Missing Pointer Likely Was Stolen

Somewhere among the wooded ravines of southeastern Nebraska is a German short-haired pointer named Sky who is supposed to be in Spokane.

He was last seen by his owner, Brooks Carmichael, Nov. 4 while the pair were hunting pheasants on the Hickory Ridge Wildlife Management Area near Beatrice, Neb., about two hours south of Lincoln.

What makes this missing dog story particularly tragic is Carmichael believes Sky was stolen - not from a vehicle or from his dog box but while the two were hunting and became separated by thick underbrush for literally just a few minutes.

“He went off to the right for a moment and I briefly lost sight of him so I called him back,” said Carmichael, who was vacationing in the area. “He always comes back within one or two minutes after I call him. That’s why I grew concerned when he didn’t respond to me.”

Because he was only a short distance from his truck, Carmichael figured there was a good chance the dog would be there. He checked. No Sky.

Then Carmichael noticed something significant - the two hunting parties that had also been using the wildlife management area that day were suddenly nowhere to be found.

Carmichael combed the property, which covers about 250 acres. No Sky. No hunters.

“I immediately contacted farmers who owned land in the area to let them know my dog was missing,” Carmichael said. “I felt someone had picked up Sky and was trying to find me.”

Carmichael also put ads in the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers. The second day the ads ran he got a phone call.

“A guy called and said he thought he had my dog. He described the dog and it sounded exactly like Sky,” Carmichael said. “He said a friend of his who was out of town had the dog, then he asked me for the dog’s name and age and asked how well trained he was. He left me his name and phone number and said he would get the message to his friend.”

Carmichael said when he hung up he felt relieved. He believed he would soon be reunited with Sky. Then the instincts he had honed over 22 years working as an enforcement officer for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife kicked in.

He dialed the number he had just been given. It was bogus as was the name the caller gave.

“That’s when I realized that my dog had been stolen, probably by one of those other hunters, if you can call them that,” Carmichael said.

A friend of Carmichael’s with public relations savvy and contacts in the Nebraska media convinced the outdoor writers at both the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers to do a story on Sky’s plight.

Before he returned to Washington, Carmichael also plastered southeastern Nebraska with posters about the missing dog offering a $200 reward. A local crime stoppers organization chipped in an additional $1,000 for Sky’s safe return after reading the newspaper stories.

Now Carmichael waits, hoping each day will be the day that Sky is found.

“He’s 3 years old, colored liver and white and was wearing a fluorescent orange collar with my name and address,” Carmichael said. “He’s a lovable dog who liked to come in the house and put his head in my lap and be petted.”

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