Boddington is a special little town. With a population of approximately 2000 it’s the type of place where everyone says hello and kids regularly play in the streets under the watchful eye of their parents and neighbours. It is the reason we moved here and the overwhelming response we have had from the community regarding Henry’s disappearance only confirms this towns beautiful and generous disposition. Within minutes of finding Henry missing I called the local Ranger. His immediate response was to ask if Bella was with him. He’s only ever picked them up once but this is just part of the friendly local recognition. When I tell him no Bella is home he says “Oh that’s strange” and my stomach drops, I already know this. He tells me that he hasn’t heard anything but if he does he’ll let me know. I post on the Boddington FB page that Henry is missing and within minutes there are 3 other cars out on the road looking for him in the hours before nightfall and I am bombarded by calls to my mobile asking to look after Chastity while I look for him. 2 hours later nobody has found him and it’s getting dark so I retreat to my home defeated. I leave the front light on and check every 15 minutes to see if Henry is there. Chastity is asking me where’s puppy. Bella is crying, even the cat looks confused. The next morning I am bombarded with phone calls offering to look after Chastity, asking to help and telling me that people are going out on their morning walk, ride drive and will be keeping their eye’s peeled for Henry. I call the Ranger and tell him that Henry is still missing. He’s shocked. I call the Police station to tell them about Henry and the broken gate. I print off some posters chuck Chastity in the pram and let Bella out for a walk. Bella just seems to dart in every direction with no indication of where Henry has gone. As I walk I call out his name. When we reach the local hardware I asked to put up a sign and their more than happy to help shocked that Henry is missing. At the Deli the girl at the counter asks if I have found Henry yet and when I reply no she passes me the sticky tape. While pinning up the poster at the local IGA I am stopped by 2 people asking if I have found Henry yet. When I get home I pack Chastity in the car and start to scour the streets again at 10km per hour calling Henry’s name. I see the post man and stop and ask him if he has seen my dog. There’s no need to tell him which one he already knows. He says he’s only seen one dog out today and it wasn’t Henry. He says he will keep an eye out for me. It takes me all of 2 hours to drive down every street in Boddington and by the end of it even the children in the streets have started chanting his name. “Hennnnn-ry... HENNNN-RY” All the dogs are barking, I’m sure I’m driving everybody insane. I receive a call from one of the local police officers. She tells me that she thinks Henry’s disappearance is suspicious. Dogs go missing in Boddington all the time but they are always found within a few hours. The fact that nobody has seen him is strange. She’s going to kit up and come have a look at my gate. My stomach drops again. I’ve been thinking the same thing but don’t want to say it out loud. After the police are gone I stop at a friends house. She tells me I look dreadful. I keep receiving messages and calls asking if I have found Henry, reporting that they haven’t seen him, asking if I need them to look after Chastity. I take Chastity home for a nap and on the way stop at the Bakery for lunch. The girl behind the counter asks me if I have found Henry. They Owner come’s out and asks if I have found him too. I reply no and go home. After Chastity wakes up we pop down the local IGA to get supplies for dinner. There are 5 people standing in line. 3 of them ask me if I have found Henry yet as well as the lady at the check out. I don’t really know any of them. I burst into tears If there are so many people in the community out there looking for Henry why hasn’t anyone seen him. Instead of comforting me like it should, the knowledge that the whole community is up in arms looking and no one has seen him just fills me with dread. The next morning and I am again bombarded with calls and messages from people asking if I have found Henry yet? Telling me they are out looking for him, asking to help. Now I have farmers calling me telling me they are scouring their paddocks looking for him. Checking all the places they usually find dogs.... The response from the Boddington Community is overwhelming. Everybody is searching for our boy but no one has seen him for 4 days now. How does a 90kg dog go missing in a community as small and loving as this? The only answer I have is that he mustn’t be here anymore...... WE JUST FOUND HENRY HE’S DEAD!!!
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 03:12:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015