It happened again.
A lost dog.
Another family heartbroken.
Another Christmas overshadowed by the absence of a beloved family pet.
Christmas Eve began like so many before it—fresh-brewed coffee, a slice of homemade banana bread, and that rare feeling of peace that settles in before the day truly begins.
Then the silence was broken by the ding of my husband’s phone.
A text from a neighbor.
This time, it wasn’t us searching for our own dog. It was our neighbor—a family with a small child—trying to understand how their chocolate Labrador, Ollie, had simply vanished.
Ollie had been let out to go potty with their other dog. The night was thick with fog and mist. When only one dog came back, and Ollie didn’t, the terrifying reality began to set in.
We pulled on warm clothes and headed out on the side-by-side. For hours we searched—along ditches, through thick woods, stopping to ask neighbors if they had seen him. Every answer was the same:
“No… but we’ll keep an eye out.”
You might think we searched because Ollie was our dog. Truth is, I’ve never even petted him.
I searched because I remember this pain.
I remember losing my Labrador, Amos, just days before Christmas. He disappeared during the day and was never seen again. Today, I relived every moment of that loss—the frantic searching, the desperate prayers that he would come home, and eventually the heartbreaking prayer for closure… even if it meant finding him deceased.
There is no good time to lose a pet. But Christmas has a way of magnifying the loss. The joy all around you only makes the empty space feel heavier.
I know what my neighbors are feeling tonight.
The pain.
The guilt.
The unanswered questions.
As we searched for Ollie, I felt every one of those emotions all over again. And tonight, just like Amos all those years ago, Ollie is still not home.
If you have your pup close to you tonight, hold them a little tighter. Tell them how much they mean to you. Because sometimes, we don’t get another chance.
It’s been more than 25 years since Amos disappeared…
but tonight, it feels like it was just yesterday.
