Just Another Work Day For a LDI Volunteer in Capturing a Lost Dog

Peyton sees his Mom.

Peyton sees his Mom.

As I’m walking out of work late tonight, a scared and hesitant dog dragging a leash comes trotting past my car into the pet safe parking lot.. I was still in the distance and trying not to approach to quickly in fear she would bolt into traffic, feeling cornered. A security guard was able to get close enough slowly and grab her leash. We were cautious and didn’t chase her as much as it was instinctive to do so.. the biggest lesson I learned from volunteering for Lost Dogs Illinois: Do NOT chase a scared dog.

Luckily, she had tags and a working phone number. The owners were out of breath and ran all the way from Terminal 3 once they knew were we were. She started wagging her tail when she saw them running and the poor girl burst into exhaustive tears.

The couple had just landed in Terminal 3 and the father was picking them up with the dog in the car. She got so excited when she saw them, she jumped out of the open window and instinctively went into flight mode not realizing where she was (the loud and busy airport). They chased her all the way to terminal 1. By the time they came around, little Peyton had a whole audience of airport staff and myself were all waiting for the tail wagging reunion.

Whew!

It's my Mom!

It’s my Mom!

Thank you Marta for sharing your story!