BRATTLEBORO — In 2015 Gypsy, a beagle hound, was found on the street in Puerto Rico in a box with her eight pups. After being rescued and nourished by the local humane society, she was sent to the Windham County Humane Society in Brattleboro.
I had the good fortune to adopt her last July. It took her quite a while to adjust to her new life and environment. At first, she spent all of her time in a small closet in my apartment in the Brooks House and even had to be coaxed to leave to take a walk.
Eventually, she became accustomed to my company and looked forward to daily short morning walks downtown. The highlight of her day was an extended walk up High Street, then across the Retreat Trail to Chase, Oak, and Williston Streets.
While she enjoyed walking in public, Gypsy was shy of people and other dogs. She also showed fear of loud noises, bicycles, and skateboards. She was content but constantly on guard.
On the evening of May 28, we went out behind the Brooks House before going to bed. As we rounded the building to enter the south door, a late-night skateboarder sped around the corner, heading directly toward Gypsy.
Extremely frightened, she fled, yanking her leash from my grip, and ran through the tunnel and up High Street and out of sight.
Gypsy was lost.
Twelve days later, she was home again.
She is home because Brattleboro is a special place, and it is for this that I am thankful.
I especially thank Scott Whitehill, who organized and masterminded a search. So many people were involved: supporting, reporting sightings of Gypsy, distributing and posting flyers and notices.
It was a true community effort, including the Humane Society, which offered a generous reward; The Commons, which provided an ad; the police, who remained on the lookout and loaned a trap. A special thanks to Tom, Mike, Wendy, Marty, Kathleen, Steve, Cory, Cathy, Amanda, Scotty, Kevin, Donald, Tim, and many others.
Gypsy is home and happy, and so am I. Thank you, Brattleboro.