A 2-year-old Hollister girl enduring severe heart defects has been without her 9-month-old therapy dog “Kaia” ever since Jan. 3, when the German shepherd puppy chased a flock of wild turkeys near the family’s property at Ridgemark.
The family of the young girl, Ava, hasn’t recovered the dog. They do have reason to believe the female puppy is not only safe, but also possibly with another family in the area.
Two-year-old Ava’s grandmother, Susan Hilden, explained that the girl’s dog – and another family dog on Jan. 3 – chased the flock of turkeys near the Ridgemark water towers and family home. It didn’t take long to find Ted, the other dog, a shar-pei and pit bull mix. They could not find Kaia, though, and a long night of searching ensued.
The family adopted Kaia for Ava as a therapy dog, or comfort dog – they learned about the idea through a program at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital – after the second of her two heart surgeries.
The next day after Kaia got away, family members started calling all of the area shelters and animal rescue centers – which led to their conviction about Kaia being with someone else.
Hilden said she was told by representatives of Pet Friends in Hollister that a man called the organization that same day saying he found a similar German shepherd puppy. The man apparently expressed a desire to reunite the dog with its owner, but also mentioned knowing a family with children who would like the puppy.
Hilden said Pet Friends told her the group requested that the caller bring the dog to the animal shelter or Pet Friends itself, but that he never showed up.
“Unfortunately, what they didn’t do was get any information as to who this man was,” Hilden said of Pet Friends.
Hilden contended it was “highly probable” the man had possessed Kaia at the time.
“That’s unfortunate,” she said. “Hopefully, this will be a lesson and they’ll change the way they do their business. For us, we simply want Kaia back. We will buy a dog for the person. We will give a reward.”
Pet Friends Board President Karen Ingalls said the organization did advise the man to bring the dog to the shelter or Pet Friends. She said the person who answered the phone did not get any additional information from the caller – and pointed out that the man called at a busy time on the weekly “clinic day” for low-cost spaying and neutering. Ingalls said Pet Friends does routinely collect that information from callers when possible.
Ingalls said Pet Friends is attempting to work with the phone company to find information about the caller.
“I know they’re very distraught and I’m very sorry they’re missing their dog,” Ingalls said. “We hoped the person who found her would’ve done the right thing.”
She added, “I just want to say, people need to get their animals micro-chipped.”
Kaia was spayed two and a half weeks before she disappeared, but Hilden said the veterinarian had run out of microchips, with which all of the family’s other dogs are equipped. Hilden mentioned Kaia did have tags on her when she got away.
They put up posters in areas nearby and walked door to door asking neighbors if they saw the dog. They even filed a case with the sheriff’s office – being that the dog is legally considered property – but Hilden said they do not want to prosecute anybody, that they just want to find the puppy.
She said the family believes Kaia may have run to somewhere near Southside or Enterprise roads. She described the dog as warm and gentle, and said Kaia would have been friendly toward people while missing.
“They sleep together every night,” Hilden said of Ava and Kaia. “She’s a very gentle dog.”
Hilden said she hopes the dog is in a “good home” and receiving the “love she deserves.”
“But she’s not their dog, and she did have a collar and tags when she left.”
In the meantime, Hilden said Ava goes to bed every night asking whether Kaia is coming home.
