West Hartford Woman Frantic As Beloved Dog Disappears In Woods

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A local woman is desperately hoping to find her missing dog after it chased after a deer while walking with its owner late last month.

According to West Hartford resident Kelly Kennedy, on Dec. 28 at about 12:40 p.m., she was walking her beloved canine "Hank," a male yellow Lab mix, on a hiking trail at the MDC Reservoir 6, about a mile into the area.

That's when Hank spotted a deer and immediately chased after it, Kennedy said.

"We were on the Reservoir 6 trails north of the tip of the lake, at the intersection of the Blue Red trail and the yellow trail to Heublein tower," said Kennedy.

"Hank spotted a deer behind me and yanked the leash out of my hands, running up a hill near the gas pipeline to chase the deer. He vanished in an instant over the hill."

Since then, Kennedy said she's been frantically searching the area for Hank, to no avail.

She described Hank as a 60-pound, yellow Lab mix with "kind of a boxer build."

According to Kennedy, her dog was wearing a blue plaid collar, a blue harness (silicone slide-on ID tags on each), and a bright blue and green coat over the harness.

She said he had two leashes strung together attached to his harness. One blue, one red.

"There's been no sign of any of them," Kennedy wrote grimly.

Kennedy and Hank's plight is being investigated by the Dog Gone Recovery Network, a grassroots group of volunteers dedicated to finding lost dogs.

Kennedy said she's still hoping for a happy ending, but admits the situation grows grimmer as the days go on.

"If still alive, he will likely be very skittish," Kennedy wrote regarding what folks should do if they see Hank. "No one should yell or chase him. It'll just send him back into hiding."

Meanwhile, Kennedy said she's not giving up and hasn't since the ordeal began.

"The search effort has been intense, on foot, with drones and scent tracker dogs. Mailbox flyers and posters are out to the abutting neighborhoods on all sides. Still trying to get the deep woods covered. Not easy," she wrote.

Anyone who sees Hank should immediately contact West Hartford resident Kelly Kennedy at 860-977-1179.

For a Google map image of where Hank went missing, click on this link.