August 19, 2021 - Before
A little past 1AM my husband and I welcomed our first son, Dylan via an unplanned c-section. He had jaundice which required light therapy, but after a couple of stressful, sleepless nights, his bilirubin levels had decreased enough that we were discharged from the hospital. After we brought him home, at his follow-up home check-in, his bilirubin levels had increased again and we were required to continue in-home light therapy. I remember crying at the dining room table when we got the call. We spent the next week trying to lower Dylan's bilirubin levels to an acceptable level so he would not require treatment in the NICU. I kept having to push out our first post-birth, routine check-up and the nurse commented that she was "sorry we didn't have a normal experience."
August 28, 2021 - Day of Storm's Disappearance
On August 28, 2021 we got confirmation from the Dr that Dylan's bilirubin level had dropped enough to discontinue light therapy.
My in-laws came in from Eastern WA to visit their first grandchild. My husband had planned to go to a get together in Seattle and wanted to take Storm with him. He made sure to confirm that the yard was well fenced-in and secure. We both felt bad that Storm had not gotten as much attention or exercise the last week or so while we were trying to figure out how to be new parents and navigate through Dylan's jaundice.
Troy and Storm left and I was happy that Storm would get some 1:1 time and would have the opportunity to spend time playing outside of the house.
August 28, 2021 - The Incident/Post-Incident
Sometime during the get together, an "acquaintance" there got up and accidentally left the gate unlatched and open. Being curious in nature, Storm slipped out of the backyard almost unnoticed. Someone at the party alerted my husband that "his dog got out," and he reacted immediately. He followed the individual who left the gate open thinking she tracked where Storm was headed, but 2-3 blocks later she told him that she had no idea where he was. The other attendees spotted Storm the opposite direction and in a panic, trying to keep him away from traffic they started chasing him. My husband, not wearing athletic shoes was in no position to keep up and was already several blocks behind. Storm ran 2.5 miles straight, weaving in-and-out of traffic on a busy street. It was a miracle he was not hit by a car. While the group did their best to keep up, Storm slipped away and the group lost sight of him.
While this was happening, I was enjoying dinner with my in-laws thinking about how we were going to start having a more "normal" parenting experience. Once they were packing up and leaving, I was getting ready for some quiet time before my boys came home as Dylan was sleeping. I had just sat down on the couch when my in-laws came back to the house. I thought they had just forgotten something, but I could tell that something was wrong by the look on their faces. They asked me if I had talked to Troy and said I needed to call him.
I looked at my phone and saw I had 10 missed calls and a text from him. Before I called him, my heart already knew what he was going to tell me. Storm was missing. My father-in-law rushed me down to meet Troy to look for Storm, but it was late and I was 9 days into my c-section recovery. Every step was painful, my feet were swollen, my incision still healing, and the fear and anxiety of my missing boy was setting in. We drove around and walked for hours until we had to go home to our baby. I cried so much and couldn't sleep that night even as exhausted as I was.
We have since put up 100's of flyers across several neighborhoods, worked with someone with an infrared drone, contacted vets/businesses/groomers/dog daycares, organized a search party, posted across multiple social media platforms, searched shelters/rescues, etc.
Though we have been unsuccessful so far, we are not giving up.
9 days after the birth of our first child, my husband took Storm to a backyard NFL draft party so Storm could have some 1:1 attention and get outside and play. Someone at the get together left the gate unlatched/open and Storm escaped.
My husband's friends, meaning well, chased Storm for 2.5 miles before losing him. My husband and I tried to recover him that night, but due to 1/ having a new baby at home who was just overcoming jaundice and 2/ still recovering from my c-section we weren't able to stay and search the entire night.
We have since put up 100's of flyers across several neighborhoods, worked with someone with an infrared drone, contacted vets/businesses/groomers/dog daycares, organized a search party, posted across multiple social media platforms, searched shelters/rescues, etc.
Though we have been unsuccessful so far, we are not giving up.