Missing no trick to find her dog

The Baltimore Sun

Rhonda Fish returned Monday night to the White Marsh hotel where she has been living to find that her beloved Yorkshire terrier had run away.

The 44-year-old woman was devastated. The not-quite-3-year-old pooch named Reilly is like a son to her.

Fish, her fiance and their friends prowled the area for hours but did not find Reilly.

Their efforts transcended the realm of the typical missing-dog search yesterday when they called in private investigators.

And then the helicopter pilot.

And then the psychic.

"I'll do anything. I'll do anything," Fish, a construction project coordinator, said yesterday evening between sobs. "He's my only son. He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't want to be away from us."

The drama that kicked off what must be one of the area's most intense dog searches began Monday.

Fish and her fiance, Brian Davis, have been living at the hotel for about five weeks, since their neighbor's water heater exploded, flooding their Towson condo. They chose the Marriott Residence Inn because the extended-stay hotel boasts pet-friendly policies.

"There's a separate children's check-in and right next to that is a huge container of doggie biscuits," general manager Erica Raimondi said yesterday. "Just like our guests, we love our pets."

Both Fish and Davis went out Monday night, leaving Reilly with a hotel guest they had befriended. When Fish returned about 10 p.m., Reilly was gone. Fish, Davis and some friends searched until 3:45 a.m. Later yesterday morning, Davis, 48, a partner in an apparel company, began calling private investigators.

Davis eventually reached Cotton & Krahling Special Services. The search for Reilly was the firm's first pet job.

"My heart goes out to them," said William L. Cotton III, a retired Baltimore County police detective who runs the firm. "My daughter-in-law's got a little Yorkie, and my whole family is dog people."

By midafternoon, Fish and Davis decided that the ground search wasn't enough. After another round of calls, Davis found a helicopter pilot willing to fly about 75 feet off the ground to look for Reilly. With the private investigators, the team conducted a "grid search" of the property around the hotel - an area filled with bamboo grass tucked between Ikea and the post office.

Meanwhile, Fish went to a copy center to produce more than 1,000 posters offering a $2,000 reward and detailing Reilly's vitals: charcoal and tan coloring and wearing a royal blue collar and leash.

She also visited a psychic in Baltimore - a woman named Beverly who was recommended by a friend. "I don't normally go for that stuff, but girl, believe me, I have to do what I have to do," Fish said.

The psychic told Fish that Reilly is alive and has been picked up by someone who found him wandering - someone who will return Reilly to the couple between noon and 3 p.m. today.

Davis estimated that he spent thousands of dollars yesterday on the search. He said he spent more last night after the Marriott evicted them because of the disturbance caused by the search.

"When you don't have any children, a cat or a dog or a bird become a substitute of sorts," he said. "I would go ahead and sell my soul to the devil if it would bring that dog back for her."

jennifer.mcmenamin@baltsun.com

Copyright © 2021, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad
70°