BY Kathy Hanks - The Hutchinson News
It's been a difficult time for Brandy Fox.
First her dad died suddenly and then her grandmother passed away.
So when she returned home Jan.28 to discover her beloved dogs dug a hole and vanished without a trace from her Hutchinson backyard, she was devastated.
Toby, a 2 1/2-year-old Shih Tzus, is the dad to tiny Koby. The family history goes like this - Toby hooked up with a Yorkie named Chloe. She gave birth to two shorkies, Koby and Zoey. Briefly they were a family of four, but they split in half. Toby and Koby went to live with Fox and Chloe and Zoey with someone else.
For more than a week Toby and Koby were on the lam.
It wasn't the first time they set off on an adventure.
They snuck out just the week before, after digging a hole under the tall backyard fence. That time they were quickly picked up by animal control about four blocks south of their home on 19th Avenue and Ash Street. Fox was relieved to get them back so quickly. Luckily, microchips were placed under their skin, so they could be identified if they were ever lost again. They also filled in the hole with dirt to eliminate future escapes.
Fox and friends had been covering about a 2-mile radius around the neighborhood calling their names. They scoured back allies, but to no avail. They posted flyers for the "Lost loved ones," with photos of the little rascals.
Both dogs were wearing collars, a sure sign they belong to somebody. Fox was hoping whoever found the dogs would see the posters she had placed all over town, or see the classified in The Hutchinson News
Despite being younger, Koby's the rebel and the one who undoubtedly dug the hole which led to freedom. That's what has Fox concerned. Koby is also extremely friendly, and would go to anyone.
They alerted animal control and local veterinarian clinics. But, Fox feared the dogs might have been picked up by someone who decided to keep them.
Or they could have been on a great adventure, maybe heading back to Pratt where they once lived. Or perhaps they have gone even further - like Petunia, the pit bull mix. She was in the news in December, found eight years later and 3,000 miles away after disappearing from her Fredericksburg, Va., home, thanks to a microchip scan.
It was hard for Fox to talk about Toby and Koby Monday morning without getting emotional. Toby has health issues and if gone unattended, could cause him great distress. He's on a special diet and takes medicine every day.
But, everything changed by Monday night.
Last Friday two young girls knocked on the home of the Mahorney family in the 300 block of west 10th holding Toby and Koby saying they wanted to give the dogs away because the owner didn't want them. Then they abandoned them in the alley. So the Mahorneys took them in. One of the sons saw the ad for the missing dogs in The Hutchinson News and called Fox Monday evening.
"You should have seen the looks on the dogs' faces when they saw their owners," Dennis Mahorney said.
Thrilled to have Toby and Koby back, Fox said they lost their freedom. But they can still have adventures, just on a short leash.
