THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2007
Blackie's Back!
The Mystery of the Missing Pooch Solved After Area Police, Vets Work Together
By BOBBY CHILVER
Journal Reporter
Blackie's back.
That's right, Blackie, the missing Mt. Prospect dog that was lost over two weeks ago is now back home, safe and sound.
While owners and readers alike feared Blackie was out battling the brutal weather, he was, in fact, safely enjoying a warm home at a local animal hospital.
But the happy homecoming nearly didn't happen, as it took a collaborative effort between local police, animal shelters and owners to finally piece the puzzle together.
On Friday, Jan. 26 Mt. Prospect resident Stefan Kulesza took Blackie out for a walk from his home at the 100 block of Orchard Place. Kulesza suffers from Alzheimer's disease, however, and became lost. Kulesza was found two days later in a snow bank near Touhy Avenue and Higgins Road in Des Plaines but there was no sign of Blackie.
Police put out notifications to area shelters and police departments but as time passed and the weather grew colder, it looked as if Blackie wouldn't be found.
What no one realized however was that the Des Plaines Police Department had brought in a small black dog to the Northwest Animal Hospital in Des Plaines on Feb. 1.
Pam Kelly of the animal hospital had spoken to Blackie's owner earlier but the descriptions didn't seem to match and the contact information on the dog's chain was different.
Kelly said the new dog was more of a mixed-breed cockapoo and not a Portuguese water dog so no one realized the two cases were linked.
Hospital workers, including Kelly, Barbara Glass, Lilliana Lech and Jennifer Willoughby, continued to call the dog's contact number but to no avail.
"All of us tried contacting the phone number on the tags but we never had any answer," Kelly said.
Finally, last Saturday, Glass got through to the contact, which was Kulesza's son Bill Kulesza. The younger Kulesza relayed the information to sister Alini Toms who realized it was their dog and later brought Blackie home.
Because of the joyful outcome, Northwest Animal Hospital's George Rudawsky even agreed to waive the hospital fees.
Had Blackie stayed in the shelter any longer he might have been adopted by another family and the mystery may never have been solved.
The hospital usually only holds strays for about a week before putting them down or finding them a new family, according to Rudawsky.
But despite much interest from prospective new families, the hospital workers had a hunch and held on to Blackie for a little longer.
"We had a gut feeling," Kelly said. "We knew the owner had to be out there somewhere."
"She definitely had a guardian angel looking out for her," Kelly said of Toms. "The chances of finding not only her father, but also the dog, it's a wonderful story."