11 Months

10 Months

Ten long months. We don't even know what to say anymore. We still want Izzie back as much as ever, and we are still learning to live without her.  We have figured out that the words "I would just die if my dog went missing" which come so naturally when your dog has never been missing, aren't true. We are living proof that you don't die -- you want to, for a time at least, but you keep on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. And eventually, some foods start to taste good again, and some pursuits that used to be fun become fun again -- a little at a time. We've begun to experience that, and hopefully will continue down that path if Izzie isn't reunited with us, or takes much longer to do so. But today does mark ten months, so today may be a little harder to get through than other days.

9 Months

If it's the first of the month, there must be another anniversary of Izzie's departure, because she sure doesn't seem to be coming back.

But really, the microchip does offer hope. If the problem all along is that she was picked up by someone passing through, maybe traveling on 460 by pass, then the local efforts were never going to do much. Obviously, it wouldn't be that someone who picked her up is going to take her now to have her scanned for a chip; she's probably been to the vet, maybe several times, if she was picked up and found a new home back then. But there's always a possibility of her making another exit froma new home, and THEN being scanned for a chip. It's happened to plenty of other dogs this long and longer after a dog disappeared, so why not to Izzie?

8 Months

And another month passes with no Izzie. No hint or clue as to her whereabouts. And no less wanting her back.

For the longest time, the thought of izzie having found a home with someone else, or even a family that loves her and takes good care of her, didn't bring comfort as much as . . . maybe something like jealousy? Just a few months ago, had she turned up in someone's house, all thoughts would have been about getting her back. Thanks for taking care of her, but now let her come back home. Who knew then that one day we would be hoping and praying that someone has been taking care of her. It wouldn't be as good as having her at home, but it would be the next best thing.

And now, back to checking Craigslist, Petfinder, Fido Finder, and all the other websites that offer some hope, however slim they seem today, of finding Izzie.

7 Months

Today marks seven long months since Izzie has been missing. It doesn't get any easier. Craigslist, missing pet and dog adoption websites and area shelters are still being checked. And a sighting call even came in, which understandably has become unusual. It wasn't Izzie, and in fact, it lead us to question some of the older sightings, which may have been this dog.

Actually, this has already happened -- that some of the sightings of Izzie have come into question more recently because perhaps they were, all along, other dogs that were being sighted.

So here are some photos of others dogs for which sighting calls have come in, that we checked out and easily determined that they were not Izzie:

       

It's even possible that none of the sightings were ever Izzie, given the fact that all sightings were by people that had not met her before she was missing. But in the end, we do believe some of the August sightings, and even some in September, were Izzie.

So, where is she now? If she in fact was running all around the area when there were sightings of her in August and September, has she stayed in the area, survived the snowstorms and is she still hiding out? Or was she, at some point, picked up by someone that gave her a home? If that's the case, did they take her out of the area, and then never have her scanned for a microchip . . . yet?

Will Izzie's story end like so many the we read about, where there's no word for what seems like forever, and then one day, a call comes in from someone saying that they have Izzie and we can come get her?

6 Months

Need to mark the anniversary with a post . . .  Efforts continue . . .  Izzie is somewhere, and the hope of a reunion lives on.

Where is Izzie?

We are encouraged after receiving two possible sighting reports over the past ten days, the fact that people are still looking for Izzie, and that they know where to call when they see a dog who may be Izzie.

New River Valley Magazine is running this advertisement in the January/February issue.  We continue to follow up on possible sightings, to post and replenish Izzie's posters and business cards and check Craigs List, websites for humane societies, rescue groups and the many Lost/Found groups daily.

If you see a poster which has been removed,  needs replacing or is a good location for poster placement, we appreciate you letting us know.  In addition, we are looking for websites which will provide a link to Izzie's blog.  Izzie could be anywhere and we are always grateful for any and all resources to help spread the word.

Happy New Year, Izzie

. . .  wherever you are . . .  it's hard to believe that it was only five months, today, since you disappeared. It seems like forever. Every day is like waking up from a bad dream, but the bad dream doesn't end with waking up. It just continues. Going to bed every night, it's still there, that bad dream.

Will we ever wake up from this bad dream?