Never give up, never stop trying
Man finds lost dog after 18-day search
They say freedom is not free and if time is money, then Victor Barreras spent a pretty penny on his 18-day search for his dog, Buster.
That’s because two days after Independence Day, Buster’s freedom was taken away.
Barreras, who is originally from New Mexico, had plans on relocating to California and decided to stay in Bakersfield to get a feel for the new atmosphere of the western state.
After getting situated, he decided to visit his brother, Dennis Barreras, who lives in Porterville.
Not used to the Valley heat, Barreras, in an attempt to stay cool in the 100-plus degree weather, went to the store on East Olive Avenue to buy a fountain drink and a pack of ice for Buster, an 8-year-old half Pug, half Chihuahua mix. The day was July 6.
Not wanting to be left out, Dennis Barreras decided to go too.
As Barreras was getting out of his car, he asked his brother if he wanted something to drink. He said he’d take a soda. As Barreras was paying for the drinks he turned his head towards the door and, surprisingly, saw his brother waiting. Barreras said he was nervous because every window in his van was all the way down and there was no one making sure Buster was OK.
“I thought he was going to wait in the car,” Barreras said, adding that it was 106 degrees that day.
Seeing that he didn’t, Barreras hurried back to the van. However, when Barreras finally arrived, he, without checking on Buster, immediately drove away to drop his brother off at the bus center where he works. When his brother got out to grab
his backpack, he noticed that Buster was gone.
“I was like you have got to be kidding me,” Barreras said, adding that only five minutes had gone by when his brother noticed Buster was missing.
In hindsight, Barreras said he realized that Buster must have jumped out of the window when he and his brother were in the store due to the excessive heat, a hypothesis Barreras said Armando, a friend of his brother’s, confirmed.
Weeks after the incident, Barreras said his brother ran into Armando, whose last name is unknown, and notified him about Buster being dognapped. After hearing the story, Barreras said Armando realized that he was at the same food store on the same day and said he thinks he might have seen Buster being taken away.
At the time, Barreras said Armando, who is homeless, had no knowledge who Buster belonged to. Barreras said Armando thought he saw Buster walking by a dumpster near the store, trying to get some shade. Barreras said Armando told him that a homeless man was dumpster diving and, once he was out, spotted Buster and immediately grabbed him from the back of his fur.
Barreras said Armando, who was both shocked and skeptical of what had happened, confronted the man about the dog, asking if it was his.
“The guy says yes, and that his name was Dumper,” Barreras said, adding, “Armando said that he [homeless man] grabbed him [Buster] and he put him in his arm really tight.”
Shortly thereafter, Barreras said the man took off with Buster on his bike.
As a way to help find Buster, Barreras started a public Facebook Group called Porterville Lost and Found Pets.
“My determination was to find him before anything happened to him and hopefully I would find him intact,” Barreras said.
On Monday, July 24, Barreras’ persistence paid off.
Barreras said someone visited his Facebook Group and saw pictures he posted of Buster.
The caption on most of the pictures, Barreras said, included his phone number. He noted that someone saw Buster roaming around in their neighborhood and thought the dog looked similar to the one in the pictures and called Barreras up and the rest is history.
“I found Buster intact, but his health wasn’t too well,” said Barreras, adding that both of his eyes were bloodshot, he was dehydrated, hungry and exhausted. “He was traumatized. You could see the trauma in his eyes.”
Nevertheless, Barreras said in spite of all the sleepless nights, all the anxiety that ran through his body and the anger that filled his veins day in and day out, the feeling he felt when he eventually found his furry little friend was priceless.
His message to others who have a missing pet.
“Don’t give up,” he said. “There is hope, you will find your pet if you have that determination to get out there and find them, but you can’t give up.”