"The Rest of the Story" Behind the Sign

Had an email the other day from a friend who knows I spend a lot of time down in Albright's. He had been down to the oxbow at the creek's mouth and saw a sign on the north side that read "Sadies Isle" (see photo at right).

"Made me laugh," he said, "because I have recently, by fate, come to know the family that erected this sign."

He figured that I'd probably eventually run across the sign, too, and then spend years trying to figure out what it was all about, much as I have the cross that stands down in Pocaty. Would love to know what that's all about but probably never will. In this case, however, I won't have to wonder, thanks to my friend, who decided to allay all the questions I might have on my "inquiring reporter" mind. Like radio broadcaster Paul Harvey did back in the day, he made sure I have "the rest of the story."

The main story is revealed in a front-page feature of today's The Virginian-Pilot, under the byline of Alissa Skelton.

As it turns out, the family my "Good Samaritan" friend Chris (pictured left) now knows was seven hours into a road trip when they got a call from a neighbor, telling them their bloodhound was missing. The neighbor had agreed to watch the dog while this family was away for the Fourth of July holiday. A series of gunshots had spooked the 1-year-old rescue dog, causing her to leap over the backyard fence and disappear into a marsh.The family turned around and came home to find their dog. Little did they know their search would continue for three weeks before they achieved success.

It was July 16, when a fisherman (Chris) happened to hear a dog howling while he was spending a quiet Sunday on the North Landing. He didn't think much of it at first, because hunting dogs often are in the area. On his way home, however, he saw a lost-dog flyer for Sadie on a stop sign and called the phone number.

A week later, Chris called the family again, saying he had seen a bloodhound, wearing a leather collar and blue tags, sipping water as people on kayaks and personal watercraft drifted by. This description was the best the family had heard, so they headed to the site in a boat. There still was no sign of Sadie, though.

After grabbing a few supplies, the family hopped back in the boat and prepared for an all-night stakeout. As they approached a single cypress tree in the marsh, they spotted Sadie. The dog didn't come, though. Instead, she growled and retreated into the grass.

It wasn't until the family resorted to some trickery suggested by a dog tracker that they got close enough to finally grab the dog's collar and take her home. After 21 days of being stranded in the marsh without food, riding out thunderstorms, and enduring the scorching July heat, the bloodhound was in rough shape. She had lost 11 pounds and needed medicine for an intestinal infection.

The family asked their vet how Sadie had survived. The answer was: by eating twigs.