SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Les Wagenheim and his dog Carrie go everywhere together. He says, they're the best of friends. That's why he's soaking up every moment this week, because for a few days, he thought he may never see her again.
"I realized what an integral part she was, you know, to my life. And being without her for 72 hours was horrific," Les said.
It started over the weekend, when, just for a few moments, Les left Carrie outside to drop food off to his neighbor. Carrie had never wandered off before, until that day.
"Carrie was trying to catch up with me and my guests, and went through the courtyard to her apartment on the outside," Les explained. "So I ran down to the street, assuming that that's where she probably was, and I'm calling her name when my phone rang."
On the line was a woman calling from an anonymous number. She had found Carrie. Les gave his address, but the woman never showed up to drop Carrie off.
He posted to social media, which got about 300,000 hits on multiple platforms.
Then Shaker Heights police got involved. Officer Andrew Steinmetz took the report, then elevated the case to detectives Kevin Ishler and Steven Young, who worked for days to track down the woman who had Carrie.
"So (the woman who had Carrie) had found the dog and she wasn't sure if the dog had been released on purpose or if it ran away," Detective Young said.
Detective Ishler called Les to deliver the good news.
"He called me and I said, 'Do you have an update?' He says, 'Better than that, I have good news. She's in the backseat of my car,'" Les recalled through tears.
Within minutes, Les was reunited with his best friend.
"To have somebody that's missing their dog like that is very rewarding to be able to reunite that dog," Detective Ishler said.
Les says, he has learned a valuable lesson.
"In retrospect, I could have paid more attention and I didn't. And so now I will," Les said.
For now, he's sitting in gratitude for all the people who helped him find his beloved Carrie.
"Unbelievable, just everybody from the dispatcher to the chief, and in between ... the detectives, they're all dog lovers, and they, you know, rallied to my support," Les said.
As they old saying goes, every dog has its day. But for Les, today, is the best one of his life.
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