Feared lost in storm, family pet was saved
Missing during brutal winter storm, Glocester family’s Brittany spaniel gets back home thanks to neighbors
GLOCESTER – When a beloved dog or cat strays from home, it can be concerning. But when it happens in the middle of a raging Nor’easter with blinding snow and dangerous winds, that concern quickly turns to dread.
That’s how Diana Brodeur of Chepachet felt when Charlie, her 11-year-old Brittany spaniel, got lost in Tuesday’s storm.
Charlie’s story begins early Monday morning, the day before the storm, when he ran off with the family’s other dog, a black lab named Jessie. Jessie returned home around 11 o’clock that morn- ing, but Charlie wasn’t with him.
“Every morning for the past seven years we’ve let them run out in the backyard and they have always stayed on the property and come back,” says Brodeur. “But for some reason Charlie didn’t this time.”
Charlie is an elderly dog who is nearly deaf and can barely discern high pitch whistles. With the predicted blizzard only 24 hours away, Brodeur, her husband, Derek, and their two young sons, began to panic, fearing that Charlie would become disoriented and freeze to death if caught in the storm.
The Brodeur family called
Glocester Animal Control, which conducted an immediate search of the Joe Sweet and Pine Orchard road area of Chepachet. Animal Control Officer Penny Silvia spent more than an hour searching, but there was no sign of Charlie. When she went back to the shelter, Silvia posted a photograph of Charlie on the shelter’s Facebook page, which is automatically picked up by Rhode Island Lost Pets, a pet recovery organization.
A heartbroken Brodeur took to her own Facebook page and posted a plea for help:
“I’m begging my local friends to keep an eye out for our old boy, Charlie. He ran away this morning with Jessie and hasn’t come back yet. Kids are so upset and we need him home before the snowstorm.”
That post was shared by more than 2,000 people.
On Monday night, the Brodeurs and a group of neighbors searched the neighborhood and beyond, but came up empty.
“We were up forever trying to find him and didn’t get to bed until 2 in the morning,” she says. “We were heartbroken.”
On Tuesday morning, Charlie was still missing and the Brodeur family was starting to give up hope. With the powerful nor’easter battering states from Washington, D.C. to Maine with white-out conditions and high winds, Charlie’s chances of surviving the storm were slim.
A small neighborhood search party set out again as the snow began to fly, but Charlie was nowhere to be found. The family settled in for the storm, fearing the worst for their lost pup.
“It’s been such an emotional and exhausting two days. I have bags under my red eyes because of all the crying I’ve done,” Diana Brodeur said on Facebook Tuesday. “Hope is fading faster as each hour passes.”
Unbeknownst to the family, Charlie was still alive and well.
Animal Control’s Silvia says that when she arrived at the shelter on Wednesday morning there was a phone message that someone had found Charlie on Pine Orchard Road. The caller left the message on Tuesday – but the shelter was closed all day due to the storm.
The man who found Charlie was unable to bring the lost dog into his home because he had his own animals inside. When he didn’t hear back from the shelter, he called his son to pick up Charlie for safe keeping until an animal control officer called back.
“We called them back the first thing Wednesday morning to retrieve the dog, but they said Charlie has been let outside to go to the bathroom and had run away again,” Silvia said.
Silvia says she jumped in her truck and drove to the neighborhood to try and track him.
“We spoke to everyone we could find in the neighborhood to let them know to watch for Charlie,” she said.
Another neighbor did spot Charlie and called the police, who in turn radioed Silvia. Silvia then contacted the Brodeurs for help because Charlie was scared and in flight mode.
“We did not chase Charlie but tried to keep him in certain areas with car and garage doors open to try to coax him inside,” Silvia said.
Diana Brodeur says when she got Silvia’s call that Charlie had been found she hesitated to believe it at first.
“I wanted to see him and make sure it was really him and not some other dog,” she said.
When Charlie’s relieved family arrived at the scene, Derek Brodeur was able to let Charlie get close enough to sniff his hand and within seconds he was rolling on his back, grateful to be reunited with his humans.
By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Charlie was back at home and curled up in his favorite bed. In a follow-up post on Facebook, Diana Brodeur wrote: “My guess is that he’ll be sleeping for days. My heart is happy again.”
Brodeur says Charlie’s rescue is a testament to the power of community and social media, which together, played a key role in his safe return.
“I admit that I’m genuinely shocked at the outpouring of help and thoughts and prayers. I always say that we have the greatest circle of friends and the most supportive family, but this ordeal has shown me just how many good people are out there still,” she said.
Silvia is using the incident is a chance to remind town residents of what and what not to do if they lose a pet, or find one.
“If you lose or find a lost animal call animal control immediately and if you don’t get an answer within a short period of time, call the police who will either contact us or pick up the animal themselves,” she says.
Silvia says owners of a lost pet should immediately post to the Friends of Glocester Animal Shelter Facebook page or leave a message on the page. The page is monitored even when there is no animal control officer on duty. Owners should also make and post flyers and check with neighbors.
If you spot a lost dog, do not chase it, Silvia says.
“This is a hard concept for the people who see an animal believed to be lost and even more so for the owner,” she says. “Once the dog is in flight mode, they run from everyone, even owners who have had the dog for many years.”
If you find a dog, do not let it go outside without a leash. Better yet, do not let it go out at all until the animal control officer can secure the animal, she says.
“The neighbors and owners in Charlie’s case did exactly all the right things, and the dog was caught. They are the heroes,” Silvia says. “Just reporting a sighting or even unusual barking can save a life. We are thankful for a terrific community that really cares.” Follow Joseph Fitzgerald on Twitter @jofitz7