Sometimes, miracles really do happen. This was the case on January 24 and 25 for Marissa Wollmann, whose dog, Pippa, took off running while staying with family. The temperatures that night were not good for a small dog, with temps dipping down to -9 degrees F.
"Pippa gets a bit touchy. She took off running as soon as she got outside," said Wollmann. Pippa had been staying with extended family for the night while Wollmann and her husband went on vacation and her son went to work. Wollmann's brother thought she had to go to the bathroom, but she immediately took off as soon as she was out.
"She's never been a runner," said Wollmann. "In fact, she's rather attached to us. But being in a new environment, she must have been scared."
Pippa was initially spotted running north on Center Avenue, but this was the last sighting of her.
Seeking help on the Facebook community group Garretson Living, Wollmann put out an alert for the small dog. The community, who has often been the recipients of many of Wollmann's efforts, turned out in force to help.
"At one point, my mom estimates that there were approximately 50-75 people out searching for Pippa," Wollmann said. "And some of them stayed out until at least 3:00 am." Community members such as Diane Lentz, who searched until midnight, Polly Wolforth, Kris and Nadalie Johnson, JR Hofer, and many more that couldn't be identified due to the cold weather, were out calling and hunting. Nancy Longhenry kept Wollmann appraised of the situation during the night, and B-Squad Rescue's Mandi Haase drove around with a recorded voice of Wollmann's on loudspeaker.
"There were even people from Brandon and Sioux Falls who came out to search for Pippa," said Wollmann.
