07 Jul Summer – Lost and Found – A Story About Never Giving Up

When I think about an experience of loss in my life, I’m transported back to Sunday, March 2nd, 2014. Sundays were a big deal back then.  My bridesmaids were coming over every Sunday to help me plan the intricate details of my dream wedding. I’m a project manager AKA control freak, so I had suggested that we start meeting weekly to stay on track.  My bridesmaids aren’t girly-girls so it was a square peg, round hole situation from the start, but I didn’t care. They were my closest friends and this was a part of the deal when you are BFFs with a girly-girl. Fortunately, our planning consisted of three Women laughing and drinking champagne while watching me plan a wedding.

On this particular Sunday I was contemplating telling them how I desired more input from them.  I wanted them to know that I felt home alone on the range while they were off riding fences. Well, drinking champagne and riding fences. A feeling of dread was creeping up on me. Ugh… Difficult conversations. Why I did have to say anything at all? Wasn’t it enough that they were trekking over to my place on a Sunday? Not only Sunday, but a rainy Sunday? Besides, we were having fun. The glasses were out and the champagne was chilling when my phone rang.

Bridesmaid’s Retreat Valentine’s Day – Arrowhead, CA

No one calls you unless it’s an emergency or they need to be let in or they need to be bailed out.  I looked at the caller ID. It wasn’t my bridesmaids although they would be around any minute. “Hello?” It was my Mother. I couldn’t make out what she was saying.  She was crying and not speaking into the phone. It sounded like she said – Summer’s gone? Summer was our three year-old Yorkie. She was a street dog that we rescued from the drug neighborhoods of Riverside about a month earlier. My Mom was screaming and somewhat unintelligible, but I definitely heard her. Someone had stolen Summer.

It was raining pretty hard that morning. My Mom had waited as long as possible, but when the rain didn’t let up, they suited up for the morning walk. Upon returning home she removed Summer’s harness and collar and dried her off. With that done, my Mom opened the door again to get the mail. This is when Summer darted outside. Summer was feisty and energetic. Now that she had found her forever home, she would be damned if someone opened the door and left her behind.  My Mom started yelling after Summer who was already a half a block away. Before Summer reached the corner she stopped on a dime in front of a parked car with the passenger side door open. She appeared to be looking at the passenger when she jumped into the car! No one got out of the car. The door closed and the car took off with my Mother still screaming after her.

Obedience School Graduation Day

The details didn’t make much sense to me but there was no time to ask questions that weren’t going to solve problems. I had to get over there. I called my bridesmaids and told them what was happening. I was also grabbing my jacket and throwing on my shoes at the same time. Did I tell my fiancé what was happening? I was doing so many things at once that I didn’t hear what I was saying to anyone. I felt like I was moving in slow motion.

I hung up the phone, grabbed a photo of Summer and started for the car. My mind was racing and searching for all the worse case scenarios. I don’t remember talking about anything on the short ride over.  As we turned onto my Mom’s street the rain disappeared.  A reprieve.  There was a parking spot available in front of her house.  Another gift. We parked the car and ran up to the porch. The front door was open and my Mom was inside, but she wasn’t alone. My best friend (also my bridesmaid) was there. Lucky for us she lived walking distance from my Mother. As soon as she hung up with me she ran over to Mom’s house. It sounded like My Mom was in the middle of telling her the story she had told me.  I listened again, but I still didn’t understand.  I stared blankly at them not sure what to say next when my phone rang again.

It was my other bridesmaid.  She was walking around the nearby park. She saw a lot of little doggies about and suggested that we hang some signs there.  It started raining again. I grabbed more photos from my Mom and headed to Kinko’s to make LOST SUMMER signs. My bridesmaids and fiancé opted to walk around the neighborhood. I couldn’t do it. Summer was the cutest dog ever and I had no real hope we would ever find her.  I called some more people and posted on FB that she was missing. Within the hour a friend on Long Beach PD had come by. She was on the job. My Mom’s house was on her beat. She offered to keep a look out for a dog matching Summer’s description.

Summer’s First Day at HQ

Back on the block, we started posting our signs. There were other signs on the trees as well. Other missing dogs and cats. I felt like I had never seen any of these before. Some were in color and some were in black and white, but all were invisible before now. I counted the trees and the number of posters that I had in my hand. I was short. I was going to have to be more strategic on this first pass. The regret of not printing more signs flooded over me. How was I to know how many to get? Still, Summer was lost and I was blowing it. My legs were moving but inside I was already letting go. I loved that dog, but my expectations were low.

I asked my Mom to go for a walk when she would typically walk Summer in the afternoon. Other dog parents needed to be aware of what had happened. Maybe she could ask around if anyone knew the owner of that car? That afternoon my Mom came across a neighbor walking his poodle. This neighbor loved Summer. He also loved our first dog Gracie. He was angry and beside himself. Over the course of five minutes he vowed many times to keep looking for her. He asked my Mom not to give up.

With every passing hour, I felt Summer slipping away. More signs went up and more troops rallied over the next 24-36hours. No one was giving up. The search would continue until she was returned people would say. I was grateful for everyone and their strength.  New supporters and their positivity always seemed to show up just as I started losing faith. It was a real possibility that Summer wasn’t even in Long Beach anymore. Who knows what that car was doing parked there with the door open. I kept posting and texting. The mission to find her was the only thing keeping me going.

Two days later I’m getting ready for work when my phone starts ringing again. I checked the caller ID. It was my Mother. I braced myself. Was there bad news? Before I could say hello, she was already yelling into the phone. “Summer’s here! We found Summer!”  She’s where, I thought? Who found her?!

Summer Getting Ready for Downward Dog.

My Mom’s neighbor was out with his poodle the night before for last potty.  He thought he spotted a dog that looked an awful lot like Summer in a private courtyard on Ocean Blvd. Of course it was dark and a lot of dogs look similar. He couldn’t be sure so he went home. The next morning the neighbor knocks on my Mom’s door at 8AM. “I think I found Summer,” he said. “Get dressed.” The neighbor and my Mom walked to Ocean Blvd. only a block and a half away. The courtyard gate was locked so they waited for someone to leave for work. They entered and knocked on the door where the neighbor had seen someone with a dog that looked like Summer. A man opened the door a bit. Before he could say anything, my Mom yelled Summer’s name into the man’s apartment.

Summer’s name was still hanging in the air when she came running from a back room and jumped into my Mother’s arms. She gave my Mom a facial while the neighbor explained that Summer belonged to her.   It appeared as though the man had already grown attached to her.  The neighbor reached into his pocket to pay the man. He had brought $100 to give him in exchange for her, but the man refused it. He said seeing them reunited was enough for him. He explained that he found Summer on Ocean Blvd. She was hiding in the hedges of an apartment building, so he rescued her. She didn’t have a collar. He also said that he never saw any signs. It didn’t matter if that was true. Sometimes you can only see things when you are looking for them. Summer was home and that’s all that mattered.

When I think about loss, I think about losing and finding Summer. How she was so close, but felt so far away. How we found her because we didn’t give up even when it seemed futile. How you can do anything when you have the right team and support. A team that will stop at nothing to make sure the mission is a success. How amazing it is to have best friends in your life.  Not only because they will spend all their Sundays planning your wedding and wear a bright pink dress when you ask, but because they always, always have your back.

It’s not that different than building a business. Sometimes there is loss. Sometimes you don’t know if you’re ever going to succeed in finding what you’re looking for. Sometimes what you are looking for is only a half block away in a private courtyard and you didn’t even know it.

The Morning Summer Was Found.

For me faith is everything. Sometimes I feel lost, but I just keep moving forward. I put one foot in front of the other looking for proof that I’m going in the right direction. Sure, sometimes I have doubts. But I know that if I believe in me and have the right team anything can be done. Anything.  Even things that seem impossible.  Summer is proof of that.