BRIDGEVIEW, IL — After a month of helping her elderly father search for his missing dog, Otto, Deb Deel believes that Otto is out there, perhaps in the home of someone who took him in thinking he was a stray.
“Otto is registered as an emotional support dog,” Deel said. “He was the only reason my elderly father got up in the morning.”
Hours before severe storms rolled into the Chicago region on April 4, Otto, an 11-year-old border collie mix, got loose and ran out of her father’s garage near St. Fabian Church in Bridgeview, spooked by the charged atmosphere.
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What Otto looks like when he’s shaved
Deel’s father, 89-year-old Bernie Dolle, had taken Otto’s leash off in the garage bringing him in from a walk, when Bernie’s cane accidentally hit the garage door opener. The last sighting of Otto came 30 minutes after he went missing. Otto was spotted walking south on Harlem Avenue near the White Castle on 79th Street. A man tried to lure Otto to his car with french fries, but Otto wasn’t having it. The dog hasn’t been seen since.
“It’s like he disappeared,” Deel told Patch. “My father is devastated. He blames himself. Otto was his purpose for getting up and getting dressed in the morning.”
It has already been a when-it-rains-it-pours kind of year. Deel’s mother died unexpectedly in February. Her parents had grown attached to Otto when her nephew moved in temporarily with his grandparents and brought his dog with him.
“When my nephew moved out, they told him the dog was staying,” Deel said.
Since Otto went missing, Deel and her family have done everything they can to bring Otto home. Otto’s microchip is up to date, and he is still intact. He has a long tan and white coat with a black mane. Deel thinks because of the storm, that whoever has Otto may have had him shaved.
They’ve posted Otto’s picture on neighborhood social media, as well as Lost Dog Illinois and Lost Pets of the Southwest Side Facebook groups. They’ve notified all the area police departments, veterinarians, pet stores and dog groomers, and passed out fliers. They’ve scoured the animal shelters and pounds, assured that even animals found dead are scanned for chips. Only one local shelter would not let them see the strays.
“We’ve even gone to the cemetery and prayed to my mom to please lead us to Otto,” Deel said.
After a month of searching, Deel has also grown used to hearing from unscrupulous people reaching out trying to claim the reward money, or cruelly toying with their emotions.
“Somebody called saying they had our dog,” Deel said. “When I asked to see pictures, he sent a picture of two dogs on a spit.”
The worst part is seeing how hard her stoic, Korean War-veteran father is taking it. Losing Otto has been like rubbing salt into the raw wound of grief from losing his wife of 59 years.
“Pet FBI put a missing dog sign in the front yard,” Deel said. “He knows it is his fault, but it was an accident. Who’d ever thought such a freak accident would happen.”
But Deel isn’t giving up on finding her father’s lost dog. She’s convinced some well-meaning person found Otto in the storm and took him in, convinced he was a stray. By reaching out to Patch, Deel’s hoping someone will come forward with information about their dog.
“We just need one right person to see it,” she said. “Maybe someone noticed a neighbor who took in a dog.”
If you’ve seen Otto, or know who has him, please email bringottohome0423@gmail.com. Arrangements can be made to return Otto – no questions asked. You may also contact Patch by emailing lorraine.swanson@patch.com.