missiing yorkie in Seattle
 

Monday, December 26, 2005

'Emotional support' service dog missing
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Gatsby, all 4 1/2 pounds of him, is more than just a cute and cuddly Yorkshire terrier. He's a certified emotional support animal and a vital link to his owners' son.

Since their college-age son died two years ago, Bruce and Sharon Gallagher have relied on Gatsby to help them deal with their grief. But now Gatsby is missing, having escaped beneath a privacy fence at the home where the Gallaghers were staying on a holiday visit to Seattle.

"We're just frantic," Bruce Gallagher said. "We've just been crying our eyes out."

The Gallaghers, from Rifle, Colo., have been in Seattle since Dec. 22, visiting a son who lives in the Ravenna neighborhood. During their visit, the Gallaghers have stayed in a home their son just purchased near the corner of Eighth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 56th Street.

Gatsby came with them.

"He goes everywhere with us," Gallagher said.

The tiny terrier has been a pet for the past five years, since the couple bought him as a puppy. Two years ago, their son, Cheyne Gallagher, died in a traffic accident during his junior year of college at Colorado Mountain College.

Both parents struggled with depression after that. During that time, their bond with Gatsby grew closer.

"He was very attached to Gatsby," Gallagher said of his son Cheyne. "We see a lot of Cheyne in Gatsby."



Because of that connection and as a way to help treat their depression, their doctor suggested having Gatsby certified as an emotional support animal.



Emotional support animals can include almost any breed of animal, and typically are certified by a letter from a physician or mental health professional to help alleviate conditions such as depression, anxiety or difficulties with social interactions.

With such a certification from a doctor, Gatsby is treated as any other service animal and can accompany the Gallaghers anywhere they go.

On Christmas Eve, the couple left Gatsby at the home where they were staying while they went to see a movie in downtown Seattle. A doggy door at the house allowed Gatsby access to the fenced yard.

Sometime after 2:30 p.m., when they left for the movie, Gatsby found a space under the fence and wiggled out. When the Gallaghers returned just before 6 p.m., Gatsby was gone.

The couple have been desperately searching for the pet ever since.

"We spent the whole night last night walking around the neighborhood, knocking on doors," Bruce Gallagher said. "We made posters."

Other dog walkers they encountered helped out, calling Gatsby's name, but to no avail. As of late Christmas Day, their pet remained missing.

Gatsby is tan and gray and was wearing a green collar with several tags when he was lost. A tuft of hair on his head is usually kept up with a rubber band. His tags include his name, microchip number and a phone number to report his location.

The Gallaghers plan to keep looking until they find their lost dog.

"It's just not the Christmas it's supposed to be," Bruce Gallagher said.

"Life without Gatsby, I just can't even imagine."


WHERE TO CALL


Anyone who may have seen Gatsby, a 5-year-old Yorkshire terrier and service dog, is asked to call his owners, Bruce and Sharon Gallagher, on their cell phone: 970-309-1602.
this is in or around U-District

I am so sorry. I will keep them in my prayers. I will say a prayer to St. Anthony as he is the patron saint of lost things. Please keep us posted on hopefully a happy outcome.

That is soo sad. That poor family!