With so much drama and anger in the current news cycle, here's a much lighter 'Friday fun' story that will warm the hearts of dog lovers everywhere. A couple from Seattle put their lives on hold for nearly two full months after discovering that their beloved border collie, Katie, had gone missing from their pet-friendly hotel room. The heartsick puppy parents searched far and wide for weeks on end, desperate to locate Katie. The wife, Carol King, even quit her job in order to keep the search effort alive. This quest has garnered national attention and press coverage:
After 57 days, a Washington woman’s search for her missing border collie ended in tears of happiness when the pair were reunited in a Kalispell subdivision. https://t.co/5qgVVul7KF
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) September 19, 2019
Here's a local news package on the reunion:Katie had been the family's companion for seven years. “It was devastating. I got sick to my stomach,” King told the Daily Inter Lake of Kalispell, recalling how she felt when she realized Katie was missing. The couple immediately began searching for the dog. They combed the hotel grounds, posted at least 500 missing dog flyers and spread word of Katie's missing status on social media. After searching for two weeks, King and her husband ordered two game cameras and animal traps, The New York Times reported. After 37 days, King's husband returned to Seattle, while she quit her job as a mail carrier to remain searching for Katie. “Katie was just more important to me,” King said...[By day 53], she wanted to return home to Seattle for the weekend, but her husband convinced her to stay one more week. One person in the area allowed King to stay at their home while she searched.
Finally, on the morning of Sept. 15, King received a tip from a person in a subdivision near the hotel Katie went missing from. King and a friend scoured the neighborhood. A couple who was walking a dog finally spotted Katie sitting under a tree. King called for the pup, who came trotting over. “I just bear-hugged her, I wasn’t going to let her go,” King told the Daily Inter Lake. “Tears were flying, we were screaming, everybody is high-fiving, hugging each other. People are stopping in their vehicles, getting out and hugging us. I think the whole neighborhood knew that we found her.” Katie immediately fell asleep in King's car as they drove her to a veterinarian's office, the Times reported. She was dirty, dehydrated and had lost 15 pounds but was otherwise fine.
A very happy ending to a story of incredible devotion and perseverance. I'll leave you with another story involving extraordinary measures and dedication, but in a very different circumstance. This is stirring, and speaks very highly of our military:
The 8,000-mile non-stop flight to save a U.S. Special Operations soldier's life https://t.co/c9d4eGGu7b
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) September 21, 2019
The details, including multiple high-stakes, mid-flight re-fuelings, are amazing. Read the whole thing.