Phillip did a lot of things right to bring his precious buddy back home, including using both commercial media and social media. He will also be more careful in the future when he makes any stops for gas or food, to check his surroundings for suspicious activity before exposing himself or Little Dude to danger. Lesson learned, the hard way, but as Phillip says, never, never give up. Words to live by, when you’re speaking of pets. On a Sunday night in late August, Phillip Lewis was heading home and stopped in Dodge City, in Cullman County, to fill up his gas tank. Suddenly a woman was pointing a gun at him and demanding his car keys. Without thinking, he gave her the keys. Too late, as she drove off he realized that his beloved dog, Little Dude, was still in the car. The story of the car theft and the missing dog was told on television news, and especially on Facebook, where it was shared – a lot, including notice of a reward for information. A week went by, then another week – and no Little Dude. Phillip was lost without his best buddy because they did everything together. Finally at the end of the second week, Phillip got a call, an anonymous tip, with a photo and an address in the Fairfield area. The tipster said a neighbor came home with a new dog earlier that week, and it looked like the pictures she had seen on Facebook of Little Dude. Officers with the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department, working with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, began canvassing in the Fairfield neighborhood until they found Little Dude. The sheriff called Phillip and said, “I believe I have something you want.” Phillip was overjoyed to get his little dog back, unharmed, saying he was going to ply him with treats and snuggle in their chair to watch movies. He said, they will keep adventuring together but they are going to be much more cautious about it.__>^..^<__
