By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WINONA LAKE — A Winona Lake couple who were recently reunited with their missing puppy are sharing their story — one that doesn’t have an entirely happy ending.   

On Sept. 26, a Yorkshire Terrier named Lucy got away from her owners, Paul and Kristy Schmitt, in the 2100 area of East Pierceton Road in Winona Lake.

Lucy

It all started when Lucy’s brother, Dexter, darted across the parking lot of Christ Covenant Church that evening. It’s believed that Lucy ran off in the other direction during that time.

“As my husband was getting Dexter safely back across the road, some neighbors stated that a car stopped and the occupants asked if they were looking for a small dog,” Kristy said. The occupants of the vehicle said that someone in a car had picked up a small dog down the road.

At that time, Paul had retrieved Dexter and they were unaware that Lucy was missing. 

Once they realized Lucy was gone, family members immediately began to search for her. After two and a half hours, Lucy was nowhere to be found.

Lucy is microchipped but was not wearing her collar at the time she went missing.

“My husband reported immediately to the Kosciusko County Dispatch that she was missing,” Kristy said. “At that time, we prayed she would not be harmed by whoever picked her up — and that they would find us so we could bring her home.” 

InkFreeNews was contacted the following day by Schmitt’s daughter and granddaughter, and a “Lost Dog’ post was put up on the IFN website.

“Through social media and distributing flyers and putting up signs in front of our driveway we were asking for anyone to help us find our Lucy,” Kristy said. “I went door to door in our surrounding area. For the next 36 days, we did something every day to find her.”

On Monday, Nov. 2, Kristy received a text that stated: “URGENT PET ALLERT from Save This Life” — a company the Schmitts pay $5.00 a month to monitor Lucy’s microchip. 

“The message said ‘please contact the Fort Wayne Animal Control at 260-427-1244; Your pet needs medical attention,’” Kristy said. “I called the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, they advised me that someone called them to report a little dog dragging its back legs down an alley.”

According to information Kristy received, an animal control officer found Lucy, scanned her for a chip and called the Save This Life information they found from the chip. The Save This Life representative advised the officer to take Lucy to The Northeast Indiana Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital on MapleCrest Road, Fort Wayne.

Doctor Amanda Hilliard, DVM, evaluated and treated Lucy for injuries she believed to be at least two days old. Dr. Hilliard found that Lucy received some type of blunt force trauma to her spine, left back leg, ribs and pelvic area. She was also malnourished.

Lucy was sent to Purdue University Small Animal Emergency Hospital. Kristy said she was told by the ER vet that Lucy’s injury was probably going to result in her back end being paralyzed permanently. The following morning, Lucy was seen by a neurosurgeon and orthopedic surgeon. 

The Schmitts were given an initial estimate of as much as $10,000 to give Lucy a chance for a good quality of life. 

 “My husband and I had already agreed that money would not keep us from doing what was best for Lucy,” Kristy said. “As the evaluations and tests continued, we came to see that she could live a long life. Lucy fought hard to get help and we will continue to fight for her recovery.”

Kristy said that as of Wednesday, Nov. 5, Lucy is tolerating pain medication by mouth and eating enough to continue to gain the strength she needs. 

“Because of her injuries and paralysis to her back end, she developed a severe UTI,” Kristy said. “She is responding well with treatment” and were awaiting instructions on how to care for her at home.

“She will need to keep still and rest for the next eight weeks to give her spine time to heal,” she said.

Once Lucy’s spine has improved, she will be fitted with a wheelchair cart.

“At this time we are so overwhelmed with all the help that we have received and the prayers from family, friends and strangers who have been following Lucy’s story from the beginning of our first posts pleading for help finding her,” Kristy said. “We are pleading for everyone to get their pets micro-chipped and even purchase a monitoring collar as we did for our Golden Retriever after Lucy went missing. This collar tracks our Dexter and reports back to my husband’s cell phone constantly.”

Kristy said the cost of the monitoring collar was $150, but added that it’s worth every penny.  

“We have spent more than $500 to find Lucy through advertising, but the stress and worry are worse,” Kristy said. “We had prayed that someone was treating her good. Unfortunately, they were not, and they harmed her in a horrific way.  We are determined to find who is responsible and see to it that they will not do this again.”

The family’s mission is to provide Lucy with the best medical treatment available. 

“We promised her we would find her and bring her home,” Kristy said. “And I promised her that she would be safe forever.  We will be forever grateful and will pay it all forward.”

A GoFundMe account has been started to assist the family with Lucy’s medical expenses. 

The Schmitts are hoping to raise awareness about the importance of microchipping and monitoring collars.

“Please everyone, do whatever it takes to protect your fur babies,” Kristy said. “And please all veterinarians and groomers, get a microchip scanner and check all new patients to be sure they do not belong to someone else.  Also, anyone looking to buy or get a free pet, beware they may be lost from their family who is desperately trying to find them.”