Rants and Chants

(The following is based on an interview with Malcolm and LaVerne Stiles, my uncle and aunt.)

Back in early November, my Uncle Malcolm and Aunt LaVerne were outside doing yard work one afternoon, accompanied by their twelve-year-old West Highland Terrier, or Westie, named Kipper. My aunt and uncle live on several wooded acres on a rural road halfway between Saratoga Springs and Schuylerville, NY. On a nearby property, someone was engaged in target practice and the sound of the shots being fired made Kipper skittish. Seeking to get away from the noise, Kipper headed off toward my uncle’s other neighbors. My aunt watched him head off as he stopped and looked back at her for a moment — but there was little concern because Kipper had a routine of visiting the neighbor and would come right back.

When they finished their yard work, however, Kipper had not returned. My uncle began searching the woods and called neighbors, but no one had seen Kipper. Having been trimmed earlier that day, he wasn’t wearing his collar, complicating the chances that anyone would know where to return him. With the night growing cold, Malcolm and LaVerne began to suspect that Kipper was lost. There was a real possibility that he had encountered a fox or wolf in the area. In the days that followed, with no sign of Kipper returning, an all-out effort to find their missing pet was underway. They phoned the local animal control officer, the shelters, and nearly every veterinarian listed in the local phone directory. Flyers were printed up and placed in over 200 nearby mailboxes. Their eldest daughter filled out a missing dog report. They received some phone calls, but none that were promising; many people did not really know what a Westie was.

Some weeks later, when they got a new Dell computer and an Internet account, Malcolm suggested trying the Internet to either search for Kipper or announce that he was lost. LaVerne had her doubts; it seems you can append a .com to most any word or common phrase these days and find a Website ready to serve. Malcolm tried lostpets.com and began searching. Not finding any dog matching Kipper’s description, Malcolm posted the details of Kipper’s disappearance on lostpets.com. In the meantime, they kept up their other efforts to find Kipper.

Early on, an impression was left on La Verne’s mind. After telling of Kipper’s disappearance to her sister-in-law, her response was, “Don’t worry, Kipper is a miracle waiting to happen.” The weeks, however, soon wore on without any sign of where Kipper had gone. Sadly, LaVerne was coming to terms with the loss and had thrown out Kipper’s old food & other reminders. She had thoughts of finding Kipper in the springtime, after the snow thawed, if at all.

On Tuesday, January 8, Malcolm and LaVerne received yet another message on their answering machine. “Hello, this is Mark, and I’m calling in regards your White West Highland Terrier,” left both his home and cell phone numbers, and ended his message, “Be sure to call me.” When Malcolm saw that the phone number was from the 845 area code, he was suspicious; Malcolm and LaVerne live in the 518 area code, a considerable distance away. Nevertheless, he called the man back.

On the phone, Mark began by asking Malcolm some questions about the proximity of Malcolm’s home from certain locations. After Malcolm answered a few other leading questions, the man said, “Well, that sounds about right. Why I’m asking is because I’m a truck driver and I believe I have your dog.”

Mark lives in Vail’s Gate, New York, and he drives a tractor-trailer truck for 1-800-MATTRESS (their slogan is “Leave off the last S for Savings.”) Vail’s Gate is roughly 130 miles from Malcolm’s home. The night that Kipper got lost, Mark and a co-worker were driving along Rt. 29, not far from Malcolm and LaVerne’s house. As Mark was driving along, his partner called out “Westie.”

“Yes, we are heading west,” Mark said, not understanding.

“No, a dog, a Westie, we almost hit it.”

Mark and his partner pulled over and walked back to look for the dog. They found him back up in the woods alongside the road, unhurt, but apparently lost. Unable to locate an owner at any nearby houses, Mark decided to take the dog home, where he could take care of it until he could find the owner.

Even though Malcolm had reported Kipper missing to the local police, when Mark called them, they told him they had no reports of a small white dog being missing. Although they had not decided to keep the dog, Mark and his family took him to the vet to make sure he had a check-up and all of his vaccinations. Mark’s son had named the dog George. Mark’s son named all of his toys and stuffed animals George. They bought George a new collar, dog bed, and Mark’s wife began knitting George a sweater.

Mark and his wife owned a computer, but it was out for repairs at the time that Mark found George. It wasn’t until the computer came back in January that Mark’s wife was finally able to pursue the search for George’s owners online. When she did, she went to lostpets.com and typed in Westie, then hit Search. She quickly found Malcolm and LaVerne’s page, complete with a description matching George and a location near where Mark had found him, and the date that Kipper was lost exactly matched with Mark finding George.

Having confirmed that Malcolm lived not far from where he had found George, Mark asked Malcolm, “What’s your dog’s name?”

“Kipper.”

“Oh, Kipper,” Mark said, and Malcolm heard an immediate scratch-scratch-scratch on the other end of the phone.

Malcolm suggested, “Ask him if he wants to go for a ride.” For Kipper, this question would have extra meaning, because Malcolm and LaVerne would not only take Kipper for rides in the car, but on their bicycles, as well.

As soon as Mark asked Kipper if he wanted to go for a ride, Malcolm heard Kipper scratching and getting excited.

“When do you want him back?” Mark asked.

Knowing 130 miles separated them, Malcolm suggested, “This weekend?”

“How about tonight?”

They agreed to meet halfway, at a Hess station in Saugerties, exit 20 on the New York State Thruway around 7:30 that evening.

When Malcolm and LaVerne entered the Hess station parking lot, Mark had not yet arrived, but they waited anxiously watched for Mark’s van. Soon it became obvious when a white van approached them. He, his wife and children got outo of the van and surrendered Kipper. Kipper instantly recognized Malcolm and LaVerne. Mark and his wife had brought along George’s bed. LaVerne made note of the fact that Kipper even smelled nice. Mark’s wife was very emotional. One of her friends had told her not to give up the dog. Before parting, Malcolm gave her a big hug. It was a tearful encounter.

After two months, four days, and 260 miles of traveling, Kipper is finally home. Miracles do indeed happen.

Kipper