Sunday, Aug. 13 turned out to be a scary day for me.

It started out great. It was gorgeous out ... temperatures were in the low 80s. My husband was on a backpacking trip for a few days with some friends so it was just the dog, Sadie, and me fending for ourselves at home. I really enjoy having Sadie around when my husband is out of town. She's a great companion and tries to protect me by barking at anyone who dares step in our yard. Not that she's mean by any stretch of the imagination, but I like to think she would keep a burglar away.

So on this particular day, I just finished my lunch, went to put my plate in the dishwasher when Sadie, who was lying by the couch, looked at me with her big brown eyes that seemed to say "do something with me." OK, Sadie, you don't have to ask me twice after you look at me so sweet. Lets play.

Sadie's favorite place to go is, of course, the off-leash dog park in Chatfield State Park, so we headed there. It's real close to our house. We usually go there about once a week with her. She usually figures out pretty quick after we get in the car where we are going, too. As soon as we turn right onto C-470 she gets excited and can hardly stand to be in the car any longer.

But what dog wouldn't love this park? There's acres of wide-open space, numerous lakes for swimming, fields to run in, trees to smell and new dogs to meet and play with. If there is a heaven for dogs, I imagine it would be something similar.

I parked the car, leashed Sadie and we made our way on the C-470 bike/walking trail into the dog park. I unleash her and she daintily ran beside me, but not forgetting to stop and smell the roses. We made our way to a pond. She jumped in and went for a swim. I tossed her fetch toy into the water several times and she excitedly swam for it. Then we walked through a field. She found a bird, chased it and then came promptly back to me. She found another. She darted up a hill and I quickly darted up behind her. By the time I make it up to the top, she's gone. I can't find her anywhere. She had vanished into thin air.

"Sadie," I called as loudly as I could. Nothing. Again, "Sadie" and then several more times more ... "Sadie," I cried. At first, I don't panic. I try to stay calm. She's never run this far away from me before. She'll probably come right back if I stay in the area.

Several minutes pass. I still don't see her anywhere after searching around the field and she's not coming to my calls. I began to worry. I started asking around. No ones seemed to have seen her. One lady offered to go look down by the South Platte River on the other side of the hill. Great, I think, what if she's drowned? No luck, there.

Another lady tells me she thought she saw her running a little west in the park. I get excited and run over there. After several minutes of searching in that direction, I still can't find her and headed back towards the field. I see the lady again. "Still didn't find her?" she asked me. "No" I said. At this point, the tears well up in my eyes. I cannot lose my dog. She's family. I'd be devastated. The nice lady tells me she's getting ready to leave and offered to go to the ranger station for me and fetch a ranger. I thanked her and tell her that would be wonderful.

I walked around the park and wait for the ranger to arrive. He quickly does and is very helpful. He wrote down a description of Sadie as we walked around the park. More people even ask what she looks like and say they would keep an eye out for her. The ranger and I got in his vehicle and he tells me we can cover the whole park.

While in the vehicle, a report comes in that a spaniel was spotted with no tail on the C-470 bike/walk trail. That's her! She was making her way back to the parking lot. Good girl, I thought. I suddenly had lots of hope I would actually find her.

The ranger and I drive as far as we can and then we got out on foot. The trail goes in all directions, but I figured it was best to actually head towards the parking lot. She must be trying to find me there. I spot her in some brush when we're almost to the parking lot I'm parked in. I called to her and she started to run towards me, but then all of the sudden, she turned and bolted the other direction and into brush. She disappeared again. My heart breaks. Why would she run from me again? I think she was scared to death, the poor thing. We got her from the Table Mountain Animal Shelter. She came in there as a stray and has always been a little skittish, but lately she's been much better.

At least we knew the area where to search for her now. The ranger stayed with me the whole time. Another nice couple I met in the parking lot gave me some dog treats to help lure Sadie back to me if/when I saw her again.

After about another half-hour of searching and on the other side of a little pond in some brush, I finally spotted her again. She was down a small hill in a bunch of thorny bushes and trees. I call to her several times and hear her moving around. We can just barely see each other. I crouch down and hold out the teats. At this point, she is trying to find a way out of the brush. She finally does and comes right to me this time, and chows down on the treats. I quickly put her leash on. What a relief! I thank the ranger and we head home (finally).

She was completely covered in mud and dirt, almost black, but I didn't care. I had to bathe her twice when we got home and she still kind of smells funny, but that's OK. I have her back. My family is still complete.

I just wanted to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone that helped me that day. Thank you to everyone who kept an eye out for her. Without the community's help that day, I don't know if I would have found her. I especially want to thank the woman who went out of her way to go to the ranger's station for me. An even bigger thanks goes out to the ranger who stayed with me the whole time while I looked for Sadie (I wish I could remember your name). And thanks to Chatfield State Park to having such a wonderful dog park and for hiring such helpful rangers! Thank you, thank you, thank you.