Golden Retrievers are popular dogs - friendly, intelligent, energetic, and very loyal to their humans. When circumstances separated Mary Ellen Frazier from her dog, Bailey, it comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with this breed that both were anxious to find each other again.
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Earlier this month Mary Ellen Frazier was moving from Alabama to New Jersey. Her vehicle was filled with everything that mattered to her, including her six-year-old Golden Retriever, Bailey. She decided to take a detour through Missouri to visit a friend. Unfortunately, Mary Ellen’s car was involved in a serious accident on a Missouri highway, and rolled over several times before coming to a stop. In a town where she didn’t really know anyone she spent a few days in the hospital, then moved to a hotel while she waited for friends from New Jersey to come get her. Her car was totaled but her biggest worry was her dog. Where was Bailey? He had run away after the crash, and no one had seen him. Her best friend, her companion, was missing.
Then along came a good Samaritan named Cindy Kielty. Mary Ellen told Cindy about the wreck, saying that she didn’t know if she would ever find her beloved dog. Cindy told her husband Ken the story and he made a few calls; before long policemen and animal control officers were searching everywhere for one very special Golden Retriever.
When Mary Ellen’s friends finally arrived to take her to New Jersey, Bailey was still missing. She was heartbroken but she had no choice; she had leave without him.
Then, two days later, animal control officers spotted Bailey close to the scene of the accident. He was uninjured, but the pads of his feet were scraped and cut; it seems he had been running up and down the road for days, looking for Mary Ellen. Cindy and her husband took a picture of Bailey and sent it to Mary Ellen, who was overjoyed to see that he really was okay. Her son drove to Missouri to pick up Bailey and take him home to Mary Ellen.
There’s no doubt that Mary Ellen loves her dog, but it’s also clear that he loves her. For days he searched for her near the last place he had seen her. It makes me smile to think about their reunion. In fact it makes me smile to think about the devotion they have to one another. That’s what companionship is all about, when you’re speaking of pets.
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