Run carefree at the Rainbow Bridge

Animals have a way of teaching us about loving, about loyalty, joy, and
friendship...

And whatever we've shared in their presence can never really be lost
 
Dear Ledge:

I read this in a book:

"From time to time, when a certain person and a certain dog meet,
something happens that is just like magic!  It is as if they have known
each other before.  Each knows what the other is thinking and feeling.
They will be together always."   "...the greatest gift these friends
will share is knowing what is in the other's heart."   "A dog can never
really be separated from its forever person.  Neither time nor space can
ever come between them." 

I know you're in a happy place where you can run free, strong, and brave
my Little Man Lee.  You are my "forever dog" and I will love you always.
Kathy
 

Ledge, You're My Best Friend....

Ledger is my second Border Collie boy from Janice DeMello's wonderful Hob Nob line! 

Ledge has the potential to be an incredible obedience competitor as well as herding dog but, wanting to try a different sport, we’ve ventured into agility. 

For our agility debut, he won three out of four classes!  He has continued to excel and is such a pleasure to work with.  Ledge has an unquenchable desire to please and a joy of life that takes my breath away.  He is my best friend, my soul mate and my own personal clown. 

Jan, I will never be able to thank you enough for breeding the best Border Collies on earth!

Ledge has these titles: NA, NAJ, AD

Kathy Kelly, CA Mgr.-Apprentice Program Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc.

Ledge's sire is Jake and his dam is Static

I felt that those following the search and rescue efforts for find Ledger would want some insight as to the sad saga of what happened to Ledger.

this is a brief summary of what I remember...

Kathy Kelly had decided to drive down with Ledge and Charter for me to train and have fun with while she tended to Guide Dog business in FL with a side trip to enjoying Carol's company and watching part of the AKC agility nationals.

I was thrilled to get the chance to spend time with a member of the BEST litter, that being Ledge, and of course, to see how Charter was growing up to be. I drove Kathy to the airport on Saturday, 1/7 with pick up the following Sunday.

As the week progressed, aside from some training, Ledge enjoyed being part of the Hob Nob Land cousins romping and running with them in the sheep arena until Chisel's silent heat led me to remove the lad to the side run:>)

I put Ledge and Charter together in the side exercise area that runs parallel the 100ft length of the sheep arena. Knowing how Ledge loves to play soccer with basketballs, he enjoyed his free time flipping it up in the air only to have it land in the water bucket for him to dunk....way too cute! Baby Charter merely looked at the antics of big brother but chose to entice his cousins in the arena next to him for some fence running.

During down time, Charter and Ledger were enclosed in the chain link kennel just outside my office window which is 12X12 and puppy proofed...sadly, it was not proofed enough for one very noise sensitive Ledge.

This kennel area is between our neighbor's house (by a solid brick wall) of which they chose that fateful weekend to tear apart and remodel the downstairs family room. The kennel is enclosed within another kennel run for them to potty, etc.

As I left to pick up Kathy from the airport, all the dogs were secured in their outside kennels. No remodeling was going on at the time. Feeling all was secure and safe, Gail and I left to the airport.

As we were driving back, Gail's mom calls to tell her that a black dog was in the sheep arena. Kathy strongly feels it is Ledge fearing that he got scared of some noise. Gail instructs her mom to get a leash and call for Ledge so she
could bring him in the house. By the time her mom went back to the arena to get Ledge, he was gone!

Within about 10 minutes from the dreaded phone call, we arrived and I immediately looked in the side kennel only to find Charter and no Ledge. I could see that the vinyl lattice was torn apart, then the chain link lifted up from the kennel. I then went to the outside kennel gate and also saw that this was ripped apart...they had apparently started their remodeling to the sound of the air nail gun!  This is what scared our boy Ledge!

Thru the details of what Gail's mom told us, he then went from my fenced in yard into the long kennel potty yard (went under the gate somehow) then got out the other side same way, went into the fenced sheep arena (not sure how) when Gail's mom saw him. We figured that he got out the sheep arena thru the small space between the double gates which then put him in the fenced in agility yard. I immediately went to the chain locked corner gate to find the latch off but still secured by the chain with a combination lock. no way could he squeeze thru this! Only thing I can figure out is he scaled the high wall/fence to escape the agility yard...

Kathy, Gail and I immediately started calling for Ledger. I went out to the back sheep fields calling for him, while Kathy headed down the frontage road and stopped a young boy who told us that he had seen a dog fitting Ledge's description running into the construction area by our place. Again, he would have had to get thru chain link fencing unless he scaled our wall which would have put him in the construction area.

At this point of my writing this, things will get sketchy as to the order of things but I know I immediately made up fliers with Ledge's pictures to have Gail and Kathy run to OfficeMax to make the first run copies. Kathy then remembered the services of Sherlock Bones to which she made a call and contracted his services. He then made up his own flier and sent via email for me to print out which was our 3rd run to OfficeMax with the new fliers offering the $1,000 reward. Original fliers had already been put on telephone posts at this time as well as canvassing the neighborhood.

I also called Tanii Carr who owns Charter's brother as she has contacts with a few Animal Communicators (AC) one of which Kathy did call and hire her services.  After the initial call to the AC, the call to Kathy came an hour later by the AC giving us details and descriptions that she picked up from her reading with Ledge...I think that this is still Sunday....but it is now dark.

Some of the details that Ledger described to the AC was of a 3 peaked roof building (maybe terra cotta or brick) not occupied but not abandoned and up on a hill, plastic sheeting and cement pipes like drainage pipes. these became
important details to us...

After the information given to Kathy by the AC, both Kathy and I drove down a few miles to where there is a golf course and where a 2nd boy had spotted a dog fitting Ledge's description in the area of the golf course earlier in the day.
It is now nighttime and we drive to the field that runs adjacent to the golf course/soccer field. We are both calling his name and using our herding whistles that Ledge had been trained to come for. We are trying to see if this area fits the description from the AC...not really.

I called Geri who has been in San Diego with Cathy Roles and Carol Narr and asked her when she was returning and what happened to Ledge. Carol Narr got home late Sunday night while Geri waited till 5am Monday morning to drive the RV back home and both Cathy and Geri immediately came to join in our rescue efforts as well as Carol Narr.  Later that afternoon, Carol Schiefer joined in the search after arriving back into LAX from the AKC agility nationals in Tampa.

no more sightings of Ledge and we are all growing desperate...

It is now Tuesday morning and individually some of us feel Ledge will be found today....

With Gail having to go back to work as did Carol N, the searchers are dwindling in force with Geri able to come in the am and then back again in the early evening. Kathy's friend arrived from Pasadena to help in the Tuesday search.

With an afternoon break for me, I decided to drive back to the golf course area. Earlier that morning another Hob Nob owner living in Maryland had written me telling me of her strong feelings and something about a hill...seems the
hill was important. I too felt something about the hill and considering the AC relayed 'a hill' to us from Ledger, I felt this
had strong significance.

Armed with the reward fliers, I drove off to the area of the golf course. Kathy and her friend headed in the opposite direction but had already posted a flier at the golf pro shop a bit earlier.

As I pulled up at a little rest area adjacent to the golf course, I started putting up fliers by trash cans and then proceeded to walk down the HILL to post more fliers at the soccer field.

It is from this area that I decided to walk further and head to the golf course. As I did so, I spotted PLASTIC SHEETING covering a dried up tiny pond...as I turned towards the pro shop (not abandoned but not lived in) I noticed UP ON THE HILL A 3 PEAKED ROOF WITH TERRA COTTA SHINGLES. then, as I looked around I saw the CEMENT DRAINAGE PIPES. My excitement heightened and I called Kathy on the cell phone and told her of my findings feeling that it would be best if she came and called for Ledger while I whistled.

As Kathy arrived with her friend, I pointed out my findings to her...she called, I whistled...no Ledger. We both figured that with the quiet of nightfall that Ledge would be more inclined to return to this area.

I then told Kathy that I wanted to drive further down towards the big hillside that seemed to lure me there...

As I drove onto dirt roads that ran the base of this hillside, I came upon open fields that quieted my soul whistling out the van window and calling for our boy Ledger...

My journey drew me further and further into this serene area as I kept to the base of never ending hillsides that could only be traversed with an ATV. The road then came upon a sandy riverbed that made me think what a peaceful place for a scared border collie to take solace in.

As I had driven deep within this isolated area, I came upon a pickup truck to see 2 guys at the water's edge and made the decision that I was a woman by myself in a remote location and not to pursue asking them if they had seen a black and white dog....

In my drive back out of this isolated yet peaceful pasture land, I continued calling for Ledger and whistling all the while making sure to look in my rear view mirror with thoughts of  Lassie (Ledger) Come Home visions of seeing him running behind my van in pursuit of my whistles!

With a heavy heart, I cried out to Ledger with my cracked voice pleading for him to come back to Grandma's house that the scary noise had stopped and that his loving mom Kathy was waiting to take him home...

By now it is late Tuesday afternoon...I know the search is taking it's toll on all of us with no sightings of Ledger. I can only imagine the pain and pained heart that Kathy is surely feeling whether to make the decision to travel many
hundreds of miles to go back home with the sinking feeling that she is leaving her beloved boy behind...

Oh Ledger, please help us to find you so that you can go back home together with your mom and baby brother Charter!!!!

With only a mere hour or so left of daylight, Carol Narr stops by on her way from school to pick up more fliers...Geri calls to tell us that she is on her way back to our house after putting up fliers and checking one of the many local shelters...Gail calls from work to tell us that she is headed to yet another shelter...

I am sitting at the computer responding to incoming email donations while Kathy and I strategize that we will go back to the golf course area at nightfall in the hopes that Ledger will come back to the place he has described to the AC
then we get THE CALL...

To Carol Narr, if not for you following a gut instinct which led you to finding our boy Ledge, he would not have been able to go home with his devoted mom Kathy!  Words simply can not convey our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude in spite of the horrific tragedy of finding him in such a way in the middle of the busy road, FINDING him was so important...not far from the golf course.

Ledger...you are at peace, you are home with your mom Kathy even though you rest at the other side of the peaceful Rainbow Bridge...but I know that you are still slam-dunking a basketball!  Horribly loud noises no longer frighten you as you will forever be LEDGESTRONG

That'll do Ledge...that'll do  Love and always remembered by Grandma Jan