Three Weeks Later,
Herald Helps Find Dog

Hal J. Kearsley of East Randolph is so grateful to The Herald and others for the return of his dog Emma, that he has written an account of the event for friends and family.

Emma, who is "deathly afraid of thunder" ran away during the spectacular boomer of July 6.

We reprint as follows excerpts from the report of Kearsley, who is Associate Dean of Academic Programs at Norwich University.

"Toward the end of the first week, I put up posters, went to the vets, the police and also to our local paper, Randolph’s Herald to get the news out. However for three weeks none of my efforts proved fruitful. Then Friday the 27^th I arrive in my office and listened to my messages, one of which was from Laura Williams living in West Corinth, many miles to the east. I called her back and she starts describing a dog she found in South Royalton, about 20 miles south of where I live; it sounded like Emma!

"Almost a week earlier, Laura’s dog went missing, a young golden lab. Her family was heartbroken (she has wee kids!) and so she too put out posters. Someone in South Royalton, seeing a small golden lab running around loose called Laura on the off chance it was her dog. For three days Laura went in search of this "lab." She finally cornered and caught the dog, only to find that it was not hers, but obviously someone’s dog. Rather than send it to the local pound and to an unknown fate, she took it home with her. The dog pined for a few days but did start to eat.

"When I went to the Herald to put up a lost-dog ad, the paper had just gone "to bed" the night before and because of vacation wouldn’t publish for another nine days. I was crushed, as I thought that the paper would be very important in my search. So I left the office in a rather sad state.

"The Herald, however, didn’t forget and on their next run, unbeknownst to me, ran a lost dog report (at their own expense). This bit of good will proved vital. One of Laura’s friends read the lost report and, knowing that Laura had just found a dog fitting the description, phoned her to pass on my phone number. When I hung up, my wife Gail instantly said "Lets go!"

"Upon driving out to Laura’s place (a commune on top of a mountain!) we pulled up to a drive filled with kids and two adults, including Laura. And as I was greeting her, out steps a dog from their house—Emma!

"So after 21 days on the lam she was as happy to see me, as I was to see her. And to top it all off, Laura’s dog, responsible for the fateful connection, was found safe and sound later that same day!