Lost Dog Licorice Found Safe After the Fireworks

On July 4 Bedford resident Ben and his dog Licorice spent a lazy afternoon with friends in Salem celebrating the holiday. It was a typical cookout with lots of food and fun.

Licorice, being a very shy dog, stuck very close to her dad as she always does when she is out of her house. The day turned into night and unexpectedly someone set off a round of fireworks which sent poor Licorice into a panic. She jumped straight up into the air and without hesitation bolted into the woods.

Everyone jumped up and ran after her but by the time they got to the edge of the woods Licorice was already gone. Ben and his friends searched late into the night calling Licorice and hiking through the woods but by midnight they had to call off the search and reality set in...Licorice was lost.

Ben contacted Granite State Dog Recovery through Facebook to report his missing dog. One of our volunteers immediately reached out to him to offer assistance in the search. Ben was advised to put up as many flyers in the area as possible, contact the local shelters and animal control officers and continue searching for Licorice as often as possible. Since Ben did not actually live in Salem and his work took him out of town often he needed some extra help locating his dog.

GSDR had some volunteers in Salem, Manchester, Derry and Methuen, Mass., willing to jump in and lend a hand. One hundred and fifty flyers were made up, teams were organized and flyers were posted up all over town. We walked the streets, talked to neighbors and got the word out. A couple of sightings were immediately called in and we dispatched another volunteer to check out all the reportings. Facebook tracked our every move and more people offered to help.

I am happy to report that Licorice was picked up by Pelham Animal Control on July 13. Since she did not have any identification she was only reunited with Ben because of the phone call report of the lost dog to all the area animal control officers. Despite her nine day adventure she looked very good and was not hurt. She was also covered in ticks and very hungry but she was just so excited to see her dad again.

We advised Ben to get a new set of identification tags and more importantly get her micro-chipped immediately. Ben drove straight to the Salem Animal Rescue League where he was able to get Licorice micro-chipped for her safety.

This was a great ending to a very stressful event. It took some teamwork to get her home but receiving a few wet doggie kisses was enough reward for me.