THE MISSING JIJI SAGA...THE FINALLY...MAYBE!!!
THIS FINAL PART ( MAYBE) IS DEDICATED TO MY LOYAL FOLLOWERS OF THE JIJI STORY: SNUFFLES, GEORGIA, DARLAC, SWEETSUE, RAGINGFOG, PENNY59 AND NAOMIJANEI LEFT THE STORY WITH SUNDAY NIGHT AND NOT A WORD TO BE HAD ON OUR BABY'S LOCATION. MY FRUSTRATION AND DEPRESSION WAS DEEPENING BY THE HOUR!!!MONDAY DAWNED WITH A BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE THAT SHOULD HAVE TOUCHED MY SOUL BUT I FOUND NO SOLICE THERE. I DID HAVE ONE BRIGHT SPOT IN MY DAY, I HAD A NAIL APPOINTMENT WITH MY DEAR FRIEND. SHE AND I TALKED ABOUT JIJI AND OTHER THINGS SO MY MIND WAS NOT AS PREOCCUPIED WITH MY FEAR OF NEVER SEEING MY LITTLE ONE AGAIN. THEN THE DAY JUST DRAGGED ON. OF COURSE, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS THAT THE PHONE KEPT RINGING. WITH EACH RING AND CALL MY HEART WOULD JUMP INTO MY THROAT AND I WOULD SAY A PRAYER THAT THIS WAS "THE PHONE CALL". BUT, ALAS THAT ONLY LEAD TO MORE HEARTACHE. THEN MONDAY EVENING AROUND 9:30 I RECEIVED A CALL FROM A LADY THAT JUST LIVES ONE STREET OVER. SHE HAD AN INTERESTING STORY TO TELL ME. THE STORY WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS: HER HUSBAND WAS OUT ON THE FRONT DECK WHEN HE HEARD A COMMOTION COMING DOWN THE STREET. HE YELLED AT HIS DOG TO STOP BARKING. THE LADY THEN CAME OUT AND THEY WITNESSED TWO MEN AND A LITTLE GIRL FRANICALLY CHASING THIS LITTLE TERRIFIED DOG DOWN THE STREET. THE DOG WAS NOT BEING CALLED BY NAME AND IT WAS RUNNING LIKE HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT. BY THIS TIME THEY HAD ALREADY PASSED HER HOUSE SO SHE DID NOT GET A GOOD LOOK AT THE DOG. HOWEVER, A NEIGHBOUR WAS DRIVING UP THE STREET AND HE HAD TO STOP HIS CAR TO AVOID HITTING THE LITTLE DOG. THE MEN IN PURSUIT CAPTURED THE DOG AND RETURNED HOME. THE LADY ASKED THE MAN IN THE CAR IF THE DOG LOOKED LIKE A YORKIE. HE SAID HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT ONE LOOKED LIKE BUT HE DESCRIBED THE DOGS SIZE AND COLOR. SHE THOUGHT IT COULD BE JIJI. SHE REALLY WANTED ME TO KNOW BECAUSE SHE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE TWO MEN WHO HAD THE DOG AND SHE SAID IT WAS NOT A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR HER. THE HOMES WHERE THESE TWO MEN LIVED WERE FREQUENTED BY THE POLICE ON A REGULAR BASIS. SHE DESCRIBED WHERE THE TWO HOUSES WERE, AGAIN JUST UP THE ROAD FROM US. WELL, IT WAS NOW AFTER 10:00 SO WE IMMEDIATELY GOT OUT THE FLASHLIGHTS AND PROCEED IN THE CAR TO THE LOCATION AND GOT A HOUSE NUMBER. WE ALSO LOOKED AROUND AND LISTENED FOR ANY INDICATION THAT JIJI WAS THERE. NOT A SIGN AND THE HOUSE WAS IN DARKNESS. WE THEN CAME HOME AND I CALLED THE POLICE AS THIS WAS AN ACTIVE , ONGOING FILE. AFTER SPEAKING TO TWO OFFICERS AND REITERATING THE INFO THAT WAS IN THE FILE I WAS GETTING FRUSTRATED AND CROSS. IN THE END , THE POLICEMAN AGREED TO TALK TO OUR WITNESS AND THEN TAKE A TRIP UP TO THE HOUSE IN QUESTION. HE PROMISED TO CALL ME BACK AFTER HE HAD DONE THIS.HE CALLED BACK AROUND 11:30 AND SAID THAT HE HAD SPOKEN TO THE LADY AND HAD TAKEN A TRIP UP TO THE AFOREMENTIONED HOUSE. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR AND THE HOUSE IN DARKNESS HE WAS GOING TO PASS IT OFF TO THE MORNING SHIFT. AND HE SAID THAT "IF" THEY HAD TIME THEY WOULD PAY THE HOUSE A VISIT. OTHERWISE, IT WOULD HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE ORIGINAL RESPONDING OFFICER CAME BACK ON DUTY WHICH WAS WEDNESDAY MORNING!!! I WAS NONE TO HAPPY WITH HIS REPORT AND HE KNEW IT. MY TEMPER KICKED IN!!! I TOLD HIM I WAS GOING UP THERE AND POSTING THE MISSING AD OUTSIDE ON EACH OF THE HOUSES' TELEPHONE POLES WITH THE $500.00 REWARD. HE SAID THAT WAS UP TO ME BUT I SHOULD NOT APPROACH THESE MEN. WHAT DID HE THINK I WAS CRAZY!!! ???? WELL, MAYBE I DID SOUND A LITTLE CRAZY IN HIS DEFENSE. SO VERY EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, TUESDAY, MICHAEL PUT THE POSTERS UP. I WAITED WITH BATED BREATHE FOR THE CALL ALL DAY, BUT MORNING TURNED TO AFTERNOON AND THEN FADED TO EVENING AND EVENTUALLY THE INEVITABLE DARKNESS OF NIGHT. I WAS ALWAYS WORSE AT NIGHT...WORRYING ABOUT HER SAFETY AND WELL BEING. ONCE AGAIN I KEPT UP MY SILENT, LONELY WATCH. SOMETIME IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING I DRIFTED OFF TO SLEEP OR MAYBE A BETTER WORD WOULD BE A STUPOR.I ROUSED MYSELF AT ABOUT 7:45 FEELING GREAT DESPAIR AND THE FADING OF HOPE. BUT I CONTINUED TO PRAY. AT 7:50 THE PHONE RANG, I WAS SO IMMUNE TO THE LACK OF POSITIVE NEWS THAT I DID NOT GET EXCITED. THE GENTLEMAN ON THE OTHER END SAID THAT HE HAD JUST SEEN MY DOG. HE WAS AT THE KITCHEN SINK WHEN HIS BLIND, OLD POODLE OUTSIDE STARTED TO BARK. HE LOOKED OUT AND SAW HER. HE WENT OUT AND TRIED TO GET HER BUT SHE RAN UP A GRASSY PATH INTO A HUGE FIELD BEHIND HIS HOME. HE HAD TO DRIVE DOWN TO THE END OF THE STREET TO GET MY NUMBER OFF THE POSTER. I ASKED IF HE WOLULD BE HOME IF I WAS THERE IN TEN MINUTES AND HE SAID THAT HE HAD NO WHERE TO GO UNTIL 9:30. WELL, I CHUCKED ON SOME OLD SWEATS AND SNEAKERS......EXCUSE ME BUT I EVEN LEFT OUT THE UNDER GARMENTS. GOOD THING I DIDN'T HAVE AN ACCIDENT AS MY GRANDMOTHER USE TO SAY. ANYWAY, I ARRIVED AT HIS MINIHOME IN A MINIHOME PARK AND HE SHOWED ME THE PATH SHE TOOK. HE ALSO WARNED ME THAT THERE WERE NUMEROUS PATHS THROUGH WOODED AREAS. THE LOCATION I STARTED IN WAS DIRECTLY BEHIND A BUSINESS MALL BUT WITH LOTS OF TALL GRASS AND ALDER BUSHES.I STARTED MY SEARCH...I WOULD WALK TEN STEPS AND CALL HER NAME IN EACH DIRECTION. THEN I WOULD LISTEN. I WALKED FOR OVER 2 HOURS UNTIL I FINALLY RETURNED TO MY STARTING POINT. NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, ANOTHER FALSE ALARM!! I WAS ON THE PATH, READY TO MAKE MY WAY TO THE CAR WHEN A VOICE IN MY HEAD, NOT MY VOICE JUST A VOICE OR MAYBE A FEELING TOLD ME TO GO FURTHER THE OTHER WAY. I WALKED ABOUT 10 FEET AND CALLED JIJI. SOMETHING MADE ME LOOK TOWARDS THE TALL ALDERS AND GRASS AND CALL AGAIN. AND UP POPPED THIS LITTLE HEAD WITH ITS VERY DISTINCTIVE PINK COLLAR!!! I SWEAR IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE COLLAR, I MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS A MUSKRAT.I CALLED AGAIN, SHE MOVE TOWARD ME SLOWLY, SHE WAS LOOKING FRANICALLY ALL ABOUT AS IF SHE WAS GOING TO BOLT. I GOT DOWN ON MY HANDS AND KNEES AND CALLED HER NAME SOFTLY, I USED PHRASES THAT SHE WAS USE TO HEARING. SHE SLOWLY AND NERVOUSLY MADE HER WAY TO ME. WHEN SHE ARRIVED AT MY FEET I SCOOPED HER UP. THE POOR BABY WAS IN SHOCK, SHE WAS SHAKING AND STRUGGLING TO GET AWAY. I STROKED HER AND SPOKE TO HER ALL THE WAY TO THE CAR. I THOUGHT SHE WOULD BE WORSE IN THE CAR AS SHE IS NOT FOND OF CAR RIDES. BUT, NO, SHE FLOPPED DOWN. I STROKED HER ALL THE WAY HOME.WHEN I PULLED IN THE DRIVEWAY SHE BOLTED UPRIGHT AND HER LITTLE TAIL WAS GOING A MILE A MINUTE. I CAREFULLY CARRIED HER TO THE FRONT DOOR. WE WERE GREETED BY THE OTHER TWO DOGS AND JIJI LITERALLY FLEW OUT OF MY ARMS AND THE THREE OF THEM RAN AND PLAYED ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE. I SAT DOWN IN THE REC ROOM AND SHE RAN UP ONE SIDE OF ME AND DOWN THE OTHER STOPPING EVERY NOW AND THEN TO GIVE ME KISSES. I PUT OUT FOOD AND WATER FOR ALL OF THEM. SHE ATE A LITTLE, DRANK A LITTLE BUT SHE WAS MORE CONCERNED WITH US. MY BABY WAS HOME!!! PRAISE THE LORD.POST SCRIPT...THE GENTLEMAN CALLED AROUND 11:00 TO SEE IF I HAD HAD ANY LUCK. I THANKED HIM PROFUSELY AND SAID THAT I WOULD BRING THE REWARD UP LATER. HE SAID,"WHAT REWARD?" AND I TOLD HIM. HE REFUSED, HE SAID JUST TO SEE THE LITTLE ONE SAFE WAS ENOUGH THANKS FOR HIM. WELL, BEING THE STUBBORN PERSON THAT I AM THAT DIDN'T FLY. I ARRIVED WITH CASH IN HAND AT HIS HOME AT 3:30. WE ARGUED AMICABLY FOR ABOUT 10 MINIUTES. I TOLD HIM I HAD ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD AND WOULD CAMP OUT IN HIS KITCHEN. I SAID I DIDN'T CARE IF HE USED IT TO BUY T-BONE STEAKS FOR HIS DOGGIE. IN THE END, GUESS WHO WON....NO CONTEST, HANDS DOWN....ME!!! THE NEXT DAY I SENT HIM A THANK YOU CARD, A LETTER AND A PICTURE OF JIJI.SO, THERE YOU HAVE IT ALL ,FOLKS. THE STORY IS LIKE A FAIRYTALE BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS. ...HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN WOULD BE PROUD OF ME. LOL!! SO...GALS ARE YOU HAPPY THAT IT IS FINALLY OVER. THE FOLLOWING PICTURE IS A VERY CONTENT JIJI IN HER NEW BACKYARD AFTER HER BIG ADVENTURE.
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