Every year around this time, Lido Beach hosts a free concert and fireworks. When the fireworks started, my son and his cousin, Jeffrey decided to walk over to Lido Blvd to get a good view.
When they got to the middle school, the heard someone say, “get the dog, get the dog….” So they ran after a stray dog trapped him and took him back to my house. As they were walking back to the house, they called the number on the dog’s collar.
No one answered, so they brought the dog home.
Meanwhile, I had a house full of people for my daughter’s graduation party.
When I turned around, I saw my son with a dog wearing a bright vest and at first, I thought it was a guide dog but it was a life vest. “What is this and where did you find him?” I asked.
“It’s a girl Mom,” said my son. “And we called it’s owners but they aren’t home. Hopefully they will call us…”
“Why is the dog wearing a life vest?” I asked.
“I bet the dog was on a boat,” my sister-in-law, Rebecca said.
The boys called the number on the tag multiple times. We noticed that the dog was from East Williston.
“Do you want to take the dog home with you?” I asked Rebecca, knowing that she lives very close.
“If that’s what I need to do,” she said.
Everyone was paying the dog so much attention, we nearly forgot about the party. The good news, the owner called us and wasn’t too far away. Apparently, his boat was docked at Point Lookout and when the dog heard the fireworks, she jumped overboard into the ocean, swam to shore and ran eight miles from Pt Lookout to the middle school.
“This is my first dog,” the owner said to me. “She’s still young, only three and I think of her like my child.” Then he turned and looked at the two boys, ” It means so much to me that you boys took such good care of Tawny” and he handed them a token reward. “I will never forget what you have done for me.”
