Walkersville Community Rallies To Find Missing Dogs
by Emma Lochner
A five-year-old German Shepherd named Gunny and a three-year-old Beagle named Abbey escaped from the Lochner family household located in Walkersville, Maryland on Saturday, January 14th. This was not the first time that those dogs have escaped from their backyard, as beagles are known for running away.
The family of the dogs looked for them all around their home in Walkersville. Living on the outskirts of Sunmeadow, the dogs could have been in any number of houses’ yards. If you remember, on this past Saturday, it was harshly cold as well as raining. This worried the Lochner family further, of course.
At first, the family looked for the dogs without too much concern. This was not the first time that those dogs have escaped from the backyard and ran off. Usually, they were found within two hours. This time, however, was different.
Worry arose as the hours passed by without even a sighting. Quickly, it became darker and colder. Checking the whole of Walkersville, the dogs were not found. Abbey and Gunny seemed to vanish into thin air.
Later, other people that were close to the family, started to drive around looking for the dogs as well. There became the unspoken suspicion that someone had taken the dogs. This is every pet owner’s worst nightmare, not being able to find your pets after hours of searching, is a dreadful feeling.
Finally, the children gave up after six hours of searching, while the mother, Maria Lochner, went out every half hour or so to look for the dogs. She gave up late into the night as well.
That night, Maria Lochner posted onto Facebook about the missing dogs. That Facebook post stated “They really did it this time. Abbey can’t resist digging the soft ground and pulling back the fence wire. Abbey and Gunny ran off at 3:00pm today and we have not been able to find them tonight. There has been NO sign of them. They have collars on with their names and my number on them. Gunny is a German Shepherd, [and] Abbey is a beagle. Let me know if you spot them in Walkersville.” This post proceeded to be shared forty times by different people within Walkersville. Along with sixty comments saying things such as “Hope they return soon!!,” and “We’ll keep an eye out.”
With that post came strangers driving around looking for them in the town of Walkersville. The day after they were first lost, the Lochner family went out looking again, with no luck. At around 2:00pm that day, Lochner’s family spotted Gunny at Heritage Farm Park.
He had been seen back behind the trees at the end of the golf course, getting out of an old broken down truck. The truck was assumed to be where he had slept that previous night. As the dogs had gone into “survival mode” he did not recognize Maria Lochner when she arrived to help. He ran away from them, running clear across Heritage and to the mulch pile at its opening. There he went right up to a random lady who found his collar and called the number on it. Gunny was then returned safely home, but without his younger sister Abbey.
The news of the rescue of Gunny spread over Facebook with more comments and an update to the original post. The Lochner family took Gunny back to Heritage to see if he can lead them to Abbey, who was still MIA.
Lynda Hawkins, spotter of Gunny, shared why she went looking for the dogs, “[My husband and I] went to look for the dogs because they were still missing and we knew [the Lochners] were probably getting really upset, so we wanted to help.”
That only lasted an hour and a half however because Gunny was not only stressed, but tired and thirsty. After taking him back home, the parents of the Lochner family decided to make and put out signs for their last missing dog.
Right after the parents left to put out the signs, someone on Facebook commented on the original post saying that they found the missing dog and put her number as well. Jen Hoffman, not very well-known by the family, found Abbey on Glade Road at 4:00pm on Sunday, about 24 hours after her initial escape.
She was brought home safely to her family. Both dogs were happy to be home, as well as extremely hungry, sore and tired.
The post on Facebook has then updated once again, and people commented that they were happy that they were both home safe. The family could finally breathe regularly again as well.
Losing your pets is never a fun time. Junior Sarah McElwain says, “If I ever lost [Gracie the cat], we would not be able to find her. I would literally have a breakdown for weeks because my cat is my life and my best friend.” Pets are not just random animals that you keep in your house and let walk around, they are family.
Think about what you would do if your pet ever ran away. Junior Molly Lewing said “I would probably cry a lot,” which is more than understandable.
If you live in a town as great as Walkersville, you might be able to get the help of others just like what happened to the Lochner family. Don’t forget, the next time you see a dog that seems lost, help it find its home.
