According to the Leader and Times, a truck driver who lost his traveling companion at a Liberal, Kansas Walmart parking lot has a reason to celebrate.
National Carriers driver Billy King lost his dog Tax at a Walmart parking lot on September 27.
“I drive a semi, and I was parked at Walmart.,” King told the Leader and Times. “I woke up in the morning, and Taz needed to go outside. I let him out on his leash and then got back in the truck and got dressed.
King says that when he got back out of the truck, he realized Taz had slipped out of his collar. He says he saw Taz zipping around the parking lot.
King explained that Taz thought they were playing a game. Taz would zip back to King and nab at him, then he’d prance back out.
“He wanted me to chase him, so I kinda ran around trying to find him around Walmart. He went around the corner and that was the last I saw him,” King told the Leader and Times.
King called all the local shelters, but Taz was nowhere to be found.
“I called them that same day and they said that if they found him they would call me,” he said. “A couple of days later, I got a load out of Liberal so I had to leave.”
A week later, King returned home from his trip and began posting pictures of Taz on Facebook.
“Taz was seen on Tucker Road out by the lake near Liberal, Kansas a few hours ago. I’m in Hastings Nebr. Could someone please check out there to see if he is still around. He is a good dog and wouldn’t hurt a flea …. Please call Bill at 402-705-4459.”
When King finally arrived home a week later, he started using the Internet and got on Facebook and started spreading the word.
His Facebook status read, “Taz was seen on Tucker Road out by the lake near Liberal, Kansas a few hours ago. I’m in Hastings Nebr. Could someone please check out there to see if he is still around. He is a good dog and wouldn’t hurt a flea …. Please call Bill.”
As things like this go, the status was shared over and over. Soon, news of Taz’s disappearance was all over social medial.
King began getting calls from people who were searching for Taz.
“I got a couple of calls from people saying that they’d be riding around trying to find him,” King said.
Facebook user and animal lover Susan Savely joined the search. She drove around the area where a Facebook user said she saw a dog matching Taz’s description. She drove to local shelters and shared Taz’s picture with workers.
Savely then posted Taz’s information on a page called Talk Liberal. Debra Huddleston saw Savely’s post and someone at Great Plains Angels for Animals.
Huddleston found that a dog matching Taz’s description had been transported to L.O.L.A. in Littleton, Colorado.
The dog was Taz and he had been transported to a foster home!
On October 4, King and Taz were reunited.