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After a night late in a stock car race, Carole and Verne King returned to their hotel in Kalispell, where dogs are welcome, and made a catastrophic discovery.
Katie, their 7-year-old border colist, was no longer in the room. She had apparently managed to open the door, probably frightened by a storm that had swept the area. At the reception, an attendant said that she had seen a worried dog leaving the front door several hours ago.
The kings were stunned. In the small town of 23,000 people that recedes into the vast wilderness of Glacier National Park, surrounded by forests and fields, where would they start looking?
Over the next 57 days, the pair began looking for night vision goggles, animal tracking cameras, and horse manure from the family farm in eastern Washington. Ms. King, a postman, left his job.
"Every night going to bed was heartbreaking," King said. "Is she hot? Did she have anything to eat today? It tore us apart.
Day 1
"Like a crime scene"
After the initial discovery, kings spent the night frantically searching nearby neighborhoods, where farms and alfalfa houses and new shopping malls meet north of Kalispell.
They stayed outside until about 4 am, said the kings, but they saw no sign of the dog. The receptionist asked them to send photos and together they began creating and distributing flyers in the surrounding area.
Hundreds of them were posted on street lights and community mailboxes and distributed door-to-door and at local sporting events. They published Katie's photo on Facebook pages and lost pet Internet networks. Unknown people joined them to browse the neighborhoods in search of Katie.
As former LA force officers, the Kings knew how to look through abandoned buildings. They examined the dirt in alfalfa fields for traces or dog poop. They considered the possibility that Katie was hit by a car on the highway, but without any proof, they continued.
"You think that sounds like a crime scene," King said.
Day 15
Traps and scents
After a few weeks of research, kings decided to try more extreme measures. They ordered two game cameras, of the type used by wildlife researchers, who could record a video when an animal passed by. They ordered animal traps, hoping that the food – like Katie's favorite cheese sticks – would persuade her to cajole her.
Ms. King also started jogging and cycling in the neighborhoods, hoping her sweat could tell the dog that her family was close. They left used t-shirts at strategic locations, as well as Katie's blanket and dog bowl.
"I do not think we've ever been on a street," said Ms. King.
The couple then brought shavings of hair and two buckets of manure from their horses home and, with the approval of local farmers, spread them near traps and other possible locations.
Later, after hearing rumors that Katie might be on the move at night, the couple acquired night vision goggles and spent hours in the cold, hoping to see Katie crossing a field.
But they saw no activity. The camera images show no sign of their dog. The traps? They caught a magpie, a cat and four skunks.
Day 22
Possible observations
Hints, however, arrived. When people reported possible sightings, kings rushed to follow up.
On one occasion, they drove 15 miles to Columbia Falls on a tip, although that seemed self-evident. Other times, they would check even when the description of the dog did not seem very accurate.
"In our heart, I always said," If I did not follow, what would happen if she was without her and we did not do anything? "
Sometimes it would be a different dog. On one occasion, while chatting with a farm landowner, a woman approached and told them that she had just seen their dog cross the road and rush into a canola field. The Kings ran, calling Katie.
They did not find it.
Day 37
Leave work
Ms. King was still working as a mailman in the Spokane area. For a week in August, she had to go home while her husband continued the search.
She spoke to her bosses about the possibility of taking time. But it was not feasible during the summer months. Although the money helped supplement their pensions, she gave him advance notice.
"Katie was just more important to me," said Ms. King. "I just said," I'm going to finish this week, and that's it. "
On his return to Kalispell, Mr. King had to return to Spokane. He left a note written for Katie.
"I'm going home to take care of your brothers and your sister," King said, referring to their two other dogs and a cat. "Instead of saying goodbye, I'd rather say: see you soon."
Day 53
Loose hope
A month and a half after the search, the kings were still hopeful. There was no sign of Katie, but also no evidence of her death.
In the second week of September, however, Ms. King said she was becoming demoralized. She was crying and beginning to wonder if the dog would ever be found.
"I was not ready to go, but I thought, what can I do more?" Said Ms. King.
Missing her house and other animals, she planned to return home, about 250 km away, to spend the weekend. But her husband persuaded her to stay, suggesting a week longer. Some of his new friends in Kalispell also encouraged him to persist.
A person had opened his house to allow the Kings to stay in the area. More than a dozen others have spent hours helping them search. The owners had welcomed them on their vast estates.
"We can not believe this community up there," King said. Ms. King added, "I came out of this pure goodness on the part of people – from stranger to stranger."
Day 57
"I got it"
On the morning of September 15, Ms. King received another tip, this time in a subdivision located near the hotel. The resident stated that he was looking out the window and that he was confident that Katie was in his yard.
Ms. King and a friend rushed. But by the time they arrived, everything he had seen had disappeared. They walked through the nearby fields, looking with binoculars.
They met a couple on a walk, told them about their research and the woman indicated a dog under a nearby tree.
It was a border collie. They started calling Katie. The dog was careful, careful. The other members of the group were silent when Ms. King called the dog. Katie ran at full speed and jumped into Mrs. King's arms.
"All I could think of was, I finished. I got it, "said Ms. King. "I cried, I held her in my arms, wrapped her in a bear hug. I could not get her up fast enough to shut her up, so I would not lose her anymore. "
Katie is immediately asleep on the front seat of the car. She was dirty, dehydrated and had lost 15 pounds. They took her to an emergency veterinarian, who shed tears upon learning that it was about Katie, the dog that Kalispell had been searching so hard to find.
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