My beloved Roxy is gone for another night. She isn't with me and I can't stop thinking about her. My heart is heavy and I ache. I am still numb and I don't know how to stop going.
I just know I haven't done everything I can. Over the last 4 days I have frantically done everything you can do to find a lost pet. I think we indirectly made this happen. See Roxy and Zeus get out under the fence a lot. They love it back there. We call them they come back. We knew we had to finally do something, so we blocked the exit. Roxy found a new spot to squeeze through. I think she got out, but Zeus couldn't follow her, but then she couldn't get back in the new hole. She must have waited for a while.
We were not home, just our Nanny. She didn't realize Roxy was missing. We got home about 30 minutes later, and by 45 minutes we were searching. She could not have been out for longer then 45 minutes before we started searching for her. But by then she wandered off to find a new way back and got lost, and {we think} someone picked her up....so this is what we have done.
- We spent a cumulative of 20 hours walking our greenbelts, driving around calling her name
- I posted on Craigslist, HomeAgaian, PetHarbor, FindToto, and PetAmberAlter
- for 3 days reverse phone calls were made to homes in a 20, 30, then 65 mile radius
- faxes of my fliers were sent to over 45 animal rescues, hospitals, vets, shelters, groups, clinics, and foster homes in the Austin Area
- I put ads on Facebook and the newspaper (Thank you Valerie)
- I have placed her poster/.flyer/picture on every local Facebook page I can think of
- posted to all Austin Boston Groups
- I call 311 (animal services) every day, three times a day
- Made in person visits to the Shelters
- the HOA did send a Lost Pet email alert (more on that later)
- 1,250 fliers have been made and in process of being passed out to homes, cars, local business, posted in bathrooms, food trucks, schools, day cares, nail salons, coffee shops
- i've spent hours staring at the back fence begging for her to come home
I have to thank so many people who have helped me in my search so far: Mom, Dad Bob, Dan, Valerie, Tiffany, Alyse another BT mommy, Ryan, my neighbors Lori & Matt, David, Austin and Jodi, The Sweeneys, Ruth, Nathalie , Sarah, Mark and puppy Jules, Carolina and Donnie, Thw Quinns on their bikes, The Allen's, The Pottichen's, The Ebeiers + Raj, all the volunteers that I don't know who also have been patrolling for Roxy. Everyone who has re-posted my posters on Facebook, retweeted my messages, emailed my fliers to their friends and family. Everyone who has "liked" FindRoxy. Everyone who has physically taped posters to dog poop stations, park benches, all the trail entrances, light posts, car windshields, all the local businesses. Yesterday I uped the reward to $1,000. Still no sign of her.
It hasn't been easy. On Friday I caught the HOA red handed tearing down my signs. I but I kept putting them back up. So did my team of helpers.
Friday night I was emotionally drained and crushed. I was working with a local Texas "pet rescuer" who referred me to this:
guy who tracks Pets with their scent and he is in Dallas. He may come to Austin."
I called the number and there was no voicemail. 10 minutes later he called me. Apparently she contacted him for me. {now I think she was in on it too}We talked, but he was actually profiling me, judging how much he could take me for. I believed him. He was so convincing. I knew his "team of bloodhounds" would find Roxy and I gave him my heart. I sent money Western Union and waited. I never heard from him again. With him, my hopes were crushed. Not only did I waste hours waiting for them, but I lost precious time trying to find Roxy.
Saturday I had to regroup. We spent more time searching for her, posting, handing out fliers. I had beautiful posters made up and I posted them up and down the street. I found the "hoa minions" tearing them down. We had a confrontation in the middle of the street. Me hysterical. Them running to tell the HOA about what I am doing. At the Holiday bazaar, I stomped in on "The Which of SR HOA" and defiantly posted fliers all over the front door to the HOA. I screamed at her (in front of lots of staring people, mind you) that she was evil and who could she tear them down.
She stood there in her fat mom jeans, and terrible 1980 haircut, and I knew this is all she had and how sad her life must be. BUT i still told her she was rude, in bed with the developers, and completely inconsiderate. I told the HOA that they are a joke of an HOA and that I am ashamed to live here. I also told her she needed to actually try to help the home owners in Steiner rather than be a barrier. I told her I will continue to post fliers everyday until Roxy comes home. Then I went home. 20 minutes later the cops showed up. She actually called the Sheriff on me. UN. F-ing. Believable.
I turned it on the cops and told them that now I feel threatened, and harassed by my HOAHOA has to waste tax dollars and $$ to call the cops on me, someone who just wants to get her dog back. So I had to re-strategize.
During this time I also found a K9PI named Karin. She must have felt sorry for me when I was sobbing on the phone about "Claude the bastard Pet Tracker" that she helped me. But she was on her way to St. Louis for an assignment. So I searched for a reputable Pet Search specialist and I found Bonnie Hale. She came to my rescue early Sunday. Her and Murphy, her tracking dog went out in search of Roxy. My only rule was that if she found a body I didn't want to know about it. There was a false start tracking a different scent, and then we think Murphy picked up Roxy's trail 2 times. If this was the case, then Roxy has been all over the neighborhood! that little rascal.
The best assumption is that Roxy is not alive out in the green belt and hurt, there was no signs of decomposition or a new body. That she must have been taken. Either at the corner of QPR and BSO or inside our own development, just a block away.
Bonnie left with a lot of tips for me to do - basically now I have to make sure everyone knows that Roxy is mine and missing. This is when we upped the reward to $1000. I had 2 friends even offer to double it for me. I can not being to tell you how amazing, thoughtful, and incredible that offer is. But no, we can't take it. I spent the rest of Sunday staring out the window, waiting for Roxy.
I took today (Monday) off to make more signs. I placed these on the entrance in and out of SR. I also put them at four points intersection and along 620. I hired sign spinners who start tomorrow.
Then karin, the K9PI called me today. She was back on assignment and got my text from Sunday and wanted to see how I was doing. We talked. She said, I cost $2500. I can either come to Austin, or you can up the ante and make someone give her up, turn on their neighbors, and get Roxy back. So we are starting all over again. I have 25 signs to hang/post tomorrow and three 2ft by 4f banners to post in the 3 ways out of the area. I hope by tomorrow afternoon EVERYONE will know that ROXY is mine, missing, and desperately wanted. Our new reward is $2500. And here are the new fliers and banners. These will debut tomorrow.
I will get her back.
