A Letter of Deep Gratitude

I received this letter a little while ago from Marc Rubin. I will let his words speak for themselves.

A Letter of Deep Gratitude January 2, 2012

While celebrating New Years Eve with friends at Ivan & Gustavo’s in Woodland Valley, our beloved dog Kasha, panicked by fireworks, bolted off into the darkness. We searched for a good many hours that night with help from our friends at the party... but to no avail. We were feeling heartsick and feared that Kasha may be hurt and possibly even forever lost. Early the next morning, with little sleep, I began the search again, while Ina went home to make flyers. As I roamed the mountains, a feeling of futility overwhelmed me. The mountains are large and I did not know which way she went. What's more, I was just one person rambling about. I called Marilyn to see if she could get the word out. Soon friends from the night before began showing up and joining the search, then more friends that had gotten word of our plight started arriving. Soon there was a small army of friends, strangers and dog lovers - all in vigorous search of Kasha. I was awed by the generosity and kindness that the Woodland Valley- Phoenicia community was showing to us foreigners from Lanesville. It eased my anxiety and left room for hope.

Our army of searchers spotted her a couple of times that afternoon in the local area but kasha responded by running in dire disorientation. The search through woodland valley continued till dark. As night came we were again distraught by our failure to find Kasha, but now word was out, flyers were up and the entire community was aware of our dilemma. Around 7pm while preparing for another night of look-out, I received the call we had been waiting for: Kasha had been found and was safe in the comfort of the Longhi family home on Grandview Rd. Ernie had seen her in his yard and cleverly lured Kasha into the house with sizzling pork chops. After 21 hours in the wild she couldn’t resist, could she? We found her unhurt but very, very, very tired.

Words cannot do justice to the gratitude and warmth I feel towards this community for caring so deeply. I am awed by all the people who gave so generously of their time. Ina, I and Kasha offer our sincerest thanks and love to all. Kasha is now safe, a little shell shocked, but happy to be home thanks to all of you.

With gratitude and love,
Marc, Ina and Kasha