On Saturday, July 18, 2009, Kathie took me to the veterinary clinic for boarding. Her & Ronnie were to depart that evening for Portland, OR ~ Reno, NV ~Las Vegas, NV (where they were to pick up Kenny from the airport) ~ Temecula, CA. From there Kathie was to fly from Ontario, CA to Phoenix, AZ to visit with her son (Eric) and then fly to Portland, OR and return home. Ronnie was to stay in Temecula for the remainder of the week and return Kenny to the Las Vegas airport and then drive home.

After Kathie dropped me off I decided I wasn’t having any of this, I was out of here. Kathie went to work and received a call from the clinic that I had escaped within two hours. I had cleared a six foot fence, a five foot fence and a three foot fence to perform my getaway. I took off in high gear through an open field. The clinic owner said he had never seen a more athletic dog in all his years in the business. Well, they have never dealt with Kona before.

I headed for the woods ignoring all those attempting to dissuade my escape, but I was not to be deterred, that bunch couldn’t catch a wounded slug.  Kathie and Ronnie went in search of me as well as all the clinic staff but they must have been looking in the wrong place, I didn’t hear them. At one point Kathie spotted me off Harms Road but I was on a mission and did not know it was Kathie. I was spotted in the woods by a staff member but decided not respond. I figured they would just take me back to the same place and I would just have to escape again. Everyone searched the entire day but could not find me. A local resident told Kathie & Ronnie that I bolted past his place on the road in full gallop, I was just warming up. Kathie & Ronnie went home at sunset. The clinic owners went out several times up until midnight.

The search continued the following day (Sunday, July 19^th). Kathie & Ronnie had cancelled all their plans, hotels and flights. The clinic owner and Ronnie went into the woods on a quad equipped with my blanket and food. They set that out in the woods and would check from time to time to see if I had eaten. As Ronnie headed for home he saw me running across an open field, but I didn’t see him and by the time he got turned around, I was gone. Kathie & Ronnie later questioned people in the area and a young man told them he observed me running down the shoulder on Highway 12.  A car honked at me and I took off up a road toward a goat farm. The woman owning the goat farm told the clinic owner that she saw me run through her property toward Salkum Heights.

This changed the area of everyone’s search. They scoured the area but had no luck. The clinic owner checked the food that they had set out but it hadn’t been touched. This area was a huge concern to everyone as there was evidence of black bear in the woods, cougar sightings and coyotes. Another concern was the busy week end traffic on highway 12. On several occasions Ronnie went out on his Harley as I always came to greet him when I heard it. They constantly used the whistle I have been trained to respond to with no response.

The following day (Monday, July 20th) as hope was waning; Kathie told Ronnie she heard barking in the woods behind their house in the direction of the goat farm. Ronnie took Kathie’s car into that area and continued the search. He stopped at the goat farm and talked to the lady there. She said that she had seen me the evening before but not since. She described me as a chocolate lab with a blue collar and a pink tag.  That’s me alright. As Ronnie was talking to the lady I thought I heard him and began to bark. Both Ronnie and the lady heard me. Ronnie got the whistle out of the car and used that and began calling my name. Ronnie could hear barking coming from the nearby woods and told the lady that he was sure that it was me. He called Kathie and she said she could hear the whistle and the barking from the house. She also said that she was sure it was me. Ronnie called the clinic owner and asked him if he could bring the Quad up and through the woods in search of me. As he was talking to him the lady said “there she is”. I came hobbling over wagging my tail and jumped into the car. Ronnie called Kathie to tell her he had me in the car and listened to her scream over the phone in celebration.

When we got home Kathie called the vet and she said she would come over and check me out and bring some antibiotics and pain meds.

I had worn my foot pads down and suffered some barb wire injuries and was scraped up by bushes. The vet said that I was in very good shape considering what I had been through. I was hungry and thirsty but so happy to be home. They fed me and fixed me a cheese burger.

That evening our dear friends and next door neighbors (Carol & Stephenie) came over for a celebration dinner. I love Carol & Stephenie. Life is good.