By Dianne Schalow

MAPS Volunteers

Though they have a number in the phone book, Marshfield Area Pet Shelter’s (MAPS) answering machine is actually just a TracFone passed between volunteers. Oftentimes that voicemail is filled with urgent pleas for help or sad news about missing pets. Fortunately, there is the occasional happy story to provide some balance.

One such story took place in early August when a tiny 8-month-old Morkie puppy named Charlotte escaped from her dog sitters’ home.

Sherry Hagen and her family were enjoying the Clark County Fair when relatives Roland and Karen Hagen called her with the bad news that their furry charge had disappeared without a trace.

After searching ditches on the highway and calling for Charlotte, Roland remembered seeing a red car parked a bit south of their Highway 10 home and that two people had gotten out of the car. The people then got back in and took off going south.

There was no sleep in the Hagen household that night. They were distraught because they were sure that they had seen Charlotte for the last time.

Fortuitously, animal-lovers Chris Gilbertson and his fiancee April, were the drivers of the red vehicle spotted by Roland. While traveling on Highway 10 just south of Marshfield, they noticed a young dog in the middle of the road. Chris stopped the car, grabbed the puppy, and began asking around the neighborhood to locate its home.

Not having any luck locating the Morkie’s family, Chris took the dog home, and it slept with him on the couch that night. The next morning he took Charlotte to be scanned for a microchip but found none. Finding MAPS’ phone number, he called and left a message about his furry find.

Meanwhile, Sherry was busy making flyers and calling area humane societies in search of her puppy.

As the keeper of the MAPS TracFone, I had two messages to listen to on Sunday morning.

The first message was from Chris, and the second was from Sherry. It seemed too good to be true, but both messages were about the same dog.

Chris and April were happy that Charlotte had found her family, and Charlotte’s family was thrilled that she was home. They knew that it was close to a miracle that she was found because not everyone would have been as diligent as Chris.

The irony is that Charlotte had been scheduled to be microchipped the Monday after her weekend adventure. She has now been microchipped and hopefully will never wander away again. Karen and Roland both slept very well that Sunday night. I could not keep a smile off my face even when I went to bed. I knew that what I and other volunteers for MAPS do every day makes a difference, especially to a small puppy and her family.

Marshfield Area Pet Shelter hosts a microchip clinic on the last Saturday of the month from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Marshfield Mall.

Please spay/neuter vaccinate and microchip your pets. Miracles do happen, but sometimes they need a little help.