On Saturday afternoon, area residents Amy Wagner and her husband were enjoying the day on their boat near the headwaters area of Cheat Lake – something they had done many, many times before.
“We took Charlie with us – he has gone with us many times,” Wagner said.
Charlie, their 12-year-old Yorkie-Bichon mix, doesn’t like to actually get in the water, she said, but enjoys riding on their boat and kayaks.
The Wagners anchored their boat where it gets shallow on the south end of the lake, got into kayaks, and continued paddling down the Cheat River.
Wagner said at around 1 p.m. they pulled onto the side of the river to admire a small waterfall and allow Charlie to pee.
“He sat down – maybe 4 feet from me – he sat on a rock,” she said. “My husband’s kayak started drifting out of the rocks where we had it and he had to pull it back. I looked over to see what he was doing and said something to him. We looked back and literally, instantly, Charlie was gone.”
Charlie is not one to run off for no reason, Wagner said and she doesn’t know if he saw a deer or something else caught his attention.
“We have traveled with him all over the world and put him out and he goes just far enough to do his business. The instant you say his name he comes back,” she said.
“I keep thinking if a snake bit him, he would have yelped. Or if an animal grabbed him he would have yelped. Or if a hawk grabbed him – he was close enough I would have known a hawk came down.”
The Wagners have been searching the area constantly since Charlie disappeared. They went home and brought his bed, food bowl, food and some little things that have their scent on them back to the spot they last saw him, but no Charlie.
“Last night we even – against our better judgment – paddled back out after dark thinking maybe after dark he would come back to his bed. Still no sign of him”
While searching, Wagner said they discovered a four-wheeler path near the area he was lost called Buzzard Run that is accessed through Snake Hill Road.
“My biggest fear is that we did see some coyote tracks on the trail,” she said, “but my hope is maybe somebody was four-wheeling through there and actually picked him up and took him home.”
Wagner is doing everything she can to get the word out that he is missing and has reported his information to both the Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center and the Preston County shelter. She said because of where the trail is, he could just as easily be in Preston County.
“We have had literally hundreds of people offering help – telling us of dog sightings thinking it could be him,” she said. “We have gotten some great leads.”
Wagner is hoping that if someone did find him and had him at their house they will see or read that he is missing and do the right thing.
When he was last seen, Charlie was wearing a gray Seresto flea collar, but did not have his normal collar and ID because it is attached to an underground fence at their home.
Charlie only weighs 10 pounds and looks mostly like a Yorkie, but his coloring is gray and a creamy white, Wagner said.
“He had a haircut about two months ago, so he is not shaved,” she said. “But he does not have long hair either, kind of medium length hair right now.”
Wagner said Charlie might be really scared right now, but is usually very friendly and is not a biter or anything aggressive like that.
“I would think if he’s hungry and he thinks there’s people around he’s probably trying to find people to get food.”
Charlie also knows his name and will respond to it, she said.
She also said that even though he is 12 years old, you wouldn’t know.
“He doesn’t act 12. He is pretty spry,” she said.
If you have information about Charlie or think you know where he is, Wagner asks you to message her Facebook page – Amy Callaway Wagner.
