Me???
A nice family who was interested in Millaii had called and come to meet her.
After the meeting, they said they would like to have her in their home for a few days to see if things would work out.
I was very happy as they seemed like a very nice family and Millaii would have a chance to live in a great home.
My neighbor's daughter Jodie had said she would like to come with me to see off Millaii, so the three of us took off on Friday afternoon to deliver Millaii to the family's home 35 miles away from ours.
The traffic was terrible, but we got there in about 45 mins.
In the house, there were 2 dogs, one of which the family was babysitting for a week, then there were 2 cats.
Millaii didn't seem to have acknowledged the dog, who was very calm and didn't mind about Millaii being in his home at all, but naturally she was drawn to the kitten that was sitting on the dining table and went to smell her right away.
She then ate the cat food placed on the floor, and went out to their big back yard and went to the bathroom on the grass in the back corner.
Everything seemed to be going well.
We spoke with the family for a while then said good-bye and good-luck to Millaii and left their home.
The traffic coming home was the worst I had seen ever.
Why?? Do people all go to LA on Friday night? It was really unimaginably bad.
After over an hour drive I had gotten so exhausted and was ready for a hot shower, when my cell phone rang.
It was the family we had just left Millaii with. The mom was on the phone and from her voice I had sensed something was wrong in a moment.
"I have bad news" She said.
I honestly thought Millaii had bitten somebody or killed their cat.
Instead, she said,
"Millaii got out and we can't find her"
Millaii was missing......
I went blank for a moment but then realized the situation.
Millaii got out looking for me....
She saw us leave from the glass window by the door.
She was looking at me as if she wanted to ask me when I was coming back inside to get her.
I took off without her instead.
She watched us leave....
She must have gone crazy wanting to find me and went everywhere in the house to find an exit.
She found a little door for taking out the trash and pushed it open, and got out.
The family realized Millaii was outside, then they all got out to catch her.
Millaii had been so confused and seeing everybody in a panic mode trying to catch her had made her even more anxious.
She took off running escaping everybody's hands.
So now Millaii was missing.
The family panicked. They went everywhere they could think of trying to find her.
But it was already dark and it was weekend. It would be hard to find help.
After their desperate search, no Millaii.
They had to come home and wait to make an inquiry to the local shelter the next morning.
I was lost.
I didn't know what to do, or what I should be doing.
I was so exhausted by driving the distance in the worst traffic, I couldn't even think straight.
It was impossible to go back there driving 35 miles again.
I finally managed to write a "lost dog" ad on craigslist hoping for tips from their neighbors.
We all spent a sleepless night.
Saturday morning, the family went to the animal shelter as soon as they had opened, hoping they would find Millaii there.
There was no Millaii.
Where are you???
Disappointed, but they didn't stop there. They drove all around in their neighborhood putting up flyers, talking to people.
I got an update call from them around noon time. They said someone said he had seen Millaii an hour before.
That was great news!
She was still hanging around in their neighborhood.
I had feared Millaii had travelled many miles looking for me during the night and was not near their neighborhood any longer.
That moment I had a very good feeling that we would be able to find her soon.
It may sound strange but for some reason I had felt almost confident we would find her the whole time since her disappearance.
She wouldn't go hiding in the woods because she only knew town and people's streets, and more than anything she only knew people and genuinely loved them.
She would go to people once there was someone who would calmly talk to her.
If we didn't find her that day I was going to visit animal shelters in the nearby cities in the following week.
My phone rang again about 2pm.
The mom said on the phone that Millaii had come back and was in the back of their house, but wouldn't come to anybody.
She said she was afraid that Millaii would run again.
Amazing!
She came back! Wow, that's great.
After all, that was the only place she had known - even for less than an hour - she had no other choice but to come back where she had started. Wonderful!
The mom's voice sounded like she was desperate, and she said there were neighbors in their backyard, too, calling Millaii's name trying to make her come to them.
That would not work.
More people calling her in a hysterical tone would only scare her away.
She wanted to come in, but couldn't because of all the commotion.
The mom wanted me to come down saying "She'll only come to you", I said I was on my way.
I asked her to leave the food in their backyard where Millaii could see it, and to let everybody back away and leave her alone.
So again, I got back on the freeway. I was worried about the traffic but it was good.
About half way down there, I called the family, just to check on how things were.
The daughter answered the phone and said in a very happy voice,
"She is in the house now"
She said she had knelt down and called Millaii calmly, and she came to her.
YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!
I knew it.
I knew if everybody backed away and watched her quietly that she would come in.
I was so relieved now that Millaii was safe in their home, had gotten fed and now she could rest.
This was about 3:30pm so she had been wandering around in an unfamiliar neighborhood for about 10 hours.
It must have been quite an adventure for her.
Although it was a scary experience for all of us, the good thing was that I was sure because of this experience Millaii would see the family as her masters, especially the girl who handled the situation calmly, and got her back in the house, and recognize their home as hers.
She would never try to escape, and would follow the family's commands diligently.
I turned around and headed home.
Later on, I received an update-call from the daughter.
She said that Millaii had been following her everywhere she went.
Just as I had predicted!
She also said they had taken Millaii to Petco (!) - where Millaii had never been to - and got her a few things, and Millaii did just fine.
Great!
That's a good start.
Millaii needs to learn who the new leaders for her are, in order to keep a healthy relationship with the family. Taking her out on the leash would give her a good sense of that.
I'm hoping the family will be good about disciplining her and teaching her the rules and limits.
Then I know Millaii will be a wonderful family dog!
Good luck, Millaii!!
The family will see how things will go with her, and let me know if they would like to keep her or not in a few days.
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