Marine Delune felt sick with worry. Her West Highland White Terrier, Ruthie, was vanished.
Ruthie had sprung from her parked car and followed something down the road, dragging her retractable leash behind her. It had been a routine day for the Belfast, Maine resident.
Delune couldn’t think about anything else for two days while she hoped for the best.
Delune told the Bangor Daily News, “I cannot tell you how tormented I was by the notion of her being afraid, so scared, and so cold.”
Delune found it difficult to hunt for Ruthie on her own. She has cerebral palsy and chronic Lyme disease, both of which have caused her to lose her hearing and become increasingly paralyzed. Delune, a former municipal councilor, was fortunate in that she had the support of the community she had represented.
“This is such a large dog community… “It was easy to want to help Marina because she is crippled and couldn’t look for herself,” Raymelle Moody, administrator of the “You Know You Love Belfast If…” Facebook group, stated to the Bangor Daily News.
Hundreds of volunteers braved the rain and cold to search the area’s parks and neighborhoods for Delune’s beloved dog. Despite the fact that nearly two days had gone with little improvement, the community continued to respond.
The case was personal for Kimberly Mitchell. Mitchell is also an animal lover who struggles with her own limitations, so she understood Delune’s predicament. She claimed that she felt a strong draw – the dog was there — as she drove her car to Delune’s house to meet and discuss how she might help.
She continued checking in the yards of surrounding homes until she located one with a small hole beneath its deck, knowing that a good hunch should never go to waste. Ruthie glanced back at her savior in the dim light. She was cold, dirty, and hungry, but she was unharmed.
“I became numb.” I knew I was witnessing a miracle at that time. I didn’t have a single notion in my head. It was all about the heart. Mitchell later said to BDN, “I believe it was the community’s collective affection.”
Delune and Ruthie enjoy more time together now that they’ve been reunited, thanks to the community of Belfast and their hard work!
