Fur Babies

Come Home Abbey and Oxford 

January 2016 

Thursday, January 21st 

I ran home today from school with one thing on my mind... My 4 mile run for my half marathon training program. Chris always has tutoring after school on Thursdays and does not get home until about 6:30PM and I am always on my own for feeding the kids, bathing them and getting them ready for bed. This is a routine we do each Thursday but this Thursday my miles were bigger than previous weeks so I knew it was going to be a hustle and draining. I had no idea how draining it would actually be. 

I got on the treadmill and did my 4 miles then showered and began to cook dinner for the kids. All the while Luke kept asking to let the dogs in so they could play with them. I usually do not let the dogs in with just the kids while I am running as the dogs usually play around and get into things and I wanted to be available for this process. I cooked the kids dinner, they ate it (taking 20-30 minutes) and we even unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher before I agreed to let the dogs inside the house. I was a VERY windy day and when I opened the back door to let them in they were not there. I called for them and looked and looked with no luck. Then I turned to the east side of the house and noticed our gate was open. I knew they had gotten out and I had to act fast to find them as the sun would go down in 20-30 minutes. I got shoes on the kids and we got in the car. I immediately called my mother-in-law Jackie who lives in our subdivision and asked her to help us look for the dogs. In the meantime, Chris was stuck in traffic coming home from tutorials. 

The kids and I looked and looked through the neighborhood and the sun went down and never saw them. We asked neighbors and LITERALLY drove down EVERY street in our subdivision and even surrounding neighborhoods. Abbey and Oxford are beagles and Abbey is especially prone to just follow her nose and a scent she picks up so I knew they could be ANYWHERE. 

Chris made it home by 6:30PM and he looked and drove around in his car while the kids and I were in my car. We called out their names and had flashlights looking around each of the houses. Around 7:15PM Jackie offered to take the kids home and bathe them and get them ready for bed while Chris and I made one more trip around the neighborhood. Chris and I stayed out until about 9PM and then turned in for the night just hoping and praying the dogs were OK and not lost or worse. 

After we came home I posted a photo of the dogs on our neighborhood Facebook page and within minutes I got replies that people had seen them running around the neighborhood. Time ranging from 5:15 to 6:00PM but no one noticed them after 6PM. This gave me a little hope. 

Friday, January 22nd 

On Friday morning, I woke up and called my principal to ask if I could be a little late to wait for daylight so I could look for them again. She was VERY UNDERSTANDING and I am incredibly grateful to her for her kindness. I got the kids some kolaches and then made a few drives through the neighborhood... we spent over an hour and nothing. We left for school all with heavy hearts and I was crying the whole 15 mile/ 20 minute commute. Natalie was very optimistic and said "mommy, they will come back. Let's Pray". So we spent the next few moments praying about their safety and return. 

During my planning time I came back home to post signs and flyers all over the neighborhood and to go to the local animal shelter and see if they were picked up and dropped off there. Jackie knew I was coming and met me there which was very sweet. They mentioned at the front that they had an older beagle which let me get my hopes up but as we walked to the back of the facility I realized it was not Abbey or Oxford. My heart just sank. 

I made my way back to school to eat lunch with Natalie as I do often on Fridays. Again, her hopes were high and she just knew they were out there. I on the other hand was facing the reality that they might be gone FOREVER. Abbey was a wedding gift from Chris and she was coming up on her 10th birthday as we are coming up on our 10 year wedding anniversary. Chris got her for me the day after we returned from our honeymoon in London and we appropriately named her Abbey after the Westminster Abbey, which was our favorite attraction we saw while on our honeymoon. It was a real emotional day and became harder as the hours passed. 

At the end of the day a teacher friend told me I should be sure to post a LARGE sign in the front of the subdivision as well as the other flyers I had put on the community mailboxes. On our way home, the kids and I stopped at Walmart to get the stakes and "garage sale" style signs to post at the front. We made it home just in time to post them at 5:30PM for a few minutes of daylight. Chris and I both were not optimistic but Natalie sure was. 

We ate dinner and continued our Friday night as usual and around 6:15PM we got a phone call from a man who had picked up Abbey and Oxford on Thursday evening around 6PM at the very front of the subdivision. He said they were just sniffing and running around but were getting close to the State Highway 242 and he worried they would get hurt so he picked them up in his truck and took him to his home where he had 2 dogs of his own. He told Chris that Abbey actually snapped at him when he tried to get her in his truck but the rest of the time they were very pleasant. This sweet and generous man took these stray dogs into his home, fed them and even walked them for us. What a good Samaritan and a true example of God's mercy. 

We got Abbey and oxford back and became a happy family of SIX again! I truly thought I had lost them both and it was so heartbreaking. Abbey is older and has seizures daily so I knew she was not going to make it much longer but I always knew I would have Oxford there when she did pass. This was almost unbearable as they would BOTH be gone. But in the midst of this storm I tried to Praise God and thank him for the 10 amazing years we had with them and for the joy they brought Chris and I and our kids. I also thanked God for the amazing FAITH my 6 year old had during the whole thing. I tried to keep the faith and trust God. I kept singing the familiar tune "God is in Control". This song got me through many trails in my life and kept me going through this trial too. 

This is no time for fear

This is the time for faith and determination

Don't lose the vision here carried away by the motion

Hold on to all that you hide in your heart

There is one thing that has always been true

It holds the world together

God is in control

We believe that His children will not be forsaken

God is in control

We will choose to remember and never be shaken

There is no power above or beside Him, we know

Oh, God is in control, oh God is in control

History marches on

There is a bottom line drawn across the ages

Culture can make its plan oh, but the line never changes

No matter how the deception may fly

There is one thing that has always been true

It will be true forever

God is in control

We believe that His children will not be forsaken

God is in control

We will choose to remember and never be shaken

There is no power above or beside Him, we know

Oh, God is in control, oh God is in control

He has never let you down

Why start to worry now?

Why start to worry now?

He is still the Lord of all we see

And He is still the loving Father

Watching over you and me

Watching over you, watching over me

Watching over every thing

Watching over you, watching over me

Every little sparrow, every little thing

Oh, every little thing, oh

God is in control

We believe that His children will not be forsaken

God is in control

We will choose to remember and never be shaken

There is no power above or beside Him, we know

Oh, God is in control, oh God is in control

Oh God is in control

Oh God is in control

God is in Control and knew that situation before it even began. Thank you Lord for bringing our fur babies home and for helping us get through this struggle by bringing your word to our minds and wonderful words of Praise. Thank You Jesus, once again, for answering our prayers.

Oxford... I love this little guy so much! The thought of losing him AND Abbey was just too much!

My Abbey... The most perfect gift from Chris nearly 10 years ago.
I know her time is coming but I was NOT ready! 

Thank you Jesus for bringing my FUR BABIES back! 

God is good... All the time!