When Jo Klitzke of Alberta, a customer of ours at DogQuality.com and a senior dog owner, shared this heart warming story we just had to post it (with her permission of course). Losing a dog is traumatic, add factors such as being a senior dog with bad hearing, plus the wilderness, and you have a heart-wrenching experience.

Here is Sammy’s story by Jo Klitzke

Every year we go out to Kananaskis on a family/friends camping trip and rent a group campground. As these are far from any roads, we all let our dogs loose and they love it.

This year we rented Pinegrove B group camp (where my husband & I were married 7 years ago). It is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and in the middle of nowhere.

We have 2 beagles (8 & 10 years old) and a Shitzu Bichon - Sammy (12 years old). We lost track of the beagles so we were calling for them. Sammy must have been following one of us. When we found the beagles, she may have been sniffing at something - who knows, but when we got the beagles tied up we realized that Sam was gone. She must have wandered off in the direction she thought we took. We had noticed in the last few weeks that her hearing was going.

This was Friday night around 10 p.m. We had 25 people (plus dogs) out looking for our little “Muffin”. We looked until around midnight, then called off the search.

We started searching again at 8 the next morning. People were walking for miles, and others were on bicycles. I drove to the next campground around 1 p.m., Sibbald Lake, because I knew there was a manager there, to report her missing. He said that a man had come around 10 a.m. & had found a small
tan coloured dog on the road. The man drove around the campground but no one had a dog missing, so he told the manager that he was going to turn the dog into the SPCA.

I drove back to our campground & told everybody what I’d heard & my husband & I drove up to highway 1 to get cell phone reception. We called Calgary Humane Society, Cochrane H.S., Bow Valley, Big Horn, Canmore…..but no luck.

We basically gave up the search because we thought that we would locate her Sunday or Monday at one of these locations. I cried most of the weekend, thinking that a predator may have gotten her. She is terrified of thunder and we had it both nights that she was gone.

Sunday we called all the agencies again, and nothing. We were devastated.

Monday I called and still nothing. I registered her on Pet Lynx on the internet and anywhere else I could think of. I placed an ad on kijiji, and even paid extra for her to be featured on their home page and the top of the category. Once I did that, I thought I should look through the ads that were placed, and lo and behold, someone had found a small dog running down the road in the middle of nowhere in Kananaskis Saturday night!

That confused me, because the campground manager said the man had found a dog Saturday morning at 10. Anyway, I replied with her description, then started to shake. I called my husband & daughter and they both were a bit skeptical because of the time line. I sat in front of my computer, but nothing, so I went out and did some yard work for 1/2 hour.

When I came back to the computer, I had a reply, but it didn’t sound like our Sammy, so I sent a picture and more details of where we were when we lost her. I asked if I could drive down to Calgary & see if it was our “Muffin” and gave my phone number.

2 minutes later, Amy Williams called me & said “I think I have your puppy”. I told her it was my birthday the next day and if it was Sammy, it would be the best birthday present I had ever had.

Amy, her husband Steve, and 2 year old daughter Kayla were visiting friends at the Sibbald Lake campground Saturday night. Amy was going to have one more cup of tea before they headed home but something told her that they had to get going NOW. She was driving very slowly down highway 68 looking everywhere. Steve asked her what she was looking for and she said “I don’t know!”

It’s about 12:45 Sunday morning and Amy spots a little dog running down the road. Steve got out of the car and Sammy flew into his arms. Her collar was tattered and she was covered in pine sap. They immediately drove back to their friend’s camp site to give Sammy water, the headed home, & stopped at a 24 hour place to pick up some dog food. The next day they bought her a new collar, leash and dog shampoo. They had her all cleaned up and she mostly slept and drank.

We live an hour north west of Calgary, and I loaded my beagles into the truck and headed down. I stopped at the bank in Carstairs to get some cash to give Amy a reward, and several people in Carstairs honked and stopped me to congratulate me on finding Sammy. Apparently my daughter had posted it on Facebook!

When I got to Amy’s place, she was sitting on her lawn with Kayla and my Muffin!

We cried and hugged, and when Amy adamantly refused any money, she hugged me and whispered “Happy Birthday”.

Since then we have become good friends. They came to visit last weekend and Sammy was so excited to see them. She sat on Steve’s lap most of the time.

Thank God for the angels in this world.

I wanted to share an article from The Province that we were very fortunate to be involved in. We have already received so many calls from relieved Canadians who have older dogs and have been looking for help. I can’t tell you enough how great it feels to be able to help so many people and so many senior dogs here in Canada and globally (we also received some inquiries from Europe as a result of the article).

Anyways here is an excerpt:

Geriatric care is going to the dogs

ruff justice: Entrepreneur taps our feelings of responsibility towards old hounds

By Paul Luke, The Province August 4, 2009

Get along little doggies — you’re being offered a new leash on life.

Vancouver entrepreneur Ann-Marie Fleming is in the vanguard of a North American business pack that has caught the scent of an opportunity helping older canines.

Fleming owns Dog Quality Enterprises, an online site selling gear for dogs in their golden years.

Her site — www.DogQuality.com — sells products ranging from wheelchairs to strollers to diapers to ramps.

Ann-Marie Fleming with Mackenzie, her 13-year-old pug, outside their home in Vancouver. Fleming owns Dog Quality Enterprises, a Vancouver-based firm selling specialty gear for older dogs. Photograph by: Arlen Redekop, The Province

Want a step covered in a jaguar-skin print that helps your dog climb and boosts his aging ego (imagine the thrill of tramping over a fearsome jungle cat’s hide)? Fleming has one for $94.95.

Need dog chakra healing stones to promote harmony within your best friend’s greying muzzle? Fleming will sell you a set for $15.95.

“Dogs love us unconditionally and do everything in their power to make us happy and take care of us,” says Fleming, 38. “When they’re in need, it’s our responsibility to do the same for them.”

The global market for geriatric devices is going to the dogs. Medical advances in diagnosis and treatment that have prolonged human life are also extending dogs’ days.

Nearing the end of those days, dogs may fall prey to the same ailments — bad backs, gimpy joints, arthritis, incontinence — that plague older humans.

“The world is a much safer place for dogs and cats than it was 40 years ago, as we see fewer animals getting sick from contagious diseases or being hit by cars,” says Dr. James Lawson, chief animal health officer with the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“The majority of animals are living longer and you’re running into geriatric problems more and more.”

Dr. Jeff Grognet, president of the B.C. Veterinary Medical Association, says the growing demand for geriatric devices reflects an evolution in the pet-people relationship.

Read the Full Article on Senior Dog Care ( http://www.theprovince.com/life/Geriatric+care+going+dogs/1854297/story.html )

Ann-Marie Fleming is the Founder of www.DogQuality.com, a site focused on products that help older dogs enjoy life.