Dear Editor:

I would like to share my story about a recent incident that happened to our family regarding the Apple Tree Kennel in Andreas. One of my dogs, who I was boarding there escaped early Monday morning, July the 9th. I was on vacation in Wildwood with my two daughters when I received word that he was missing. My family immediately came home in order to help find King, who is an Airedale Terrier. We spent the night at the kennel and countless hours combing the surrounding area. We received word that he was spotted near Route 895. So we took up camp and searched day and night with the help of MANY, MANY people, including Gary and Carole, the kennel owners. We called a professional tracker, who gave us tips on what we could do to help find him. We had a woman and her fiancee fly their plane over the area to help us locate King. Signs were posted and updates were made via Facebook daily. As with any family pet, we were completely distraught and I had begun to lose hope after day three. I felt as though I were looking for a needle in a haystack.Karen, a woman I never met before, informed me that I was looking in the wrong area and my dog was near a cabin on the west side and that I needed to go there and just sit and be patient and that King would be found there. Not fully believing her and after a long day of searching, I went home. We got up Thursday morning and headed to the exact area of the cabin and put down a blanket and sat down. I took our female Wire Fox Terrier with us and I took a walk around a huge cornfield. I got to the end of it and looked over the valley and burst into tears. I feared I would never see our dog again. It was such an enormous area and it was so overwhelming. I pulled it together to go back to my daughters and because Maggie was yanking me back in the direction of the cabin where my daughters were sitting. I walked back through the cornfield and sat down. At that point Gary had come back, just like he had for the past three days to help. My daughter Kayla started walking Maggie back around the cornfield while my other daughter Kiley stayed back sitting on her sleeping bag. Gary looked into the woods and said, do you hear that? I said, no, Gary. He said, listen. I responded, that is Kayla and Maggie. All of a sudden he said, HERE COMES YOUR DOG!!!! It WAS King!!! He came out of the woods within 25 yards of the exact spot where Karen said he would. He was in good condition considering how long he was gone. He had a few burrs on him and was a bit muddy. He barreled me over when he saw us and we just hugged him tightly and cried with joy.The reason for this story is that I absolutely do not want anyone to feel that they cannot put their trust in Apple Tree Kennels. The owners were extremely kind to our family and did EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO HELP FIND MY DOG. I am not, in the least bit, angry or resentful at them and would continue to recommend this kennel to anyone. Accidents happen and my dog was obviously determined to leave earlier than his official checkout day. I would like to thank EVERYONE who came out, friends, neighbors, complete strangers, who sent well wishes and prayed for King's safe return.PLEASE, do not let this story deter you from using Apple Tree Kennels to board your dog. Gary and Carole are the most compassionate and caring people. They love their boarders as they do their own animals. Although this has been one of the most difficult weeks of my life, my dog is home safe and sound with the help of so many wonderful and caring people. We can NEVER thank you all enough.Warmest regards,Andrea MalkinSummit Hill