The Story of Us: Blessed

{Here's the story of Zoe getting lost last night}

Last night, something awful happened. Zoe was with Lance at his shop in south Provo. Zoe is Lance's little buddy and goes with him everywhere. It was night time, and Lance was helping people while keeping an eye on Zoe. She's very used to being out and about and if she walks off, she always comes right back. Lance said he remembers Zoe chasing a moth... and the next thing he knew, she was gone... and didn't come back this time.

Right away, Lance called me and asked if I could come help look for her. Um, YES. Zoe is one of my most favorite things on this planet. I was heart broken finding out she was lost. Poor little Zoe. She's an adventurous thing and loves being out and about. She knows better to go far... but she obviously got distracted and got a little lost. Eventually Nick was driving around in his car helping too. We were driving up and down neighborhoods close to the shop, asking people if they'd seen Zoe... calling out her name and whistling. I must have yelled her name 5 million times last night. My dear friend Kristi and her husband came down from Orem to drive around and look for her too. I was so grateful! So sweet of them.

So, 5 different cars looking for Zoe, from 8 pm till midnight.... and still no luck. I was still hopeful, but so devastated thinking she might really be gone. We called the animal shelter and asked them to call us if they found an Aussie. Ashley posted ads on Craigslist and KSL. Still... no luck. Zoe is such a friendly dog and she loves people, so I couldn't help but wonder if someone took her inside? I liked to hold onto that thought instead of wondering if she got hit by a car... or a train... ( we were VERY close to the RR tracks and lots of trains passed in those 4 hours of looking for Zoe.) I hated those thoughts, so I stuck with the thought that someone must have her. They MUST! She was no where to be found.

Zoe is one of the smartest dogs I know. Australian Shepherds are known for their intelligence. Lance kept thinking she was trying to find her way home. Their actual home is probably 10 miles from the shop, though. I was wondering if this would be another "Homeward Bound" moment because I had all the faith in the world that Zoe could find her way back home... even if she was on the other side of town. I drove to Home Depot ( not that far from the shop - Lance takes her there often!) I kept checking the dealership to see if she came back... and I checked Smiths where the sno cone shack is. She knows that place too. Still.. no Zoe. I passed Ashley, Lance and Nick a few times wandering up and down the dark streets of Provo. It was quite heart breaking that she was out there somewhere... missing.

Zoe is VERY special to Lance and Ashley. They treat her like a human and Zoe acts like one. They have a very special bond with little Zoe, as do I. I really love this dog... she's practically mine too. I love her oh so much. My parents were even heart broken. My mom said they both felt like there was a death in the family or something. They both love Zoe and they know how special she is to us. My dad was even looking at tickets to fly up to help us look for her! I have such amazing parents. My mom then told me that we better take good care of ourselves and our children, b/c my parents wouldn't be able to handle such a tragedy!

I finally came home around midnight, feeling so defeated. It broke my heart knowing she was out there somewhere, and we had no idea where she could be! I said lots of prayers and I was still trying to be hopeful. Lance slept at the dealership in the garage and left the door open, hoping Zoe would come in during the night. He said he woke up every half hour to get up and look around for her. Ashley slept at home with their sliding glass door open (scary) hoping Zoe would come in as well. I woke up a few times during the night and opened the front door hoping she would be there in front of my door... she knows my apartment and I don't live far from the shop. Still... no Zoe anywhere.

This morning, I woke up, and got flyers from Ashley. She was at work and Lance had to go to work in Salt Lake. Nick was in school. I was left to hang up flyers alone... I was wanting SO bad to hurry and find Zoe, I just think me hanging up flyers alone wouldn't cut it. Luckily, 2 sweet girls ( Megan from school and Lori, my Visiting Teaching companion) helped me hang them up! They've never even met Zoe. I just thought that was SO sweet and selfless of them to help me. I know such wonderful people! We were hung up about 300 flyers... and about 2 hours into it... I got a phone call from Ashley:

"Heather... The shelter has Zoe! They found her!"

That was probably my most favorite phone call of the year. What a relief!!

I quickly drove down to Spanish Fork to get the little bebe. Lance met me down there. We had to go back to "identify" the dog to make sure she was ours. I felt like I was visiting her in Jail or something. We walked back there... ( it was VERY un nerving, because there was still a chance it wasn't her...) we got to her cage, and sure enough... it was Zoe. She looked awful! Just filthy as ever! She looked sad! She was SO excited to see us, she could barely contain herself. Lance gave her a treat through the bars ( she LOVES treats) and she wouldn't even eat it. She just wanted out of there. It was SUCH a relief to see her again!

After about 20 minutes of paper work and such, we were finally able to get her out of there! You can tell she had a LONG night and was so glad to see us again. She was so cuddly when we got home... she just wanted to snuggle and sleep. She was exhausted. She wanted us to hold her paws and just be by her. I think she hated being alone all night long. :/ Poor thing.

After so many personal prayers, prayers with Nick, prayers from my dear friends... we were able to find her. I know 100% that this was the Lord's doing. You might think it's silly all the emotions we've had over the past 24 hours... but the Lord loves his little animals too. We were just one of the lucky ones that actually got her back. I know that the Lord was very mindful of our prayers and little Zoe. I'm so grateful He answered our prayers.

{where was she picked up at?}

The shelter told us that a lady brought her in this morning. The lady was worried about her and felt best to just bring her to the shelter. ( I'm SO thankful to this woman whoever she is.) The funny thing is.... Zoe was found right in front of LANCE'S SHOP. ( No one was at the shop yet, and Lance had already gone home.) She came back! She's such a smart little puppy. I knew she would find her way back.

{amazing people}

Lance, Ashley, Nick, and I are in AWE at the wonderful people in this world! First of all... we really appreciate your kind comments and prayers. Thank you SO much! Not only are our friends wonderful... but random people we met last night looking for Zoe. One little family in particular. There was a woman outside, so I pulled over and asked her if she'd seen our dog. She quickly got up and seemed so worried about it. She was so wonderful. She called her 16 yr old son outside and asked him if he'd seen Zoe. She then knocked on her neighbor's door asking him. I found out she was from North Texas as well. Such a sweet lady. She got my phone number and told me she would help us look for her. She called me a few times last night asking me if we'd found her yet. I thought that was SO sweet. ( wait, it gets better.) This morning, I was handing out flyers... and I see this kid on a skateboard. It was the boy from last night! I asked him if he'd seen Zoe, and he said no. I handed him some flyers, and he hung them up with us. Later, his mom called me and asked if we had any luck... I told her we found Zoe... and she was so relieved. She then told me that her son was out ALL morning on his skateboard looking for Zoe. He was looking for her when I saw him that morning! How sweet is that?!

I am just truly grateful for people like that. WOW. They had never even MET Zoe and they were so worried about her. I love people like that. Wouldn't the Savior be that way? I think so. I want to be more that way. That was so selfless of them and so kind. I pray the lord blesses that little family for their selfless deed. So kind.

What a blessing, we have our Zoe back. She's home, safe and sound! Lance is definitely getting a collar for her ( the kind with the GPS in it... haha) and she got a chip put in her today, so if she gets lost again, her information will pop up. Hard lesson learned, but we're just grateful she's HOME. :)

Zoe