Anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved pet may empathize with the agony of being uncertain if your pet is dead or only missing. Every phone call, every lead, every black dog seen on the road sparks hope that our precious Border Collie, Shela, may still be alive somewhere, against the dark overwhelming odds that we will never see her again. Shela ran away in early August of this year. The pain of not knowing what happened to our dog is what keeps our wounds from healing. We plead for anyone to come forward who may have information that can help us determine what happened to Shela. Through this letter, we hope to raise awareness that tagging and collaring is a good start, but certainly not the only protection we can give our pets. We believe our growing community needs clinics that are accurate in their paperwork and compassionate about their work.

Melody Bates

Rush Valley