BONNIE HALE, LOST PET SPECIALIST WRITTEN BY: MOLLY WOLCHANSKY | PHOTOS COURTESY OF: BONNIE HALE
MOWGLI AND MURPHY It was mid-morning in August. I sat outside to enjoy my daily cup of coffee, but that particular morning I felt as though something was off. I looked around with my coffee in hand and realized that I could not find one of my cats, Mowgli, who usually enjoyed going outside. We lived in the home for months and months of Mowgli staring at the tall fence, knowing there was no way he could climb it. I guess he conquered his goal that day. I searched around and called his name, but he did not come. Days passed while I put up “missing” signs and made phone calls, but nothing came to fruition. Fast forward to one week later when I was coming back from Dallas Animal Services to see if anyone had found Mowgli. It was my fourth time visiting that week. When I got home, my other cat, Murphy, who also liked going outside occasionally, was gone. I was heart-broken, angry, and confused. After spending hours on the internet trying to figure out what to do, I stumbled upon a Facebook page called Texas Pet Detectives Association, run by a woman named Bonnie Hale. I messaged her that night, and she was at my house by 7:30 a.m. the next day with her search dog, Bodhi. Before that day, I had no idea that pet detectives existed.
APRIL 2020 | 9