Baby Grace is dead. She was hit by a car the same night she went missing (the 2nd of July). The person who hit her stopped and called the police, which was wonderful - some people just keep on truckin'.
The police came, and scooped her up about 10pm. She was most certainly dead on impact. The police officer brought her to the Waseca Pound (which is actually one of the Veterinarians in town). She went in the 'dead critter' box, which is a chest freezer, I assume.
All of this was unknown to me, as I called the police on the 3rd. The dispatcher was empathetic and professional. He had heard nothing of any kitties being picked up dead or alive. He suggested I call the Pound. I thanked him, hung up, and called the Pound.
Doc seemed in a rush and let me know that no cats had come in, and that I should check back on Monday the 6th, as they were closed for the 4th of July weekend.
Heartened by the news that Baby Grace was still wandering around, I took to the streets and trails around my house, looking under bushes, cars and cat hidey-holes.
No Grace.
I drove around the neighborhood looking for cat bodies in the road, and along the curbs.
Still no Grace.
By this time on the 3rd, I had made flyers and had posted some around the neighborhood. No calls.
The 4th, and I spent the first part of the morning looking for Grace, and the last half of the day playing Lakefest. I was still hopeful, even as I watched the fireworks.
The 5th, and the flyers were everywhere. Streetlights, phone poles, most local businesses, and pretty much my entire block got a leaflet with Grace's picture and description. I had jokingly mentioned to my pal who was helping that I was sure to get a call from someone who thought it would be the height of comedy to call and make meowing noises.
How right I was. The call came that night; she had tried earlier, but I had no voicemail set up. I'm afraid I disappointed her; I've been an internet troll for too long.
The next call came - Al. Al informed me he was going to look for our girl that day. Thanks Al.
The 6th, Monday. I took the day off and every business in downtown Waseca got a flyer. Stopped in the pound. Asked if my wife had called. Yup. Asked if Grace had come in. Handed them a flyer, and pointed to the photo. Was told to post it on the bulletin board. Drove around the neighborhood, every street. Twice. Maybe 3 times.
The 7th. I'm exhausted. I printed more flyers and leaflets. I took the day off. Posted more.
The 8th. It's now been a week. Printed about 150 new leaflets, intending to hit every house for a 5 block radius. Stopped at Walmart to pick up some photos, and decided to find out why I couldn't get a lost kitty poster put up in the business that has the most traffic in town. (I had tried earlier, and got stopped by the 'Greeter/Gatekeeper'. He said he could put it up in the break room. Yeah. There's some traffic.) Spoke to customer service. She said no, not allowed, and was annoyed I asked to speak to a manager.
I asked her if she didn't think it was a good idea to have a bulletin board for things like this. She said, "I can't comment on that." I then asked, "Wouldn't it be nice to work at a place where you didn't have to be scared to have a comment on that? You don't have to answer that."
Manager came up, and was very nice, and was very willing to hear me out, and was very willing to have me talk to the Store Manager.
Store Manager was apologetic, and professional, and completely blindsided when I pointed out the Waseca Fair poster, the stack of Waseca Fair Programs, and a stack of the ad-filled 'Southern Minny Buzz' an ad-supported tri-fold publication.
She said, 'Those are community sponsored'. Except the Buzz, which is for-profit. I pointed that out, and also pointed out the 'Walmart Serves the Community' board by the registers where they post big self-congratulatory posters about how much they help our little town of Waseca. It was covered by cases of bottled water.
As I got the number of the general-regional-super-mecha manager, she ran off with all the stacks of publications. The Fair poster is still up, though.
Not my intention to cause a local media purge, but oh well. Rules are rules, and must never be broken, as the fabric of society could come apart. Blame Grace.
Stopped at the police station, and gave them a flyer. Jokingly asked about an APB.
Went to work, when I got a call from a girl who had been walking home from work, and saw the police officer pick up a kitty from the road. She was sure it was dead.
I left work, went to the police station. Gave the officer the info; she said she'd get back to me.
Went right to the pound. Gave them the info. After looking though the 30 or so sheets of paper, she found one, went back, got the cat out of the freezer, and called me back.
It was Baby Grace.
She was rolled in a ball, and her head was not right. I could tell it was her by her fuzzy grey fur. I said, "That's her", got a bag and took her home. I hugged her frozen body as I drove.
Grace went in our chest freezer. Later I got to break the news to the wife.
I spoke to the police officer who'd picked her up, and he gave me some details such as time and place and how the lady who'd hit her was incredibly upset. (In case she ever reads this, we're glad you stopped, and we're sorry our dumb kitty jumped in front of you. ) He explained to me that the person I spoke to wouldn't have access to the records of that night due to the way Waseca dispatches officers and sheriff's deputies and what have you.
I was a bit hazy at the time, so I'm afraid I don't quite know what he said exactly.
It's Thursday now, and as I sit here and write this I'm sad. I'm sad that even though I kicked my ass with a media blitz that I don't even do a tenth of for the band, and did most everything right, and that everyone was professional, empathic, and helpful -
I got to wait a week to find out my girl was dead the whole time.
Lessons learned from the missing kitty (and sadly, some other cats and dogs from days gone b)y :
Don't let your kitties out. Yeah, well, we know this one is pretty obvious. If they go outside, keep them in a fence. If they jump the fence, well, they're cats, dummy.
Make sure they have a collar, or at the very least are microchipped. Maybe I could have avoided my week if Grace hadn't been far too pretty for a collar. ha.
Call everybody all the time - I called the Pound twice, and the wife called once. I contacted the Police 5 times total. I still had to be Encyclopedia Brown, and put it together. I guess I could have asked the Pound specifically, DO YOU HAVE ANY DEAD GREY CATS? but I thought the fact that I was looking for one may have included that possibility. The police have got meth labs to bust and Ken Lay to arrest, so don't assume that you're at the top of the list, just because you don't hear sirens.
That said, everyone at the Waseca Police Department has always been professional, nice, efficient, and like you imagined police when you were in Elementary school. That's awesome, and a big change from other places I've lived.
The Pound however, dropped the ball. You gonna do the job, you better know what the hell's in your freezer. I could have known the day after if someone there had put two very big twos together, and stopped thinking about how many hot dogs one can eat on the 4th of July. Really, how many longhair grey cats get hit by cars in a day? How many cats come in dead or alive in a day? In Waseca? Yeah. I'm pissed about it. Do your job.
Make the flyer. Designer stuff here: I will have to do a post on designing this flyer.
You've taken full-length pics of all your pets, right? From every angle? I'll tell you right now, NOBODY READS. Nope. I had people ask me questions that were answered in order from the flyer. Everyone saw the, "I Got Losted!" word balloon. Eventually, they'll get over the 'aww's and 'ohhh's and read it. Make sure the date missing is there, the place (I saw some posters with no place - how am I going to help if I don't know where your dog disappeared?), and description. Description needs to be clear, but chances are, people are going to see your critter across two yards and a street. Make sure they know what they're looking for.
The non-readers? Admittedly, most people aren't confronted with a personally delivered Lost Kitty poster, but still - get hooked on phonics, people. I'm not worried that they'll be offended by this, because they'll never make it this far down the post.
Use the interwebs. You're on there already. Get on Craigslist, post it everywhere where it makes sense, and you're not being spammy. Don't post it in places just because you can. You will not interest people on Digg with your missing cat, unless it was stolen by Hannah Montana.
Be prepared for pricks. People are generally nice, and some are fantastic - going out of their way to help you, or share a story of the 'critter returned'. As I mentioned before, though, tragedy brings out the assholes. Usually, they're drunk, stupid, or both. You might get a smart psychopath, but it's probable that they're messing with Jodi Foster rather than your Craigslist posting, but...
Some people are just dicks. They get a sick pleasure out of being dicks in the face of others' misfortune.. Even if they turn over a new leaf, the world makes more. Don't let the bastards getcha down. They're dicks, you've seen them before, and you'll see them again. fuck 'em.
If you're worried about it, use a disposable email and cel phone. Don't give out your address. Meet people somewhere else. Walmart, being the panopticon of small towns is perfect. People, and cameras. Don't be dumb.
Scams. Within an hour of posting about Grace, I received notices that www. some lost pet site .com was 'tracking' my post. I was interested, so I checked it out. 50 bucks, and they apparently send a notice set in Comic Sans (the devil's typeface) to 'hundreds of people'. I'm guessing it's the hundreds of people that have signed up.
Oddly, a day or so later, I got a response from someone on Craigslist saying I should "Check out this site that is similar sounding, and redirects to the one you were tracked by earlier! I (insert heartwarming story here) and that's how I got him back!"
Perhaps this is a real service that does real good. Maybe it's coincidence that some local person with an email addy that didn't match the name sent a anecdote that sounded strangely like marketing-speak from the site. Maybe. Maybe I've been on the tubes long enough to know how "I want your money" sounds. I didn't go for it.
Stay Local. Your critter can only go so far without help, and if it's scared, it's going to hide and avoid people, cars, and noise. Get pals, be calm (why is your dog going to run to you if you sound crazy?), get on a bike so you can hear your surroundings, and do the gig.
Enough already. There's plenty on the tubes about this, and I'm not the Pet Whisperer. Lost pets suck. Looking for them sucks. Not knowing where they are sucks. Finding out they're dead sucks.
I'm happy that I know what happened, that I know it was without malice, and that she didn't suffer. Sometimes, you don't get any of that.
And sometimes you get them back safe and sound. I hope you get that.