Shit happens. Sometimes the shit that happens is close to a miracle

Background: A month ago, a year-old teacup poodle named Chico, who we loved immensely, sneaked out of my truck when I was washing the truck at a commercial car wash. He got out into the road and was run over. It devastated my wife so badly that within ten days, we bought another teacup poodle. We named her Kiki. It turned out she was Chico’s sister, eight months old, and had been kept in a kennel because the breeder was going to use her for a concubine.

We brought her home and we all started getting used to each other. We have three other dogs, so the getting used to took some time and effort, but all was going relatively well. Yesterday, my wife had a doctor’s appointment at a Vanderbilt clinic in Nashville. We’ve been there dozens of times over the last three years. It’s located in one of the busiest shopping centers in South Nashville. We took three small dogs, including Kiki, and we stopped in Knoxville and picked up my daughter, Kody, along the way. She’s about to graduate from the University of Tennessee, but she had a few extra hours and wanted to go.

So we get there and go into the clinic, which is massive. After we’ve been there for about thirty minutes we are informed that the doctor Kristy is seeing is running an hour behind. Kody hears this and decides to go back to the parking lot and get a book out of the truck. When she goes, Kristy and I stay in the waiting room. About ten minutes later, I get a frantic call from Kody saying that as she was trying to get the book, Kiki escaped from the truck. Kiki didn’t know Kody very well since Kody lives in Knoxville, and wouldn’t come back to her. Kody chased her, and the nightmare was on.

The dog crossed a five-lane street, bumper to bumper traffic, and disappeared into a Home Depot parking lot. Kody was running after her but lost sight of her. Kody was running and yelling to dog’s name, and people began to help. Kody began to receive reports of sightings. The dog was back in the five-lane street, she was running north. Kristy and I joined in the chase. The cops became involved. We ran and talked to people. Eventually, Kody came back to the parking lot – she had the keys to our vehicle – and she and I took off to continue the search. Kristy had to go back inside to see the doctor. Kody and I talked to people, got reports of sightings. The dog was still alive, but she was running. Poor little thing didn’t know where she was running to, she was just running away from unfamiliar people and all those cars that were trying to run over her. Kody and I ended up in a neighborhood just east of Thompson Street about a mile from the Vanderbilt Clinic. We walked and called and left phone numbers. Eventually, we wound up in a huge cemetery, hoping the dog would have gone to the open spaces since we take her to a big park every morning. No dog. Two hours after the dog fled from the truck, just as we’re about to give up hope, Kody gets a call on her cellphone. A veterinarian has called a little dog and cat shop where we left a number and asked whether they knew anything about a teacup poodle that was lost near their shop. The woman said yes, and she called Kody and said, “They’ve got your dog at a vet clinic on Sidco Road.” Sidco Road was a couple of miles away. We drove there, and sure enough, Kiki, bruised and battered but ultimately healthy, was there.

There are good people in this world. Lots of them, and they helped us find that little dog. A woman whose name I do not know picked her up and took her to the vet. The employees at the vet clinic were compassionate and wonderful. We got the dog back, and we are so thankful to everyone who was involved. It was Nashville, rush hour, like finding a needle in a haystack. We found the needle, named Kiki, with the help of a bunch of beautiful people.

Thank you again to everyone who helped. My wife says it was a miracle. I’m a little more on the practical side and tend to believe it was a combination of quick work and good people. Either way, that little dog is resting on my wife’s chest right now, and I’m so very, very happy about that.