Family Braves Through Lost Labs, Then Fire

February has not been a good month for the Farrish family of Clifton. Patch
readers know that their two beautiful Chocolate Labrador Retrievers vanished on Feb. 1.

Although Nia and Jade were spotted several hours after they disappeared by a
homeowner in nearby Singing Woods, a neighborhood off Wolf Run Shoals, they have not been seen since.

On Saturday, Feb. 19, Karen Farrish and her daughter began another day of
searching for their much-loved dogs at Fountainhead Regional Park. After traipsing
fruitlessly through the woods and slogging in the cold mud along the Occoquan, they returned home, ready for a restful afternoon.

To their horror, they were greeted by smoke and flames. Behind their house, a
power line had fallen on the trail and started a fire. The high winds had snapped the line and, of course, fanned the blaze. Kevin, Karen’s husband, had already called 911.

The firefighters were stretched thin by the 17 other fires they were battling in the
county. “They were as nice as they could be to us,” commented Karen gratefully. “We helped by making a water barrier with our garden hose. The firefighters showed us how we could assist them, and at the same time they protected us.”

The fire burned along the Farrish family’s fence line. It also raced along the
power lines and bridle trail, all the way to Singing Woods. Fortunately, no houses were destroyed. To make sure flames were truly extinguished, several firefighters remained at the site until late at night.

If Jade and Nia had not disappeared, the Farrishes would have been away for the
weekend. They cancelled their trip, however, to continue the search for their dogs --
perhaps one small piece of good luck. In the past three weeks, they have walked
everywhere in the Fairfax Station-Clifton area, repeatedly scouring both Bull Run Marina and Fountainhead Regional Parks.

Karen has tried many different avenues for finding the affectionate, well-behaved
Labs -- ads in The Washington Post, stories in Patch, flyers posted from Chantilly to
Springfield, notices in “Craig’s List” all over the state, a Facebook page and rewards. She even hired a dog tracker, but the scent had gone cold after a few days. The Clifton Hunt has searched the trails, as have other riders and hikers. Feeding stations have been prepared with food and treats, such as Milk Bones and rawhide chews, that other animals do not like.

This usually effective strategy was suggested both by the dog tracker and by
Karen Scott, owner of Traildust Stable in Fairfax Station. All these efforts have yielded nothing.

If you have an unused barn or shed in your backyard or woods, please check it.
Look at construction projects near your house to make sure the dogs didn’t get trapped inside. Put out a feeding station in your own yard, and keep your eyes open. Let’s help make March a happier month for Karen and her family.

If anyone has any news about the Labs, please call Karen, the Labs’ owner, at (703) 906-4387.­