My best friend is missing

I write this in utter sadness. My sidekick, the one thing I could always count on....is missing! My 13-year-old chocolate lab, Hershey, was let out of my yard tonight after I left home.

6:00 CST or any time after, someone opened our gate and let out my loyal companion. Here it is almost midnight and he's not anywhere to be found. Hershey is obviously very old, but can't get half a block without panting and straining. He usually has to turn back home, because he is too tired to go any further.

Currently, his fur is shaved short for the summer. So he looks like a greyhound with brown fur, instead of a chocolate lab. He would never make it past my neighbor's house without turning back for my porch. He would NEVER not come home. He also needs his medication or he will get really sick.

We drove three neighborhoods, and I saw no signs of any animals on the road. No one claimed to see him. We called for hours with no response. It's like someone opened our gate and .... took him.

My son learned his first lesson in sadness and fear tonight. He'd never seen him mommy sob. I really tried to fake it...you know....tell him that Hershey went to the neighbor's for a sleepover. But I couldn't hold it very well. My son kept wiping my face with a towel to catch my tears.

Hershey is the most sensitive animal you've ever met. When I was sick, he broke out in hot spots. He was truly empathetic to anything I went through. When I was stressed or heartbroken, he'd simply lay his head in my lap and lick my face when I cried.

I am scared that something bad has happened. My husband just made thirteen poster signs to nail to all the street lights within a mile radius. Tomorrow, I will call the pound, and check with the local vets.

I know with all the children that go missing, that this post is absolutely absurd. But he was and is my best friend, and I'm scared. Please pray for my dog, that he returns safely home.