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Our baby is missing
Monte's lesson

 By Beth Johnson

On Friday morning December 19, 2002 I was awakened by a phone call from a frantic Kim telling me that Monte was missing. "Missing?!" I said, "What do you mean?" She told me that her brother was picking Monte up from the handler and when he arrived at her place of business (in our home town of Toledo, Ohio) that he let Monte out to go potty without a lead and Monte took off running.

It was a cold and rainy miserable day outside. He did not have a collar on with any ID but he was micro chipped. He had been out running all night. She said she managed to get the info put in the local newspaper right away. She wanted me to call the groomers in town and notify them.

First I called Sandy Twiss, HCA Rescue chairman, and she immediately put it out on the rescue lists, and then proceeded to phone all the groomers in our yellow pages. Then I called all the news stations, but none would pick up the story, so I called a local radio station and they agreed to air the story. I then posted it to the HCA Members list and the Heartbreeders list. My stomach was in knots.

I called Sue Bing, mommy of Marco, a former puppy buyer of mine that lives local, and she ran a flyer over to the local Humane Society. I just could not believe our little tender hearted guy was out in the cold running free. Kim, meanwhile, was out knocking on doors, going to businesses to see if they had seen Monte. Later that evening, Kim and her brother, with his two Airedales, walked the area and they seemed for a while to have picked up his scent. They walked for hours and nothing.

Saturday, we made signs and Kim made some flyers and we spent the day putting them in the area. Sunday we continued doing the same thing and talked to a boy who saw Monte running the day he was lost. He told us that he had crossed a four-lane road. We could not believe it. This was a very busy road. So we went into the next neighborhood to start putting up signs. That evening it had snowed about three inches.

I had been receiving e-mails form everyone giving me advice on how to catch a running dog. Lu Wyland sent many flyers with valuable information on the proper way to make flyers and rescue a dog. Later that evening, Lu had called me to see what she could do to help. She was like an angel form up above to me. She kept pouring in the information, and was there whenever I called her for support. I do not think I could have made it through this ordeal if it weren't for her and many others' constant support via e-mail and phone calls.

After receiving flyer information from Lu, my husband made new flyers. He works for the City of Toledo so he sent the new flyers to all of the divisions that had road crews, such as the street workers, garbage workers and water meter reader workers. During the next week we had a snowstorm of seven inches. We were getting desperate. I made and printed out flyers and the sent them to every groomer and kennel in the yellow pages. Our veterinarian faxed a picture to every veterinarian in town. The next week was just emotionally draining and physically exhausting. No sign of Monte anywhere. The unknown was haunting.

I finally contacted a pet's communicator and she felt he was running free and had been fed by possibly a homeless person. The area she felt he could be in was feasible, so we spent the next weekend walking down waterways, putting up flyers in that neighborhood and with businesses. Still no Monte.

We were all sick with heartache for this little guy. I remember thinking I wish he had a collar on him, and how I never put collars on mine anymore either ever since they were micro chipped. Kim and I always had collars with tags on Toby, CJ and Baccarat whenever we went anywhere. Then we would take them off when we got home. And ever since I had mine micro chipped, I felt super safe. Boy, WAS I WRONG! it had given me false sense of security where the dogs were concerned. I discovered that our local humane society and dog warden do not even have a scanner, nor do many of the veterinarians in town.

After scouring the area the pet communicator felt Monte was in, and coming up empty, I decided to contact another pet communicator whose name was given to me from a co-worker who had used her. Since this pet communicator was local, I went to her house and showed her a picture. Now, she said some things about Monte that she could not have known and she felt he was in another area, which was also within the area he ran. So that weekend Sue Bing, her husband Jim, myself and my husband, Kim´s brother and sister in law, and niece and her father, all walked that entire area and knocked on doors, and talked to people. Still no Monte. At this point, things went from bad to worse.

Kim was very stressed, and starting to get sick, so we told her to stay home and rest a day. While at home, Kim received a phone call from someone who had gotten the flyer earlier that day and who told her he thought he knew where Monte was. Kim and John went to his house as fast as they could, but when they got there he would not tell them the address! Instead he insisted that they drive him over to the house where Monte was. John took Kim back home and contacted the rest of us, who agreed to meet him back at this man's house, as everyone agreed none of this felt "right", but we really were afraid these people had Monte.

When we got there this man seemed sure the dog he had seen at a Christmas party was Monte. He told me that they took in strays all the time, and that they did not have a name yet for this small long haired white dog, so he thought it may be Monte. I asked him why he could not just give us the address so we could go verify if this was Monte or not. He said because the people that had him were young drug dealers, it was not a place for us to go. He would tell John (Kim's husband) when he came back. John came back, but not alone -he brought the police. Now this man was flipping out because he said these people are bad news, and no way would he tell us where Monte might be now!! He said with the police in front of his house he would look like a snitch. In desperation, I begged him to let me drive him to the location of Monte. He finally agreed to go with Kim's brother and myself. The police started to follow and I had to stop and tell them to back off or this man would not take us to see if this dog was Monte, that I would be fine with Kim's brother. So we lost our police escort and proceeded on following our first real lead about Monte.

Well, we went from house to house in terrible neighborhoods and this man was GOOD, people!! He was real good! He had me convinced they had some dog at least, and maybe it was Monte. He kept calling on his cell phone, yelling at these guys, telling the, "Let us see the dog!" He was real convincing. Then we had to have money before they would show us the dog. Finally John said, "NO, enough is enough". He was not going to put us in harm's way any longer. On the drive back, we begged this guy to either take a picture of the dog, or have his friends bring him back to his house and they could leave. We didn't want his friends to feel we'd call the police. We just wanted the dog. He said he didn't know and for us to go home.

When my husband and I arrived home after this long emotional day I received a phone call from this "gentleman" stating he had the dog two doors down from his house, and for me to bring cash. He wanted $500. I told him I may not be able to get it but I would try. He kept assuring me that when I saw the dog I would be happy, as he was sure it was Monte. So off we went with yet another run-around. He told us he needed to take my money in the house to show these men I had it. (My husband got upset and told him this was turning out to be a ransom rather than a reward.) I was not willing at first, but he said "Lady you have trusted me so far- I am not going to rip you off. I just want this dog situation settled." So I gave it to him and he did indeed come back with the money a few minutes later.

But yet now we had to follow him with his buddy to another location- he said Monte was not there, that they had moved him again. He wanted to carry the money and I said, "No, I will keep the money- give it back. We will follow you and when we see the dog you can have the money.

He threw the money down on my car seat and said "Screw It, I don´t care if they KILL the damn dog"!! You don´t trust me, get the hell out of here!" Well I panicked and started crying and said, "OKAY, take it we will follow behind you."

Well folks, that is when I found out how truly sick and cruel people can be -he sped off and we could not catch him. He was gone and so was my $500. I felt like such a fool and I did not have Monte. I cried all the way home. When we got home I could not believe what a fool I had been, all that lost time looking for Monte was wasted on this scumball.

The next morning I e-mailed the list on the status of Monte (still lost) and how I´d been scammed. I felt drained; the wind had left my sails. It had been almost 2 weeks now!

Everyone was so wonderful e-mailing Kim and I to hang in there. Doc asked for the News Media phone numbers and said she was going to call them. Everyone was lined up to call next if Doc got nowhere. But then I got a call from Doc telling me she succeeded, and to call John Antalek at NBC!! Oh my God I was excited, the wind just filled my sails again! There was hope.

The next day John Antalek from NBC did the taping and it was aired. Kim and John received several phone calls within ten minutes of the airing. He´d just been right in the same area he´d been lost in!! Kim took off in her car looking for him and sighted him. She jumped out of her van, leaving it running in the middle of a busy street, and started calling and walking after him, finally stopping and forced to go back, before someone ripped off her van. She got back to her van and drove, but could not find him. Frantic, she went home, picked up Cola, and off they went.

Cola picked up his scent right away, but they still could not find him. Someone told her he´d run into a trailer park. John and Kim searched all evening, and I joined them after work, searching until 2:00 am, and no sighting of him at all. The trailer park was a city in itself. I cried on the way home, telling Monte to be safe that I had to go home and sleep. Instead I went home, not able to sleep at all and started praying. I even turned on a prayer/religious channel on the TV. We were due a blizzard and I was frightened for him. We now knew he as outside this whole time rather that being loved in someone´s home. I was afraid he could not survive another storm. He had already been through a rainstorm, three inches of snow, then a seven-inch snow storm. We were expecting eight to ten inches that evening. I prayed so hard that night.

The next morning I awoke and immediately looked outside to see if the storm had come. Oh my god, it had not started yet. I screamed, "Yes, thank you God!" and then called Kim- they were already back out in the same area looking. A trucking company had called the news media to say that they believed the dog whose story they aired was in their lot. So NBC called Kim and John and off they all went, to try and find Monte. A short while later John phoned me saying they saw him, and to come help. Monte had been in the trucking lot when Kim and John got there but was frightened and disoriented, and was now running wildly through the area with John in pursuit. I started out immediately.

A women and her son, driving by, saw Monte running down Alexis Avenue and said "Hey that was the dog lost on TV". They turned around, parked and got out to help John try to capture Monte. They all managed to get Monte onto a side street (after almost being hit by a car) with John driving ahead, getting out, sitting on the ground and calling Monte. Finally, Monte ran into a yard with a privacy fence, and John dove at him like a football. (UMMMM, John went to school on a baseball scholarship.. maybe they had the wrong sport!!). When Monte realized who had him, his panic ended, and he just started kissing John, like "Hi Dad, where the heck you been!!"

I was still on my way when Kim called me to say John had him in the van. I just started crying with pure relief and said I would meet her at her place. Meanwhile NBC was there and they followed up with the story of Monte being found. I called Diane from my cell and told her to post it to the list that he was finally on his way home. Then I phoned our vet to let him know he was found and to make an appointment for him right away.

I reached Kim and John´s house before they did. As soon as Kim and John turned the corner it started to snowing. Up they pulled- I could not get out of my car fast enough!- Into the garage, then out came Monte!!!! I hugged him, cried, hugged Kim and John, and just felt this huge sense of peace again. By the time I left their house an hour-and-a-half later, two to three inches of snow had already fallen, and there was a complete whiteout outside. I thanked Saint Anthony, God, Mother Mary and all the angels in the sky. He was home. He was safe. He beat the storm. And boy, folks did we have a storm!

Monte has taught me many valuable lessons in his miracle life thus far. First and foremost NEVER EVER LET YOUR DOG GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT A DOG TAG and collar on him. Microchipping is good and necessary because it can prove that it is indeed your dog if need be, but when traveling, it cannot replace a collar and tags.

Monte has taught me how wonderful and big hearted and caring people can be. I have made friends that before were simply names on my e-mails list. I also now know how cruel people can be, and to be aware of the scumballs that will pull at you heart strings and take advantage of you when you´re down.

I now know valuable information, thanks to Lu, on how to find a lost dog. Many people donated money, much more than was needed to cover the expenses of Monte´s recovery. I am taking the extra money, which will go to the 2003 National Specialty Trophy Fund in the form of bake-in-the-oven Dog ID Tags, donated by "The Friends of Monte".

And for all you folks that followed the e-mails on Monte, I also learned how to spell Monte correctly. LOLOLOL!!!!!

God Bless and hug your babies and don´t forget those collars and ID tags.

Beth Johnson
Feliz Kennels

**Thanks so much to Beth Johnson and Kim Sherburne who granted me permission to post this article and its photos. There is a lot to be learned from Monte's ordeal. **

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From tatters to riches Toledo, Monclova dogs take top prizes at show
The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, March 6, 2003

By RACHEL ZINN BLADE STAFF WRITER

"Monte looked more like a misused mop than a champion when his owners found him after two weeks of wandering through West Toledo.

"He was a tattered mess," said owner John Sherburne. "His coat was full of mud, and there was wire in his hair, along with twigs and burrs."

But just a few weeks later, the 19-month-old Havanese dog won best of breed at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, bringing home a sterling silver medal for his champion status.

A furry neighbor from Monclova Township also brought home a best of breed honor and a second place in the toy category. Andy, a shih tzu, isn’t fazed by his champion status - his father, Joey, placed first in the toy category for two years straight.

But Monte’s rags-to-riches story can lift the spirits of any dog who’s lived on the streets for a while.

"Winning Westminster was really special because when we found him, his coat was just about ruined," Mr. Sherburne’s wife, Kim, said.

Monte, whose show name is Feliz El Rey Del Mundo, escaped from his West Toledo home on Dec. 19. The family placed a classified ad in The Blade and WNWO-TV, Channel 24, ran a story about the missing pooch. Afterward, callers reported seeing Monte near the intersection of Alexis Road and Lewis Avenue.

The Sherburnes found him dirty and frightened on Jan. 2.

"My husband literally had to tackle him," Mrs. Sherburne said. "He wouldn’t come to anyone."

Mrs. Sherburne, Monte’s main caretaker, had just weeks to prepare him for the Westminster show on Feb. 10. Monte accumulated enough winning points at regional shows last year to enter the national competition.

Show rules require Havanese dogs to have their natural coats, so Mrs. Sherburne could not cut Monte’s hair. She patiently combed out his fur and removed bits of debris embedded in matted snarls.

"He was combed and brushed and shampooed," said Mr. Sherburne, who is Toledo’s commissioner of economic and community development.

About four days before the show, Monte’s coat finally regained its prize-winning shine. He was ready to go to New York with his owners and handler, Stacy Snyder, who lives in Central Michigan.

Monte competed against 23 Havanese. Judges graded the dogs on body structure, movement, coat, and temperament.

"There were a lot of top dogs there," Mrs. Sherburne said. "When the judge actually picked Monte, I was totally shocked."

Mrs. Sherburne said she spends between $100 and $200 every week on each of her show dogs. That includes food, handlers, and show registration fees. She has seven dogs, some of which compete.

The area’s other local winner, Hallmark Jolei Raggedy Andy, nicknamed Andy, won best of breed for shih tzus and placed second in the toy category, which includes Havanese, pugs, Yorkshire terriers, and Chihuahuas.

"He’s a glamorous dog with long hair," said his handler, Luke Ehricht of Monclova Township. "He’s really pretty and really sweet."

Andy’s owner lives in Florida, but Andy lives with his trainer.

Mr. Ehricht also trained Andy’s father, Joey, who placed first in the toy category in 2000 and 2001. Joey has retired from the show circuit and now enjoys life as a pet.

Monte will get a break from showing, his owners said. But they hope to have him back on the road later this year. For now, he is content playing at home with his Havanese companions. "They all love wading through the snow," Mr. Sherburne said. "The other Havanese don’t give him any slack for being a champion."

*Photo of Monte from Westminter site.  Please visit the Westminter Kennel Club site for a full coverage of the 127the Westminter Kennel Club Dog Show, presented by Pedigree®.  http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2003/havanese_r.html

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