Letter to the Editor

It is with profound sadness and an incredibly heavy heart that I share with you the news that Cinder has crossed the rainbow bridge.

Cinder was not my dog but was adopted on Jan. 16 and lost by his adopters when he bolted from their car without a leash.

Our team of search and rescue volunteers had shared numerous posts all across social media and I had wanted to make sure those who had been following, those who had kept a watch out for him, those who expressed their deep concern for his well-being, were updated and to share my deepest gratitude and appreciation to all that helped in our search to bring him home safely.

Our team of volunteers rallied and put forth a passionate effort to bring more attention to him.

We also guided and assisted with posters and advised on what the adopters needed to do in the search of their newly adopted dog.

Unfortunately, there was only one sighting a couple of days after he escaped. And, not long after that, we learned that one of the adopters left the state and was no longer looking for his dog but that his partner would help. However, that was not the case, so our team stepped in and implemented a full scale search and rescue.

A month after his owner had left, we had our first sighting of what we thought was Cinder, a gray pitbull running in open fields/pastures, and in heavily trafficked roads. Sadly, the gray pitbull that we thought was Cinder all along, was another gray pitbull. The odds of another pitbull of the same coloring running around in that area were slim to none, but it happened.

We were, however, able to rescue that one and bring him to safety. As soon as this sweet pitbull was rescued, no more sightings were reported for a few weeks until last week when we learned that Cinder's body was recovered from someone's private lake off of 55th and Jay, not far from where he was lost. It is believed he may have been on top of it when it was iced over and fell in. It's incredibly tragic and we are all crushed to bits.

Cinder was a dog we had never met but who we knew we were not going to abandon. He became a part of our family and, by extension, a part of many of you here who expressed concern over the weeks for his well-being.

We thank all of you in the community who kept a watch out for this precious furbaby, for expressing your concern, and offering to help. And, thank you to all our incredible team of volunteers from Front Range Lost Pet Rescue.

Because of Cinder, we are looking into corporate sponsors to donate adoption kits we are naming Cinder's Safe Journey Home Kit.

We would like to see these kits include Items such as leashes to ensure safe transport to their new homes, and educational materials regarding vaccinations, costs of caring for a dog, training, flight risks and what steps to take if a dog is lost.

Additionally, we have created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help offset the costs that our team accrues in our efforts to save lost pets. To learn more please visit: https://gofund.me/40c6180c

Wess Staats,

Front Range Lost Pets Rescue

*Our team has already begun the process of taking down the Cinder signs. We recover all signs after our rescues and re-use them for other rescues.

[Edited for length]