Family hopeful that missing pup will be found

Franklin — It’s been more than three weeks since a Franklin family’s miniature pinscher took off under a fence in their yard, but they remain hopeful that Calvin will turn up. Kathy Hardy says a dog tracker led the family to an auto salvage yard named Central Auto Liquidators on Davis Road, about a mile from their house. It looked like Calvin had spent some time there, but a day later the yard was totally rearranged and Hardy says that might have scared the dog away. Dog trackers are only good at finding a missing pup within the first 48 hours and by then Hardy says the trail had gone cold. Calvin has spent his life as an indoor dog, “snug and warm on our couch under a blanket,” she writes in an e-mail, “confined primarily between house and back yard so he probably has no idea where he is right now.” She describes him as very skittish and shy with strangers. “If you see him,” she says, “don’t chase him. If people would get down lower so they wouldn’t be so tall, or if they had a cookie. That’s a real buzzword for him.” She says he’s a high energy dog and very fast, so he’d be difficult to catch once he takes off. The Hardy family has tried stakeouts with a deer camera, canvassing neighborhoods, and there are signs everywhere with pictures of their dog. He’s been featured on the WSUS lost dog report and there’s even a notice up on FindToto.com. Hardy says that should work if people see him, but the trouble is, she feels, that Calvin has been avoiding the roads and sticking with a heavily wooded area off of Scott Road. The two times people spotted him, he was crossing the road. The last time someone saw Calvin was on Thursday and as the weather gets colder, chances for a successful outcome become slimmer for the short haired dog. “He’s almost a similar color to the leaves; he blends right in with the background. It’s almost like everything is working against us. His personality, the weather.” But Hardy remains hopeful and says the only positive thing about the whole experience has been the good-hearted people that she’s met along the way and who call every day to ask whether Calvin has turned up yet. “We still have hope that he’ll be spotted. We know people are out there looking for him. If somebody sees him we know we’ll get a call.” The Hardy family asks that anyone who sees the reddish brown miniature pinscher call them at 973-823-1403 or try Robert Hardy’s cellphone at 973-670-5112.