The Hunt for Raleigh

Looking out my sliding glass door this morning, my mom and I spotted a loose dog sitting across the street under some trees. After watching the white and tan whippet for a minute, I called Animal Control to report the lost dog.

As soon as I gave the woman on the other end of the phone the dog's description, she told me that the dog's name was Raleigh and that it was from Frisco (a nearby city.) She took my number and said she was going to call the owner and might call me back if they needed more information.

In the meantime, my mom had gotten in her car to try and coax the dog in to coming to her. But it got scared and ran away into a field behind my neighborhood. Colton and I stood looking through the wrought iron fence in the backyard yelling "Raleigh! Raleigh!" trying to get the dog to come back. Colton got in to it too and kept yelling "Rawie! Rawie!"

About 15 minutes later a middle-aged woman in a Toyota Yaris pulled up at the dead end behind my house. Seconds later, the animal control van zipped in after her. My mom went to meet them and told them where we'd last seen the dog. Then, I heard the woman sobbing and yelling "Raleigh!" Raleigh!"

The woman's husband had just died and Raleigh was his dog. She was desperate to find this living reminder of her loved one. I felt so bad for her. Not necessarily because of a lost dog, although that is sad, but more because I could just imagine how awful it would be if Casey had just died and then his long-time dog Tippet, (if she was still alive) had just run away.

So, I threw Colton in his stroller and headed to the field to help the woman look for her dog. My wheels couldn't go too far in the muddy field though, so I had to go back to the street. A few minutes later, the woman joined my mom and me on the street. She was really upset and asked if I could stay and help her look more. I said I would and walked around the neighborhood and alleys looking for Raleigh.

After about an hour, I had to give up to go put a fussy Colton down for a nap. I don't know if the woman has found Raleigh yet but I hope she will. But if she doesn't, I hope she will find comfort in the One who never stops looking for us, no matter how far we run or how lost we get. I'm so thankful that he doesn't give up after an hour, get blisters from walking or worry about a little mud. He'll keep calling our names as long as we live, seeking to bring us home.