Miss Mocha

As most of you know, Mocha joined our family late last year.  We were lucky enough to have a close friend with a male chocolate lab who is an awesome retriever, and we knew we wanted to get another dog while Maple was still young enough to show her the ropes.  It was quite hectic around here after Mocha arrived.  Porter was just starting to run and get into things a little more, and we were ill-prepared for the chewing onslaught.  Half the time we didn't know if the destruction was caused Porter or Mocha!  Regardless, she grew and trained and slowly became part of our family.

In mid-March, I was on my field cruise, so Brian took a week off to hang out with the little man.  One night (Thursday, March 8) they went for a walk to their usual spot just down the street.   Before leaving the house, Brian put collars on both dogs, noting that Mocha's was getting a little tight and would need to be replaced soon.  They made their way to a secluded, wooded area where they could run around and do their business.  Up to this point, the only other animals that Mocha had interacted with were bugs, lizards and other dogs, so when they encountered a group of deer, she and Maple took off after them.  Brian yelled "SIT!!", and Maple responded immediately, but Mocha kept running.  He looked for her for about two hours, and then he had to get Porter to bed.

We haven't seen her since.  We did everything that we could do to find her - posters, flyers, contacting and visiting all shelters and vets in eastern NC, online postings, everything.  We got calls - a lot of them - but none concerning Mocha.  There are only 2 possibilities:

1.  She is still in the woods, probably killed by coyotes (highly unlikely considering where we live).
2.  She has been stolen by some heartless, inhuman low-life, probably to be used as a puppy-making machine (highly likely considering where we live).

We are confident that the second possibility is the truth.  She was a friendly dog; not afraid of anyone, and would run up to any stranger.  Her dog tag had her name, our phone number, and rabies vaccination, and only a low-life would NOT call.  We will never stop looking, and I look forward to meeting her new owner.  I just hope that she is happy and healthy.

We miss you, girl.

--Jacqui