Lost and Found

Pictured is my grand dog, Maxwell and me.  Maxwell went on a walk about Saturday late in the day.  It would seem my daughter went out to shop while my son in law watched their sweet 19 month old daughter.  Son and granddaughter were outside playing and working in the garden and went in the house for a moment and that's when Max apparently found a way of escape from his fenced in yard.  Upon my daughters return home, she immediately walked the neighborhood calling for Max.  No sign of Maxwell, he was missing!  She made flyers and placed them around the neighborhood and as of Sunday morning there was still no sign of Max anywhere.  She felt terrible about it and felt like they were irresponsible for allowing their dog to escape their yard.

It's hard when a dog you love goes missing.  Even leaving a dog in a fenced in yard can be tricky.  Dogs can find loose fencing, boards and slip out before you know it, which was the very case for our Maxwell. My hubby, Matthew and I went down to be with our daughter and her family on Sunday for moral support.  As fate would have it, our darling grand daughter was sick and running a fever.  You know the old adage of when it rains it pours. I felt terrible for my daughter, just what she needed.  You know how emotions can run when you are 8 months pregnant, she truly didn't need this stress...lost dog, sick baby.  My husband and I looked over the neighborhood as we drove through and went out back and called for Maxwell.  I told my daughter that this was a wonderful area of the city and I was sure someone would see what a nice dog Max was and would help him out.  It was little consolation, as we both knew that they lived in the city on a very busy city street which intersected many other very busy city streets. All we could do was wait and keep watch and...hope.

We busied ourselves with our little grand lady.  So tough to see her lying on the couch, one who is so active and busy, so still and feeling so sick. As we sat and watched a movie with her, we offered sips of juice, bits of cold Popsicles, yogurt anything to help her to feel better. I found myself whispering a prayer over my precious grand daughter and then whispering a prayer for our Maxwell dog too.

As Matthew, fondly known as Pappy to our grand lady, carried her up to bed I whispered another prayer over her.  We prepared to head home, lots of hugs and encouraging words before we left trying to console heavy hearts...wishing, as all parent do, that we could make it all better...

One final drive down their street, my eyes searching all the nooks and crannies between buildings, fence rows...  And I notice two girls about to cross the very street we turn on to catch the Interstate.  I mention to Matt to watch for the girls and...their dog..."their" dog...WAIT...I can't believe my eyes.  That's MAXWELL.  We pulled the car over and met Sophia and Novia...beautiful young ladies who found Maxwell Saturday night one street over from behind my daughter's house.  They were worried for him and the busy streets and although he could not stay at their house, they found a friend for Max to bunk with for the night and were walking the neighborhood in hopes that they could locate his family!

I talked to my daughter this morning and the wayward dog is happy to be home... The story gets even better as my grand lady woke up hungry and more active with very little evidence of fever!  I am so thankful to the One who I can turn to, run to when I don't know what to do, when my heart is heavy and my best just isn't quite enough.  It reminds me of understanding the feeling of being lost.  And I am thankful my story, like Maxwell's story, doesn't end there...I also know the feeling of being found!