Scary moment for one NJ family when their dog goes missing

Those of us who are pet owners have been there before. That moment when we realize our pet is nowhere to be seen.

Sometimes it happens quietly, where our pets disappear out of our sight only for us to notice when we're trying to call them. Other times, our pets might take off trying to chase something such as a squirrel.

Most of the time, our pets will come back to us when we call their name. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can be a scary moment when we call them and they don't respond or come running back.

ALSO READ: Even in snow, some dog owners in NJ are still causing issues

That situation just happened to one of our neighbors. It was a sunny afternoon when they realized their dog was gone.

When we realized

Earlier this week I was walking home from school with my sons, just like any other day when the weather is nice. We had just one more block to go to get to our house when we noticed our neighbors frantically looking and calling out their dogs name.

Being we're an animal family ourselves, we walked over to see if we can help. I have to tell you, it was tough seeing how upset the kids were.

My one son continued home to take care of our pets, while my other son stayed with me to help search around the neighborhood.

Time goes by

My son and I went to one section of the neighborhood and split up so we can cover more ground, while our neighbors checked the other parts of the neighborhood.

We were searching for a good 30 minutes with no sign of the dog. No prints in the snow either that we were able to see. Eventually, we worked our way back to our neighbors house to tell them that we couldn't find the dog and that we'd keep our eyes open.

Fortunately, that wouldn't be a problem anymore.

The dog was found

Apparently, the dog made it all the way up the block and into someone else's yard, not really in an easy place to spot. It was still a long search time wise, but it was also such a relief to see the family relaxed again with their dog safely back home.

My son and I were happy to help, and would help any of our neighbors if that happened to them. Although it was only about 30 minutes of searching, it felt a heck of a lot longer than that.

A scary moment for sure, especially for the kids.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.