Hello guys! Sorry its been so long again, we dont have the internet so im doing this on what spare time I do have. I apologize but im sure you're all used to it : ) So here it starts
April:I was working two jobs at this time and Aj putting as usual about a 100 hrs per paycheck. As you know we got this new puppy clyde. Well I hated having him cooped up in a kennel or corner for eight hours strait and I work twenty minutes away so it wasn't exactly convenient to run home on lunch. So we devised a plan. I had my neighbor walk him twice a week on our long days. Every Saturday and Thursday. I remember on Wednesday sitting home and I got this random thought in my head of certain scenarios that could happen to clyde. I thought what if she doesnt hold the leash right and he runs off, or gets hit by a car, or gets attacked by another dog, but I of course shrugged it off as me just being a worry wart. Thursday rolls around and I go to work as usual. I come home and walk in expecting to see Clyde and a note from this girl saying how long she walked him that day, but neither was the case. I thought maybe she came and grabbed clyde late. I then went upstairs to my extra bedroom to start hanging curtains. I was standing on the stool when I saw this girl walking up to my porch and no Clyde..... At that point I was a little worried. What in the world was going on? I ran downstairs and opened the door right as she was going to knock. As soon as I opened the door and saw her crying my stomach clenched and my heart dropped. " Where is Clyde?" she then told me how she took him to the park and he started to chase a bird and the leash slipped out of her hand. He ran into a moving car and it scared him so bad that he darted. She told me she chased him for about half a block and went home to have her parents help look, but they couldn't find him. (
I am not sure how the whole traumatic stress sequency goes but I think its like this. ) Ok I said, I then grabbed my car keys and said dont worry we will find him. I then said a silent prayer and went looking. I called Aj and he left work right away to come help. We looked non stop until midnight. (
this was on a Thursday ) And still no Clyde. We assumed that someone had grabbed him and we would just call the pound in the morning and he would be there. So at this point I was still in denial I believe but very worried and confident that we would find him. The next morning I dont think Aj and I spoke to each other until we said goodbye. It was sooo silent and its hard to think about what we were feeling at that point in time.
( lol im fighting back tears at this moment writing this, dumb I know ) So we came home friday night, and Saturday night and went strait into "look for Clyde mode" and not ONE sign of the bugger. Our neighbors helped us look for about two hrs the first night he was gone and then it came down to us. Our families were so amazing as well they all at some point helped us and we appreciated it so much. We went and printed up some fliers and posted them on every single sign and corner we could find ( im not kidding I think it took the city weeks to take them all down ) On Saturday Aj and I both decided that we would fast all day to find our little bugger and we prayed constantly, that same day a teared up Aj called me saying a girl in the neighborhood below us had spotted Clyde. She described him perfectly it seemed, finally some hope! We looked until about two in the morning that night. On Sunday we recruited Aj's brother zach to help us find Clyde, and Aj borrowed a scooter from a friend. It was the only humor I got out of the whole thing seeing zach
( who isn't petite one bit ) riding on the back and Aj with his camo gear on driving. The two of them covered alot of ground from streets to the walking path and back on the streets again. We then came home still without our Clyde. Monday came and Aj and I both had pretty much began to accept that we would probabley never see him again. We both went about our business. It was about four when Aj walked into my work and the first thing he said to me was " they found Clyde, I need your keys" I just sat there staring at him! I couldn't even believe it. I had finally accepted that our lives had to move on and we found him? The relief that washed over me was nothing I had ever felt before. Aj then told me that he got a call from a phone number he didnt recognize, he wasn't going to answer it but he did. He said hello and the voice on the other end said " Aj, I've got Clyde " His name is Art, and he breeds German Shorthaired Pointers which is Clydes breed. Clyde had wandered into his construction site about five miles from our house.
( we live west of the lake and so where clyde traveled was all desert fields and hills ) he told Aj that his rear left foot was ripped open by a hunters snare. Which if you dont know what that is, its like a noose that wraps around the leg of an animal. It usually breaks the leg or does what they call degloving the leg, ie. taking all of the skin off. And that Clyde was extremely skinny. So I bet you're wondering how he found us. About an hr before that I had reposted my lost add on Ksl.com and Art knew that Clyde was someones pet
( maybe it was from the leash still attached to his collar?.... No we didnt put tags on him, were dumb I know ) and he told his bird dog buddies to find a way of tracking down the owners. Art had dog kennels in the back of his truck with dog food and water, he fed and watered Clyde and then put him in the kennel to wait for Aj. So Aj grabbed him and rushed him to our vet where I met him there. When the vet brought Clyde in and we first saw each other Clyde barely able to walk because he was so malnourished made his way to me, put his head on my leg and cried he saddest cry I had ever seen. I could not believe my little man was still alive, and in this room with us! The vet told us that the wound on Clyde's leg was extremely infected and she was afraid that it got into the bone. If it did then they would amputate it. She didnt want to close it, with him being a working dog, she was afraid that she didnt have the expertise...? So she sent us up to a surgeon in Salt Lake. At this point were very worried about the cost, but I told Aj I dont care how much it costs with what he has been through we owe it to him. 2,000 dollars and 10 lbs later Clyde is well and chasing birds.
Clyde's foot was wripped open to the bone and he went from 40 lbs to 29 lbs. But he is a fighter and he survived five nights at six months old in the wilderness. I can only attribute that to the many people praying for us and his return ( he kind of had a fan club ), Clyde's will to keep looking for us, our constant searching, Art Clyde's rescuer, and of course my Father in heaven. I know this sounds so cheesy but I dont care, my testimony of prayer was strengthened and so was my faith. With the lord all things are possible and this furthered proved that for us, I know for a fact that without all of these things combined that Clyde wouldn't have made it home, and I know for a fact that father in heaven was watching out for my little guy and keeping those coyotes away. Every vet we saw said he was lucky to be alive and that they were surprised with his injuries that he made it as far as he had. I am so grateful to family and friends, my sweet husband who stayed so strong for me through it all, and my heavenly father who no matter what trial we are going through in our lives whether the outcome is good or bad will be there unwavering to comfort and love us.
