September 28, 2009

Help wanted to find 'Sammy' in Bay View

UPDATE, Sept. 29: SUCCESS! Brad and Jennifer report that a Bay View resident recognized Sammy and she's now home. "We couldn't possibly be happier," said Brad.

Original post:

We received an email today from RacinePost readers who recently lost their dog in Bay View, where they recently moved from Racine. Below is a letter they sent out searching for "Sammy." If you, or anyone you know, has a connection to Bay View and can help in the search, please lend a hand. Here's the letter:

Dearest Community Friends – We Need Your Help,

My name is Brad Kostreva and my wife Jennifer and I recently relocated from Racine county to Bay View. The last few months we have settled in and started to really enjoy our decision, as the area is absolutely lovely, with a great selection of parks, restaurants, pubs and culture. Unfortunately, our limited time here has not given us the opportunity to meet nearly as many people as we’d like. That having been said, we need to ask for help from the community that we have come to call home.

Jenny and I do not have any children, and when asked, we jokingly will say to people “no, we have a doggy!” Inasmuch as this is in fun, in more ways than one this is also true. As a young married couple, Jenny and I have had our dog Sammy for over five years. She is the completion of our family, the wagging tail we come home to, and the ball of fur that cuddles up next to us on the couch when watching a movie, or that sticks her nose on the bed when it’s time to get up in the morning. We love our Sammy very much, as much as anyone could.

This weekend, Sunday, September 27th, we came home from an afternoon of working at our theatre in Racine, we arrived to our condo to see the door was slightly open. The utter panic, shock and fear that hit us at that moment had nothing to do with and no bearing on whether or not some of our “stuff” was missing. The very first thing both of us did was scramble through the house and up and down our block calling for Sammy, screaming at the top of our lungs, hoping we would hear her tags jingle and her tail wagging as she came flying out of a nearby field or empty lot. With very few people in the area to call, we started wandering desperately around Bay View, up and down Bay Street, KK, and adjacent streets yelling for our best friend, our companion, and our missing family member.

I called my cousin who lives nearby, and she brought out her little, half-blind doggy to see if her pup could coax out our exceptionally friendly, social Sammy as the approaching thunderstorm only added to our anxiousness, knowing full well how scared she would be when the storm hit. All we could picture in our minds was our poor Sammy drenched by rain, cowering under some cover, shaking as the thunder bellowed around her. We dared not imagine the possibility of finding her on the side of a road injured, or worse.

As my cousin and I and her little pup walked up and down streets, soaking in the rain, my wife Jenny returned home to ask the neighbors if they had seen her or perhaps even was holding onto her after seeing her playing outside without us. One of our neighbors said he saw a dog – probably our Sammy – playing outside in the early afternoon. Not recognizing her specifically as our Sammy, our neighbor did not really take notice when a black truck pulled up, the door open, and the driver call for her to hop in. Knowing our super-friendly and social Sammy, we’re sure that she would have trustingly hopped in the truck to go on an adventure ride as she so much loves to do.

Upon hearing this, we initially had raised our hopes, as perhaps this driver would recognize that our exceptionally domesticated and friendly Sammy was trying to get back home. We nervously called it a night, hoping that the next day the local Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Center (MADACC) would have a very scared and nervous Sammy waiting for us to claim her and bring her home. Sadly, as we have now called and visited MADACC several times the next day, this has not happened.

Now we have to deal with a previously suppressed fear, that our Sammy is not lost, but actually stolen by someone with no intention of turning her in. The fear that we may never know where our Sammy is grips our hearts and tears it to pieces minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day. As much as this is an appeal for any information of her whereabouts, it is also an appeal to anyone who may have taken her, maybe not realizing the gravity of our love for our Sammy.

We have gone through many “lost pet” checklists from people who have had to deal with a missing family member like ours, involved Craigslist, Facebook, the police, and networks upon networks of friends who have friends in the area, and now need to appeal to the broadest possible audience of the community. Walking up and down KK, you likely won’t find many places without a picture of our Sammy on a poster at the business.

Please, if you have any information, have seen our Sammy, or know of someone who may have taken her, we cannot impress upon you how much it hurts every minute of every day to not have her with us. We are not looking for revenge. We are not looking to strike out. We are not looking for anything except our missing Sammy. Please help. We can be contacted at bradkostreva@hotmail.com, jennykostreva@hotmail.com, or by phone at 262-770-2205 or 262-770-2259. Also, we have setup a Facebook Group called “Bring Sammy Home!!!” that can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140513517590

We are desperate, as desperate as any parents missing their child, because for us, Sammy is our baby girl. If nothing else, please keep our story on your minds, and on your lips as you go through your days. Nothing can help more than the support of our community.

Your Bay View Neighbors,
Brad and Jenny Kostreva

7 comments:

  1. Some information for you to help find your dog Sammy. First of all this is a hard thing to deal with.
    When my daughter lost her cat in Racine in 2007 I took over. Jasmne was an inside cat, but as they left for vacation she had slipped out, not Id tag on.
    These are the steps on took.
    Put her on file as lost on our local Human Society. Printed up flyers with offering a Reward. Walked by foot, went door to door. Also put her on WTMJ site. Try to find out every blog spot get the word out.
    I wish aa Safe Return for Sammy.
    As Always, Carol

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a pet too, but why is this in here? No other news in Racine?

    ReplyDelete
  3. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. Say a prayer for him to intercede on your behalf to find your dog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks everyone, Pete, Dustin, for your support.

    Jenny and my contact info is in the article above, as well as a link to our Facebook group. Please feel free to join the group and have others especially in Milwaukee join the group to help us find Sammy.

    B

    ReplyDelete
  5. JJ McAuliffe9/29/2009 1:01 PM

    Anon 10:43 REALLY??? Are you that bored that you have to add your two cents worth. Are you the same blogger that always has to find something negative. Pete and Dustin report new stories everyday, they are pretty consistent, there is room for this story. Also Brad and Jenny are a major part of this community with everything they do at the Six St Theater among other things. Brad is even a Leadership Racine graduate. Anon 10:43 let's hope good people would rally for you if god forbid anything happened to your pet!

    ReplyDelete
  6. SHE'S HOME!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE'S SUPPORT!! SORRY FOR THE CAPS LOCK TYPING BUT I'M THAT EXCITED!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Is social media going to kill SEO?

    ReplyDelete