic and show Bernard a picture on her phone. He said that it was in fact Fielder. Cass began crying and hugged Bernard very tightly.
They were allowed into a waiting room (Exam Room #3) to wait. Cass was not allowed to see Fielder immediately as she was very cold and they were trying to warm her and check her for frostbite and hypothermia. Cass finally was allowed to look into the treatment area and see our little Fielder shivering under a heat lamp.
Cass waited in the waiting room and hugged Bernard who was kind enough to wait with her. Cass got part of the story at this time (we would find out more later). Bernard had pulled Fielder from the water. One of the lakes near the house had aeraters to partially melt the ice. Fielder was walking near the shoreline on this lake when the ice gave way and she fell in. Bernard saw this and ran out to save her. In this process he was knee deep in this water and Fielder nipped him on the hand.
Most of you know Fielder's abusive past and her general fear of people. I can only imagine the shock of being submerged in near frozen water and being grabbed by a large black man terrified her. We learned later though that once she was wrapped in a towel she calmed down completely.
Fielder was brought in to Cass who hugged her so tightly. Bernard filled out his info and left before I arrived. Everyone in the waiting room gave him a round of applause as he walked out of the building.
I arrived and we waited as they filled out paperwork. Cass's father came over from hanging up fliers. Her mom was calling everyone to let them know she was found and ok.
Cass and I finally drove her back to the house. Later we received a call from a man who saw our flier at the Jewel. Five people were out last night trying to catch her but she was able to scurry away. We thanked him for his effort and told him that she was found and well.
All told she spent nearly 12 hours outside in below freezing weather. She has no signs of frostbite or hypothermia. She is tougher than we ever gave her credit for. There is little doubt in my mind however that she would not have survived falling into the lake and that Bernard saved her life.
Cass and I stopped by his house later to thank him again and get the full story. We bought him a gift certificate to a restaurant and Cass wrote him a letter of thanks. We got the full story at this time. Bernard had just stepped out onto his patio for a smoke when he saw her come down and begin walking along the ice. He assumed it was a fisherman's dog (off of these series of lakes is the Plainfield Bass and Gill Club) because she had no tags. He may have just let her be if she had not fallen through the ice but once she did he raced down to get her. I don't know if he would've been able to catch her had she not fallen through.
We realize how fortunate we are that she was able to survive and that we were able to find her. We love her so much.
Cass was woken up by a phone call and she immediately got me up. Charlie and Fielder were staying with her parents and we were going to pick them up after our home inspection. Cass's Dad was calling to tell us that Fielder had slipped her collar and taken off. They were unable to find her.
We raced to get dressed then raced to the car. I drove like a complete jerk driver or a polite Chicago cab to get to Plainfield as fast as possible. Cass called to get details and find out what we needed to do. It turns out Cass's parents had been calling since late last night. Fielder had run off at 10:30pm Friday night. It was now 8:30am Saturday.
We got there and of course went almost immediately to the paths and trails surrounding Cass's parents' house. There were no signs of her. Her tracks are usually pretty distinctive because of her short legs. In the tall snow it is almost like someone kicked a path for others to walk. There were no signs of her tracks going into the woods or across the various tiny lakes surrounding them. This was good because these woods are inhabited by coyotes.
As we were searching Cass's Mom was calling the local police and shelters to get a report out. At this point we realized that our best hope was that she was taken in by someone and that they would call. Cass and her Dad raced to get fliers made up and then raced back with them so we could post them everywhere.
I went east of their house and began tacking fliers up on stop signs and light poles. It was now about 10:00am and I was mentally preparing myself for the eventuality that we would not find her.
I stopped and dropped off fliers at the gas station, 7-eleven, and Nabby's on 59. While at Nabby's I received a phone call from the Animal Care Center of Plainfield. Someone had just brought in a dog that could be her. Cass had been there with a flier maybe 15 minutes earlier. Everyone remembered because of how hysterical she was.
I do not know Plainfield well enough to figure out where this person was calling from. Later I would realize I was all of two minutes away. She said that Cass was on the other line so I told her to switch over and talk to Cass. I raced back to her parents' home in case Cass was there so we could go together. Cass called me while turning into the drive to her parents' house, the same drive Fielder had disappeared on.
Cass's first sentence was "Cal, theycalaidajfkfffffffwwaaallllsifey!" I knew what she meant so I tried to calm her down and told her to get there safe first and call immediately to let me know if it was indeed Fielder. I had to repeat these instructions a couple times to make sure she understood exactly what was needed.
I got back to the house and told everyone and we waited. I hugged Charlie tightly while staring at my phone. Cass called a couple minutes later and I could make out "It's her!" through the heavy tears and joy.
Julia raced me over to the ACC. I sped inside and asked Pat (a family friend who had also been alerted) where she was: Exam Room #3. I knocked and swung open the door. Then I wrapped Cass and Fielder up in a big hug.
It turns out when Cass got there that the place was crowded with people (this was still true when I got there and I was lucky to pick Pat out quickly). Saturday is adoption day at this facility. Cass instinctively was able to pick out a large black man standing in the waiting room crowd as the person who saved Fielder. His name was Bernard.
Cass was crying a bit but managed to ask Bernard what color the dog was. He first said "White." Cass managed to control her panic and show Bernard a picture on her phone. He said that it was in fact Fielder. Cass began crying and hugged Bernard very tightly.
They were allowed into a waiting room (Exam Room #3) to wait. Cass was not allowed to see Fielder immediately as she was very cold and they were trying to warm her and check her for frostbite and hypothermia. Cass finally was allowed to look into the treatment area and see our little Fielder shivering under a heat lamp.
Cass waited in the waiting room and hugged Bernard who was kind enough to wait with her. Cass got part of the story at this time (we would find out more later). Bernard had pulled Fielder from the water. One of the lakes near the house had aeraters to partially melt the ice. Fielder was walking near the shoreline on this lake when the ice gave way and she fell in. Bernard saw this and ran out to save her. In this process he was knee deep in this water and Fielder nipped him on the hand.
Most of you know Fielder's abusive past and her general fear of people. I can only imagine the shock of being submerged in near frozen water and being grabbed by a large black man terrified her. We learned later though that once she was wrapped in a towel she calmed down completely.
Fielder was brought in to Cass who hugged her so tightly. Bernard filled out his info and left before I arrived. Everyone in the waiting room gave him a round of applause as he walked out of the building.
I arrived and we waited as they filled out paperwork. Cass's father came over from hanging up fliers. Her mom was calling everyone to let them know she was found and ok.
Cass and I finally drove her back to the house. Later we received a call from a man who saw our flier at the Jewel. Five people were out last night trying to catch her but she was able to scurry away. We thanked him for his effort and told him that she was found and well.
All told she spent nearly 12 hours outside in below freezing weather. She has no signs of frostbite or hypothermia. She is tougher than we ever gave her credit for. There is little doubt in my mind however that she would not have survived falling into the lake and that Bernard saved her life.
Cass and I stopped by his house later to thank him again and get the full story. We bought him a gift certificate to a restaurant and Cass wrote him a letter of thanks. We got the full story at this time. Bernard had just stepped out onto his patio for a smoke when he saw her come down and begin walking along the ice. He assumed it was a fisherman's dog (off of these series of lakes is the Plainfield Bass and Gill Club) because she had no tags. He may have just let her be if she had not fallen through the ice but once she did he raced down to get her. I don't know if he would've been able to catch her had she not fallen through.
We realize how fortunate we are that she was able to survive and that we were able to find her. We love her so much.
