Well Known Hawaii Author Cancels Books Tour to Find His Missing Dog; $1,000 Reward Offered

BY PAUL FLENTGE  – Sadie and I were having a terrific time on the Nuuanu Trail.

We were coming down the trail , side-by-side, near the Norfolk Pine forest and we encountered a man who had a German Shepherd and a Dachshund on their leases.

In front of him was another German Shepherd, a huge dog, well over a hundred pounds. It saw Sadie and I and charged us growling, eyes dead set on little Sadie. I stepped in front of her and shouted, waved my trekking poles. The shepherd veered to my right at Sadie. She yelped and dived down the steep cliff. I stayed on the trail instead of running after her until the dog’s owner got his beast under control.

He said, “Will she run away?”

I said I did’t know and started calling her as I ran down the trail. I called and called, walking as fast as I could in the rough patches. A few hundred yards later I encountered a couple with two small children. They said they didn’t see a little brown dog. I told them what happened and they turned back with their kids.

I went back up the trail, wanting to follow Sadie’s flight path. I met the guy with the three dogs; this time all three were leashed.

He said, “I guess I should have apologized.”

I said, “Is this where she went down?”

He said yes. He asked for my cell in case he saw her. I asked for his. He gave me it and I called his phone so he would have mine. I did a reverse phone number looup and have his name. I went down the steep cliff and started looking and calling for my puppy.

I called my son, my wife, my niece. They all came to help, walking the trails, shouting, driving the roads and asking people if they’d seen her.

My sister-in-law made some posters and they put them up.

I searched until dark.

Next day my wife and I were back in the woods at daybreak. My son made some better posters and put them around. A guy called and said he spotted Sadie, looking over the stone wall by the bus stop just down from Waokanaka/Pali intersection.

I searched everywhere in the mangroves and swamp, all the way to the Oahu Country Club.

Since then we have put up 230 posters from Old Pali/Nuuanu Rd. all the way into the residential areas off Wyllie and Judd Sts.

Someone called who had sighted her crossing the Pali and running down the median to that bus stop area.

Another called yesterday morning and said she saw Sadie looking over the stone wall from ‘the jungle’ at Oahu County Club Rd. and Pali. I had just pulled into Nuuanu Park across the road from there. I searched the ‘jungle’ and walked the stream all the way to the cemetery in Nuuanu.

We got another sighting from a lady who said she lives on Judd near Nuuanu. She saw “the most beautiful shepherd” running down the road but she couldn’t remember what day.

I have received over 30 calls from people who said they’ll on the lookout for Sadie. Many called to ask what happened and then related their own lost dog stories to me. All were successful outcomes and the folks just wanted to give me hope.

I met many wonderful people on my searches. Some with stories of their own. One man had to put down his 15 yr. old Doberman eight months ago. He was still grieving. Through tears he told me he didn’t think he could get another dog because the pain of losing it was too much to bear. This as I walked through his property along the stream.

People gave me fresh water and offered food. Others reposted Sadie’s story on their Facebook page and asked others to repost.

The pig hunters at Oahu Country Club all know and check their traps for her. They even put her poster in the clubhouse.

I have many wonderful stories to tell from this tragedy. People are so warm when it comes to their pets.