Last night, we had an unexpected guest at our patio door. After dinner, a sweet little beagle appeared, whimpering and pawing, clearly wanting to be let inside. She had a collar with a red tag, so I told Bob we had to let her in right away—it was 4° outside with a wind chill of -12°!
I saw the tag had a number for 1-800-PETLINK. After calling, I was connected to the owner, who had recently moved to High Hill, MO, 43 miles away. She told me the dog’s name was Penny. The owner was overjoyed and immediately left her job as a nurse to pick Penny up. Penny had been missing since Thursday at 1 p.m., and we couldn’t figure out how she made it so far from High Hill.
When Penny arrived, she was shivering uncontrollably, with two icicles hanging from her mouth. I knew she would have frozen if we hadn’t helped her. I quickly made her a meal of half a pork chop, mashed potatoes, and some milk, which she devoured, and I gave her water as well. To warm her up, I threw a bath towel in the dryer and wrapped her in it after she ate. I held her while she fell asleep, snoring from exhaustion. She was the sweetest little dog!
When the owner arrived, Penny came right over to me, almost as if she was saying “thank you.” The owner mentioned that Penny has a big heart and shared that she had twin 3-year-old boys who would be thrilled to see her. They also have another dog, Daisy, who had been crying and missing Penny.
It was such a heartwarming and miraculous conclusion to this story! I enjoyed being a foster dog mom for a couple of hours. Daisy is no longer sad and is eating again.
This morning, it’s -1° with a wind chill of -19°. I’m so thankful that Penny is now home, safe and warm with her family!
