Accident, reward lead to pet's return in Bridgeton
By JOHN MARTINS
Staff Writer, 856-794-5114
Published: Saturday, October 04, 2008
BRIDGETON - To Melicia Parker, everything happens for a reason. Even the near-fatal accident that almost claimed the life of sweet little Lucie, her niece's pet dog that ran away early last month."It's a Godsend, in a way," Parker said Thursday as her 18-year-old niece, Brittany Peterson, cradled the trembling long-haired Chihuahua puppy. "She'll heal. But if she hadn't gotten hit, I don't think we would've gotten her back."Lucie escaped from the family's Purdue Avenue home Sept. 15, after finding a small opening in the backyard's brush border.Peterson, an 18-year-old nursing student, went into the woods behind the house and couldn't find Lucie anywhere. She walked the neighborhood and asked anybody if they had seen the dog.When no leads turned up, an increasingly distraught Peterson called Parker, who had bought the dog for her niece last year as a birthday gift.
Parker printed out fliers to distribute in the neighborhood. After arriving at her niece's house from her Upper Deerfield Township home, Parker called the Police Department and the animal shelter.When that didn't work, the pair started canvassing the neighborhood in earnest, day after day, with little luck."We went out every single night," Parker said. After no leads turned up, Parker decided to offer a financial incentive. They added "$200 reward" to the signs, which were posted around town in both English and Spanish. One of them, taped to a tree near the Cumberland County Courthouse, even offered a $15,000 reward, although Parker swore she didn't pencil in that large amount."You know how kids are in this town," she said. On the following Saturday, Parker got a call from a man who said his daughter had just found the lost dog. Parker hurried over to the house. She found Lucie wounded badly, with hardly a pulse, an inch from death.The family who found Lucie, Parker said, had already made a home for the puppy, which angered Peterson.But Parker said she was so relieved to find the dog, she paid the family the reward. "They seemed like very decent people," Parker said. "They could've just buried her or put her in a trash bag, and nobody would ever have known. Everybody said I'm stupid because I gave them the reward, but I was just glad we got the dog back."Parker and Peterson have already spent about $1,500 on Lucie, who suffered a fractured pelvis in the accident. The dog still needs surgery to repair her broken hipbone.Lucie's adventure, however, has taught Peterson at least one thing. "I used to just leave her outside, but now I watch," she said. "Nobody is allowed to touch my dog. No one is allowed to touch Lucie or take her outside. Not even on a leash or anything."E-mail John Martins:JMartins@pressofac.com
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