by Jo Mathis The Ann Arbor News
Saturday June 27, 2009, 6:01 AM
Jo Mathis, The Ann Arbor News
Connie Kerr posted 200 signs of various sizes around Ann Arbor to try to recover her dog Skye. Kerr is pictured here with one of the posters and her other terrier, Toby.
Imagine how you'd feel if your dog - the brown-eyed baby who loves you no matter what - had taken off and was out there, somewhere, vulnerable to cars and coyotes and dognapping.
How far would you go to get her back?
Would you run around tossing your husband's dirty socks in strangers' back yards in case she picks up the scent?
Connie Kerr of Ann Arbor would. And did.
You may have seen a few of the 200 signs of all sizes Kerr has placed around the north side of town, or taken one of her fliers, or seen her out with a flashlight yelling "Skye!"
In fact, she wonders if some people hope the Cairn terrier is found for one reason: "Just so I get the heck out of their neighborhood!" she said with a smile. "They're probably sick of seeing me."
On May 31, little Skye pushed her way out the back door to chase a deer in the back yard. She ran so far, apparently, she lost her way home.
Kerr, a nurse who works part-time at the University of Michigan Medical Center, searched from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day for the first two weeks. So did her husband, Robert.
"But we just couldn't keep up that pace and stay healthy," she said, almost apologetically.
She's still searching several hours every day, posting on the Internet, knocking on doors, hoping every phone call is The One.
Kerr has received eight calls from people who've seen the gray "Toto dog" mostly in the area around Rudolf Steiner School on Newport Road. The last call was Sunday.
But no one's tried to catch her, though she's gentle and good with people.
People have told Kerr that she's been gone so long, it might mean she's happiest on her own.
"No," said Kerr. "She's happiest on a lap."
At 7 a.m. Saturday, the Kerrs grilled a chicken near one of the sightings in case Skye smelled the meat. They've also set out three Havahart live animal traps, along with Skye's dog bed, travel bed, and the bed of their other terrier, Toby. Then there was the night they accompanied a bloodhound on a late-night search by flashlight through the neighborhood around Rudolf Steiner School, all the while hoping the homeowners wouldn't walk out with a shotgun.
The Colonel Potter Cairn Rescue Network has organized a search for Skye from 5 to 8 p.m. today starting at the Rudolph Steiner parking lot. Kerr got Skye from the network two years ago after she'd been neglected by a previous owner.
"I wish I'd taught her to read," Kerr joked. "That way she'd read the signs, know how much we're looking for her, and come home."
If you see Skye, who is gray and wearing a red harness, call Kerr at 734-761-3715.
Then don't let that dog out of your sight until she gets there.
Jo Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6849.
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