City staffers save lost dog, reunite it with owner

A happy ending to what could have been a sad story emerged from Sisters City Hall this week. Gertie, a young dachshund, found her home and family through the diligence and love of city staff.

Gertie was brought to city hall after being found alongside the highway.

"A couple of days ago our building official (Lisa Weishoff) came in with this little dachshund and said that a friend of hers found it on the summit of Santiam Pass," said Carol Jenkins, planning secretary.

"She (the friend) was coming home at 5 p.m. the day before and saw the puppy and stopped and picked it up and put it in the car and brought it home. Lisa brought it into work the next day, and we all kind of fell in love with her."

"You could tell she was a very affectionate and sweet dog," said Kathy Nelson, the city's secretary. "She was obviously well loved. Being the dog lover than I am, I just snatched her up and was holding her. Lisa (Weishoff), who brought her in, didn't want to keep her as she had big dogs at home, so I immediately called my husband and said: 'If we don't find the owner of this dog, we are going to keep it.'

"We love dogs and have a West Highland Terrier, so she (Gertie) spent the day, and I went home over lunch and got her some food and got her a collar. She had a collar, but I thought it was too small. I took her out, and you could just tell she was someone's beloved pet."

Immediately Nelson went to work to try and find the owners.

"The first call I made was to the sheriff's office and I asked: 'You don't by any chance have someone looking for a little dachshund that was lost on Santiam Pass?' And they said: 'Yes,' which was such a weird coincidence, and they gave me the name and number of the people that she belonged to. I called in the morning and left a message and didn't hear and didn't hear, and I thought it was odd," said Nelson.

Nelson didn't give up.

"I called back to see, and she (the owner) called me right back. Somehow she had not gotten the message. She had been on the phone all day and didn't realize that there was a message regarding Gertie," Nelson said.

The owners were greatly relieved when they received the call from the city.

"They had been so distressed," said Nelson. "It was a case of they had stopped to rest for a minute or two and stretch their legs, and then they let the dog out, and it was a case of each one thought the other had put the dog back in the car. They didn't realize that she wasn't there until they were eight-and-a-half miles down the road. They immediately turned around and went back and searched for two hours. Obviously, she had already been picked up by then. The gal that picked her up saw this dog running around in the rain and stopped. When she opened her car door, Gertie just jumped in because she was smart enough to know that she needed to get out of there."

During the waiting time to find the owners, Gertie ingrained herself in the city, having a steady stream of admirers.

"She slept on Laura's (Lehman, the assistant planner's) desk for a while. I brought a blanket, and we tried to keep her on the floor, but she really wanted to be in your lap. I took her home when I went home for lunch. When I brought her back, she had obviously had such a traumatic day I wrapped her up in a blanket, and she went to sleep on my desk," said Nelson.

Gertie left a permanent impression in the short time that she was in residence at city hall, and although no one wanted to be quoted on it, there is hope among a large portion of the staff that the city can get a mascot.