Two weeks went by, and all was well. Sam was very happy, an got along splendidly with our other dog. We left him chained up outside during the day, and would bring him in at night. I took him on walks every morning, again when I got home from work, and every evening before bed.
Then disaster struck! One day, Kathy called me saying that she had just gotten
home and that Sam was not on his chain. She noticed that there were fresh
tire tracks in the driveway that were not ours, and our hearts sank.
Someone had taken him! We called the neighbor again to see if they had
changed their minds and decided to take him back. He said that he did not
know who we were, and hung up on us again.
Fearing the worst and not knowing what to do next, we called the Butler Co. Sheriff's office to see if they could help. A wonderful man named Deputy D. J. Schavione came out, listened to our story, and said that he would go to the neighbor's farm to see if the dog was there. Unfortunately, nobody was home. He gave me a list of agencies to contact to see if they had found Sam, and promised to contact us the next day.
I went to the various places looking for Sam (the pound, etc.) and placed signs in the local grocery stores with a description and picture (the one at the left). Soon after, the deputy came back saying that the dog was indeed back at the neighbor's farm. While we could not have him, at least we knew he was safe. Our hearts were broken, but there was nothing else to be done. The deputy also informed us that the neighbor had just come out of surgery and was taking pain medication that would make him disoriented. This explains why he did not know who we were either time that we called.