Norm Fagenbound stepped out one afternoon to do a little grocery shopping. He was 93 years old, living in Los Angeles, and his 7-year-old dog Sunny was home waiting for him.
Except Sunny didn’t wait. She jumped the backyard fence to follow him and lost her way. By the time Norm came home, she was gone.
He held onto hope for a few days. Dogs find their way back sometimes. But one day became two, then a week, then nearly two weeks without her.
A Volunteer Team Takes On the Search
Norm reached out to Dog Days Search & Rescue, a local volunteer group that specializes in finding missing dogs. They got to work right away; putting up flyers, checking shelters, posting online, and walking the neighborhood.
After a week of searching, a tip came in. Someone had spotted Sunny at a nearby nature reserve. The team knew that was not a safe place for a lost dog to be on her own.
As volunteer Justis told ABC News, “There’s no water, there’s coyotes, we knew she was on borrowed time at that point.”
They set traps near the spots where Sunny had been seen. But instead of baiting them with food, Justis and her team tried something different. They placed a pair of Norm’s unwashed socks inside.
The Smell She Trusted Most
The idea was simple. Norm’s scent was the most familiar thing in Sunny’s world. His unwashed socks would carry that scent better than anything else the team could offer.
Within half an hour, Sunny had found her way into one of the traps. She was inside, nose down, sniffing those socks.
The door closed gently behind her. She was safe.
Back Where She Belongs
Sunny was reunited with Norm and taken to the vet for a checkup. After nearly two weeks of worry, the two of them were back together.
It is the kind of story that reminds you what a dog’s bond with their person really means. Sunny jumped that fence because she wanted to be with Norm. And in the end, his scent was what led her home.
Sometimes love smells a little funny. And that is just fine.
