West Vancouver - Dear Editor: On the morning of Dec. 10 our two-year-old Bernese mountain dog Hudson spooked during a walk, escaped from his leash and ran away from his dog walker.
West Vancouver - Dear Editor: On the morning of Dec. 10 our two-year-old Bernese mountain dog Hudson spooked during a walk, escaped from his leash and ran away from his dog walker. It was nobody's fault, but what started as a routine walk quickly turned into a dangerous and scary situation. This is a letter of heartfelt thanks to the many, many people who helped search for Hudson over the next 26 hours and without whom we would not have had a happy ending to this Christmas tale. This is what happened. Hudson was lost at Welch Street and Bowser Avenue. We were able to track him for a short while but then lost him. We were sick with worry when we called North Shore Rescue and asked if they could help. With generosity that we will always remember, they posted Hudson's story and picture on their Facebook page and asked for people to call in with sightings.People started to respond and we managed to pick up his trail again. People weren't just posting on Facebook though. On a day and night of torrential rain, people came out in cars, on foot, with their own dogs, with head lamps and flashlights to help in the search. Many were people we had never even met.On Thursday morning around 10 a.m. someone posted to the NSRFacebook page that Hudson had been seen on Ridgewood Drive in Edgemont Village. Amazingly, he had travelled through the night and somehow made it across many busy streets, including the highway overpass at Fell Avenue, and was now kilometres away from where he first bolted. The whole crew of friends and strangers converged in the area. People walking their dogs, construction workers, posties, surveyors and pedestrians, each one who was approached was, without fail, willing to help.It was the most extraordinary feeling to experience the generous support of so many people.Hudson was finally found and jumped into my van and into my lap. That was one hundred pounds of happy, wet, tired, scared dog licking my face.It was a moment of happiness and relief and it would never have happened without the assistance of the folks at NSR and all the wonderful, kind generous people who came out to help us.We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this very special Christmas gift - the return of our dog.Yours in gratitude.Charlotte Fekete and familyWest Vancouver
