Pet survives ordeal

It's a terrible feeling when a pet goes missing - especially when that pet is a 4-year-old miniature Yorkshire terrier that weighs all of six pounds and has no interest in answering the call of the wild.

Rico has been a member of the Palmer family of Sisters since he was 3 months old.

"Almost from day one he and my husband, Shane, were inseparable," says Rose Palmer. "They have formed a bond over the years that has amazed and at times aggravated me. But nonetheless, he has become a very important member of our family."

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Palmers and their two boys went camping. They decided to leave Rico at home.

"He has never enjoyed riding in a car or roughing it, so we thought he would be happier staying home with my mother," Rose said.

On Sunday evening Rose's mother went outside to look for Rico - and he had vanished.

It was unusual for him to roam - he would usually refuse to leave the back of the couch or the deck until his buddy Shane came home.

The immediate thought was that something had taken him.

"Within a few minutes of realizing that he was gone my Mom launched a full-fledged one-person search party," Rose said. "She scoured our 50 acres and spoke with every neighbor that was home."

Rose's mom couldn't contact the family; there was no cell service where they were camping. On Monday, they hiked to where they could get cell service and got the devastating news: Rico was missing. They cut short their trip and headed home.

"Once we got home we continued the search, called Redmond and Bend Humane Societies, posted on Facebook, called the vet, and posted signs around the area," Rose said. "By Wednesday we had all but given up. That is really hard to say, but we couldn't imagine how he could have survived. Our whole family was devastated; so many tears, we all felt empty inside."

Then, on Thursday, Rose got a call: A woman living down at the end of Fadjur Lane said she had found a Yorkie.

"When I called her back she said a Yorkie had wandered up on her back porch Tuesday night around midnight. Her father, who lives with her, had heard something on the back porch and when he went to look he saw something that looked like a dog but he couldn't be sure. When Rico spotted him he took off. They spent the next day also looking for him. They were so worried about him because of his size. He then turned up again on their porch Wednesday evening. They had left food and water out for him and he must have felt safe going back there."

The Good Samaritans contacted the Humane Society and got the Palmers' phone number. After describing the dog, Rose went to their home.

"I can't even start to describe the emotions I felt when I walk into their house and saw our little dog laying on their couch," she recalled. "The tears just began to flow... We will be eternally grateful to them. I cannot believe how lucky we are that Rico found them and they just opened their home and hearts to him."

The dog had several injuries that appeared to have been inflicted by another animal.

"He has puncture wounds between his eyes, several on his neck, bruising, and broken blood vessels in his eye," Rose said. "The vet couldn't determine what exactly got a hold of him, but most likely a coyote or large bird."

Despite being tiny and a homebody, Rico had somehow managed to survive the attack and found shelter with a caring neighbor. The Palmers are grateful - and they have a newfound respect for their little survivor.

"We have learned not to underestimate this little dog, he is one tough little cookie with a huge will to survive!"