'People Do Care': Owner of Missing Beagle Thankful For Community

NEW BERLIN, WI — It is every dog mom's worst nightmare. For Stephanie Streicher, that was on Monday, when her 5-year-old beagle named Charlie went missing. Streicher was taking Charlie to a dog park when it happened.

While at a stoplight at Moorland Road and Cleveland Avenue, she accelerated the gas, and Charlie jumped out of the window. Charlie headed south and was able to move quickly within a hour or so.

"Thankfully, there were two nice gentlemen in cars behind me that saw and tried to follow Charlie," she said.

A quarter of a mile down the road, one of the men tried to step on Charlie's leash to stop him, but the dog slipped out of his collar.

"He was scared and growled at one of men," Streicher told Patch.

Charlie was adopted in February from a dog rescue place in Minnesota. Streicher said that before being adopted, he was kept in a cage with other dogs. At first he was very scared but, over the past few months, he opened up to her. Before she even adopted him, she went on "dates" through his foster home to make sure it was a good fit.

She has experienced a lost dog before. Her family beagle ran away during an April snowstorm after his collar broke. She learned of the New Berlin Community Connection Facebook page and would hear updates and sightings about the family dog.

Unfortunately, there has been no sightings of Charlie.

"We haven't heard of any sightings of Charlie since 2 p.m. Monday," she said.

What there has been a lot of is support from community members. Streicher said it is devastating for a pet to go missing but that people are being very nice. She had heard people say pets are like family or their pet went missing. One person said that anytime her son goes outside, he is on the lookout for Charlie.

While she was putting up posters for Charlie, a person stopped and said they saw the online posts about the missing pup. Streicher's Facebook post has been shared over 800 times.

"It gives me the peace of mind people do care," she said.

Charlie is described as an adult beagle, tan, white and black with short hair. He is microchipped. Charlie has a unique white spot on his rear, which she described as his "swiss kiss." His body is mostly black.

He is good with other dogs and is food-motivated. Streicher encourages everyone to check around their homes and keep their eyes peeled for Charlie.