Happily Home Again!

Well, it sounds like Carmine didn't spend time foraging for food or shelter while he was AWOL. It seems that he was found outside the Starbucks soon after he went missing, and was taken home by a caring woman who figured it would be easier to find his home than it turned out to be :(

They did take him to The Hope Center in Vienna to check for a chip, but "back then" (unlike now!!) Carmine didn't have a microchip. :(  Lesson learned, thank you very much!

Since there is a toddler in the house, the couple initially assumed that this big pitbull looking dog might be risky to have around the baby, so their plans were to hurry him off to the shelter. But (no surprise here) he was so gentle with the child that they would keep him if they didn't sniff out his family. So glad they were able to do that after 11 days!

We met at that same Starbucks not long after that call to get him. He appeared well fed and even had a new collar and name tag. He is so happy to be home, and our little rat terrier was so happy that she peed on the floor when she saw him! She was forgiven for that little transgression!

We were happy to capture a few more pictures of Carmine and his sissies back at home. Thanks to my neighbor for the use of a great camera for these pictures!

Carmine, the baby in the family

Here is Carmime with Maggie, the fawn pitbull who is the oldest. When I found her in a shed in DC, she was about 3 weeks old with her starving mother and 4 litter mates.

And here's Carmie with Molly, a rat terrier (and the boss) was abandoned by her owner when she was about 6 months old.

And We're Done! Carmine is Home!!!!

Great news!!!! And details and pictures to follow but we know that a couple who found Carmine wandering returned him to his home late today. Can't wait for the story -- check back!

Thousands of Words About Carmine

Proof that Carmine is a much loved member of our family . . . We can't stand not knowing where he is, and we want him home where we can take more pictures of him!!!!

Spreading the Word

We are trying everything we can think of to circulate the word about Carmine so that people know who to contact when they see him. So far, we have listed him as missing with the shelters/animal control for Fairfax and Arlington Counties and Alexandria, blanketed the area with fliers, had robo calls placed to neighbors, gotten an ad into the Falls Church News Press, posted repeatedly to Craigslist, and to all the missing pet websites we can find.

We are looking for more ways to spread the word. Can you help? Can you post to your Facebook wall and tweet about it? Send this blog address to your friends on email? Other ideas???  Carmine has been a member of our family since he was a puppy (well, after a bad, bad start too awful to think about) and we miss him desperately!

A Potential Sighting!

We learned that not long after Carmine disappeared, a woman saw a dog that she is certain was Carmine walking by himself along the road. She was immediately concerned, and she called Animal Control. They came out, but didn't find him.

Then a little later, she saw the same dog again, this time in front of the Starbucks not far from home. He seemed to be with a woman, so she decided that all was well.
When she got home, she got the Find Toto call that we had placed to homes in the area. She was immediately sure that she saw the very dog that the call was about.

So now we think that someone is taking care of him -- someone who doesn't know how to find us because Carmine didn't have any identification on when he disappeared. It makes sense, because we think he would eventually find his way home if he was just out walking around. Or, he would be seen. So it makes sense that he is in someone's custody.

Can you help us find him, whether he is with that person, or someone else, or even if he is just walking around?

Carmine Has Vanished!

Carmine, a 4 year old male brindle pitbull mix disappeared from his Falls Church VA home at Grove Avenue & Haycock Road on Sunday, November 7, 2010. Have you seen him?? Can you help find him?

Carmine in his yard