Zylo

Ilene and Zylo

Zylo my dog decided to explore life outside his backyard. Who could blame him? We all want at some point in our lives to explore and venture out into unknown territory. But unfortunately for Zylo he went missing after being kidnapped and sold, and in an instant he changed our life. We learned that faith will carry you through when you have nothing left. I came home to find my fiance standing outside crying his heart out. My heart sank. I had never seen Ryan cry tears of heartache, and it hurt me. Immediately we went into action, knocking door to door, making fliers, and posting ads. Ryan hardly ate, and he didn't sleep. I worried for him. Searching for Zylo became a 24-hour job, and I didn't know how long we could keep it up. We were exhausted, and I was losing hope, but Ryan was so devoted and hopeful, he encouraged me to keep the faith. Finally, someone called his cell phone and said he had our dog. I asked him, are you sure? He said the personality of the dog described Zylo perfectly, this dog is super lazy, doesn't do much, and only wags his tail when he hears a female voice. Ryan said," Yep, this is our dog." Zylo was in another city, 50 miles away. What were the chances? A hopeful Ryan and I immediately drove to the town and waited for the caller to call us. He did and stated there was a problem, Zylo had been sold. He sold our dog. He refused to give us the name of the person he had sold our dog to. After 6 hours of pleading with him, he finally agreed to have the person he sold our dog to call us. At first he didn't say anything, and so I spoke to him, pleading that our life wasn't the same without Zylo, he was our dog, and he was a gift to my fiance, who was so heartbroken without him, he was apart of a family who missed him so much, and asked that he do the right thing. He listened, and then he requested an exchange at the local gas station, money for Zylo. We agreed, but not before calling the local police. We were terrified, not knowing who we were dealing with and if in fact he actually had our Zylo. Ryan assured me, he did, because he just felt it. Anxiously we waited at the gas station, and finally we got the call. He told me to get out of the car, and walk slowly to the front of the gas station. I did. Ryan was a wreck and when he saw the young boy with our dog he ran towards him, and cried, "Zylo!!!" Immediately, the cops came and the boy was put behind the police car. We hugged and cried. Because of Zylo, I saw Ryan differently, he had far more faith and determination than I realized. He looked me in the eyes and thanked me for not giving up. It was our first heartache as a couple, but if we could go through an experience like this I knew that being married we could face anything together. Zylo had brought us so much closer together.