Dog gone but found
Jeff Eason
It’s the situation that all traveling pet lovers fear the most: You are on the road and all of a sudden your dog or cat goes missing.
That’s what happened to Lee Ann Hinskey last week in Blowing Rock. While staying at the Homestead Inn in Blowing Rock for a few days, she and her husband, Dion, were suddenly without their beloved “Pup,” a 4-year-old Australian shepherd.
“I took him for a walk Tuesday morning about 11,” Hinskey said. “It was raining and we were both soaked. I went to open my car to get a towel out to dry him off with. The car alarm went off, it spooked him and he took off running.”
“I called and called, but he never stopped to look back. He disappeared. We spent all day Tuesday looking for him. Even the owners of the Homestead Inn where we were staying helped look for him,” she said.
According to Hinskey, there were two sightings of Pup in the Chetola Resort area on Tuesday, but no sign of him on Wednesday, the day the Hinskeys and Pup were supposed to return home to Florida.
“He had been missing for two days on Thursday in snow and very cold temperatures,” Hinskey said. “We are from Florida and he is an inside dog, so I was worried about his health and safety.”
On Wednesday, Lee Ann Hinskey made up fliers to alert people around Blowing Rock of the lost dog. She also contacted the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, Watauga County Humane Society, Animal Control, Blowing Rock Police Department, the Chetola gate personnel, the registration personnel, local newspapers, radio stations and Penny with the Animal Rescue’s Friends For Life organization to help get the word out.
In addition to Pup’s description as a black-and-white Australian shepherd, he was wearing a red holiday scarf on his collar and might have still been dragging his leash.
On Thursday, with the help of Pam Vines at Jenkins Realty, Hinskey sent out an email blast to as many local email addresses as they could find, asking people to forward the information about Pup and how to contact the Hinskeys to others in the area.
Later on Thursday, the Hinskeys returned to the Watauga County Humane Society to see if anyone had turned in their dog. While they were there, Mark and Kelly Terry saw a dog that looked like Pup on Morris Street in Blowing Rock. They contacted the owners of the Homestead Inn, but by the time the Hinskeys returned to Blowing Rock, the dog was missing again.
“I walked down Morris Street calling for him and found him laying in some leaves against a fence,” said Dion Hinskey in a phone interview this week. “I saw his red scarf and little white nose through the fence.”
Reunited, the Hinskeys alerted everyone who had helped spread the word of their missing Pup.
“Rob and Caroline Valet, owners of the Homestead Inn, were so awesome,” said Lee Ann Hinskey. “They helped us look for him both days.”
“Lee Ann lost her voice from calling for Pup in the wind and rain and snow,” said Dion Hinskey. “She was really heartsick and worried that she had lost him forever.”
That’s what happened to Lee Ann Hinskey last week in Blowing Rock. While staying at the Homestead Inn in Blowing Rock for a few days, she and her husband, Dion, were suddenly without their beloved “Pup,” a 4-year-old Australian shepherd.
“I took him for a walk Tuesday morning about 11,” Hinskey said. “It was raining and we were both soaked. I went to open my car to get a towel out to dry him off with. The car alarm went off, it spooked him and he took off running.”
“I called and called, but he never stopped to look back. He disappeared. We spent all day Tuesday looking for him. Even the owners of the Homestead Inn where we were staying helped look for him,” she said.
According to Hinskey, there were two sightings of Pup in the Chetola Resort area on Tuesday, but no sign of him on Wednesday, the day the Hinskeys and Pup were supposed to return home to Florida.
“He had been missing for two days on Thursday in snow and very cold temperatures,” Hinskey said. “We are from Florida and he is an inside dog, so I was worried about his health and safety.”
On Wednesday, Lee Ann Hinskey made up fliers to alert people around Blowing Rock of the lost dog. She also contacted the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, Watauga County Humane Society, Animal Control, Blowing Rock Police Department, the Chetola gate personnel, the registration personnel, local newspapers, radio stations and Penny with the Animal Rescue’s Friends For Life organization to help get the word out.
In addition to Pup’s description as a black-and-white Australian shepherd, he was wearing a red holiday scarf on his collar and might have still been dragging his leash.
On Thursday, with the help of Pam Vines at Jenkins Realty, Hinskey sent out an email blast to as many local email addresses as they could find, asking people to forward the information about Pup and how to contact the Hinskeys to others in the area.
Later on Thursday, the Hinskeys returned to the Watauga County Humane Society to see if anyone had turned in their dog. While they were there, Mark and Kelly Terry saw a dog that looked like Pup on Morris Street in Blowing Rock. They contacted the owners of the Homestead Inn, but by the time the Hinskeys returned to Blowing Rock, the dog was missing again.
“I walked down Morris Street calling for him and found him laying in some leaves against a fence,” said Dion Hinskey in a phone interview this week. “I saw his red scarf and little white nose through the fence.”
Reunited, the Hinskeys alerted everyone who had helped spread the word of their missing Pup.
“Rob and Caroline Valet, owners of the Homestead Inn, were so awesome,” said Lee Ann Hinskey. “They helped us look for him both days.”
“Lee Ann lost her voice from calling for Pup in the wind and rain and snow,” said Dion Hinskey. “She was really heartsick and worried that she had lost him forever.”