Montana, an eight-year old golden retriver belonging to Chair of Philosophy and Religious Studies Thomas Hodgson, was found recently after being lost for two months. He had trecked to Saugus, a town 18 miles from his home. The dog bolted during a thunderstorm on Nov. 3 while Mr. Hodgson and his wife Susan Hodgson were sitting with her on their porch. The Hodgsons had taken immediate action, calling all of their friends and acquaintances to help find her. They posted signs around the town of Andover, talked to the Andover Police, and searched for her throughout the surrounding areas. The Hodgsons also called the Massachusetts Society of the Protection and Cruelty of Animals (MSPCA) to file a missing animal report. However this was not the first time Montana had run away during a thunderstorm. A few years ago, the golden was gone for an entire week. Yet after two months of searching, the Hodgsons gave up hope. “We put away her bow and did all of those things that, you know, said we had given up on her,” said Mrs. Hodgson. When the Hodgsons had finally adjusted to life without Montana, Mrs. Hodgson was surprised while reading The Boston Globe: an article on dog abuse featured a picture of a golden that police believed had been maltreated. She said, “I said to Tom ‘I think this is ’Tana. I couldn’t sit still until I knew for sure it was her.” Susan visited the kennel which held the golden and was ecstatic to discover that it was indeed her Montana. She brought back her husband later to identify their dog. “She didn’t have her collar on. We had been brushing her [before she ran away], so we had taken it off. We had to bring pictures, her vet bills, and her collar to verify that she was ours. Some dogs have a microchip in them, but Montana didn’t,” said Mrs. Hodgson. The Kennel also called the Andover Animal Shelter to verify that the Hodgsons had filed a missing dog report. To prevent this situation, the Hodgsons are considering embedding a microchip into Montana’s shoulder, which would provide the Hodgson’s address if a kennel or veterinarian scanned it. Montana is now happily reunited with her owners, though she has lost twenty pounds and returned to them with a large laceration on her back, which officials believe was caused by a car. “We’re very happy to have her back,” said Mrs. Hodgson. “She’s very happy [too], and eating and sleeping well.”
