Published: March 03, 2009 03:54 pm      

Dog gone miracle

Auburn — “I’m just at my driveway and I have my baby back home with me,” Teresa Clinton of Zionsville said from her cell phone shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, Feb. 24.

A squeal of excitement could be heard from family members as Clinton and her Australian shepherd, Sasha, returned home.

Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, 16, of Zionsville were involved in a crash on Interstate 69 Saturday morning, Feb. 21, just south of the Allen-DeKalb county line. Their Ford F150 pickup truck flipped end-over-end and landed upside down, breaking all of its windows in the process.

The pair escaped with bumps and bruises, but the family dog, Sasha, made an escape of her own. Allen County Sheriff’s Department officers at the scene saw the dog take off to the north along the highway.

With so many accidents happening along the same stretch of highway, the Clintons declined medical treatment at the scene, Clinton said. She and Chelsea spent the rest of the day searching for their pet, stayed the night at an Auburn motel and returned to Zionsville without the 8-year-old dog.

Clinton’s sister, Yolanda Johnson of Michigan, took charge of the situation, sending Sasha’s photo and story to several area newspapers and animal shelters. Clinton’s phone had been ringing off the hook since her lost dog’s photo appeared on the front page of the Feb. 16, edition of The Evening Star in Auburn.

“Honestly, I had about 30 calls” since the story ran, Clinton said, Some callers told her they had seen Sasha, others offered prayers for the dog’s safe return. “What a shower of blessings, what a source of encouragement,” she said.

Those prayers were answered Tuesday morning when Lisa Duch of Grabill traveled a different route to her job at Dr. Mark Souder’s medical office in Auburn. As she drove on C.R. 427 past Calvary Chapel Worship Center south of Auburn, she saw an animal along the church’s parking lot.

“I was worried it was a deer at first,” said Duch, She noticed the dog resembled the photo in Monday’s newspaper that she had read at work.

Duch tracked the dog west over the interstate and south on C.R. 21, trying to lure it into her minivan. She made a quick call to Clinton to verify the description of the brown dog with white at its throat and mouth.

“(Clinton) was 100 percent it was her dog,” Duch said. She notified the DeKalb County Animal Shelter and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department of her location.

After nearly 45 minutes of eluding rescue attempts along C.R. 21, a frightened and tired Sasha finally gave up the chase on the I-69 overpass. Duch offered her lunch of chicken piccata for the dog to eat.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Duch said of finding Sasha. An avid animal lover, Duch said she has taken in more than 25 cats and nursed a dog suffering from a gunshot wound.

Sasha was taken to the DeKalb County Animal Shelter, where Clinton picked her up late Tuesday afternoon and returned directly to Zionsville. Clinton couldn’t say enough about the kindness of the community and Duch’s effort in capturing her pet.

“This is such an awesome experience. Ever since I moved to Indiana from Michigan (about six months ago), I have noticed the people are wonderful and kind,” she said. “I am thrilled to have my missing dog back again.”

Sasha slept all the way home Tuesday night, Clinton said. She plans to take Sasha to a veterinarian today for a checkup and a bath.

“She doesn’t seem any worse for wear following her three-day adventure in DeKalb County, Clinton said. God has had his hands all over me and Chelsea.”

And Sasha, too.

Reprinted with permission of The Evening Star (Auburn, Ind.).