Letter: Troy group helped search

On Nov. 11, a 22-pound spayed female cocker spaniel named Oreo escaped from her foster home in Rochester, Minn. Oreo, a former puppy mill dog, at age 9 was just starting out her new life in a wonderful foster situation in Rochester when she slipped out of her harness and eluded all who were trying to catch her.

My daughter, her boyfriend and I had the opportunity of seeing her in the woods where she had called home, but we could not catch her. But each sighting gave hope to Oreo’s rescuer and Jill, Oreo’s foster mom, who both worked diligently in the quest to bring Oreo home.

After the serious cold snaps of sub-zero temperatures along with brutal wind chills and heavy snow that fell on the area, hope was dwindling that Oreo would survive on her own. No tracks had been seen in the fresh snow, and all were beginning to think that after five weeks on the lam, Oreo had succumbed to the brutal winter. It was such a sad feeling.

But Christmas is a time for miracles, and we must all remember, miracles do happen!

Cocker Spaniel Resources, the cocker rescue of Hudson, was notified on Dec. 22, almost six weeks after the dog escaped, that a female cocker spaniel had been captured by a maintenance crew in Rochester.

Jill (the foster mom) and Joan, her sister who had aided in the search, came to my office, and in Jill’s arms was “Oreo.” She was skinny (she lost six pounds) and dirty, with burdocks in her coat but “she is alive.”

What a testament it is to the Cocker Spaniel Resources group that never gave up on finding their lost “lamb.” Bless Jan DeCraene (town of Troy) and others for all they did.

Monday, I saw with my own eyes a true Christmas miracle, and that miracle breathed and blinked her eyes. If you are having a bad day, going through some difficulty or just need an ounce of hope to cling to, remember this. One sad little lost dog changed many lives forever this holiday season.

Tags: opinion, hudson, dog, search, oreo