Your family dog disappears while on vacation. seek, pray, and seek again. Your intellect may urge you to give up hope after days without a word, but your heart never does.
Hope is occasionally rewarded.
On July 4, 2020, the Battista family of New York City was vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland when their 2-year-old Boston terrier Fisher disappeared.
Fisher was featured on a local floating billboard after the Battistas plastered missing flyers and bombarded social media.
After finding no leads, the family stayed longer. They hired a tracker and a “animal communicator” to use doggy ESP to find Fisher, but failed.
The family has started an online fundraiser and a #findfisher Facebook page with 8,000 followers to raise awareness and help them find their fur baby.
“We’ve notified Ocean City police, fire, beach patrol, postal service, Scopes, lifeguards—you name it!” Matthew Battista contacted Fisher’s GoFundMe.
We have put signs from the inlet to 77th St. and canvassed Fenwick, Bethany, Dewey, and Reheboth, Delaware beaches. We’ve prolonged our stay in Ocean City and hired a dog tracker, in addition to looking by vehicle, foot, and bike.
Despite being compelled to return to New York without Fisher, the Battistas persisted. Despite the tremendous media bombardment, Fisher looked to have pulled a Houdini.
Undaunted, the Battistas kept the Internet gossip going about Fisher’s disappearance. Fisher became a media favourite in absentia.
The Battistas’ tenacity paid off partly because of that.
Baltimore City resident Wayne Horn saw a stray dog on the road while maintaining his motorbike on April 20, 2021, 290 days after Fisher’s unauthorised Independence Day escape.
“I called him over because cars speed up and down my road,” Horn told Delaware Online. “He came to me, so we gave him water. He lay down and felt pleased, not wanting to leave.”
Horn’s buddy shared photos of the recovered dog on Facebook, and “That’s Fisher!” came back quicker than a boomerang.
A micro-ship scan verified the results, but Elissa Battista recognised Fisher instantly. “From the moment I saw the photos I knew it was him from the markings and his little tongue sticking out,” she said on Facebook.
Reunion was planned swiftly. The Battistas had local friends pick Fisher up from the Horns, and Elissa drove five hours to bring him home. Fisher was in good form despite some frostbite symptoms.
The Battistas are so grateful to Fisher that they’re utilising social media again to help others. Formerly “Find Fisher” on Facebook, “Find Fisher’s Friends” now helps pet owners find their missing pets.
Once Fisher is home, the family will donate any remaining GoFundMe contributions to his favourite charity. We’re still waiting for “woof” on what it is, but this narrative has obvious lessons:
Social media and microchips help families find missing pets. A successful result is most likely with both.Though no reunion is assured, don’t give up hope. More than anything, Fisher’s 10-month walk-about shows that hope never dies.
