Team Alpha 375

Three Life Lessons of a Lost Dog By Mariel Hemingway

We turned around, and Bindu was gone.

One minute he'd been there, looking at me with pleading eyes. The next minute, he'd vanished into thin air.

My little Yorkie's frightened face popped into my head. From the second we'd arrived at Healthy Family Farm, he'd been acting funny.

Normally, Bindu is a confident creature. I've seen him growl at Great Danes and give Dobermans a hard time. He must think that he's a much larger dog. So I thought nothing of bringing him with us on our trip to the farm.

The Healthy Family Farm - an investment of mine - is a model of a truly healthy farm. There, goats, chickens, turkeys, sheep, pigs, horses, and Scottish cows are raised with love and compassion. I believe that being connected in some way to a farm or a local farmers' markets sends a strong message that you care about your food and where it comes from. Not only that, it also shows that you care about who is providing nourishment for you. Bobby and I had journeyed to the farm to show our friends Arnel and Karyn how important and wondrous our farm is.

We'd pulled up to the big barn where the goats get milked and where raw cheese and yogurt is made. Brave little Bindu jumped out of the car to explore. But instead of feeling in charge of this new place, he was surrounded by potential danger. Everywhere he looked, paws, legs, and hooves were hemming him in.

The farm hosts not only stock animals, but a variety of others as well. Many of them run free in certain areas of the farm. Three or four Pyrenees mountain dogs who watch out for the cows and lambs came over to sniff Bindu. A pit bull and a Staffordshire terrier joined in. The terrier had been fighting the night before and had cuts to show for it. Passing goats tried to nibble at Bindu like he was an afternoon snack. Then approached two Emus, which are new to the farm. I'd never seen one up close before - they look dark grey ostriches. A particularly curious bird seemed to think Bindu was the most fascinating creature it had ever seen, stretching its long neck towards Bindu's face.

This sent Bindu into the high grass nearby with the frenzy of a whirling dervish.

I could see that he was deeply spooked. His mouth was wet with nervous saliva and his eyes were round brown orbs seeking refuge. Whenever any of us put him back on the ground he ran in circles, looking for safety. But since we plan to return to the farm frequently, I wanted Bindu to get used to the animals wandering around.

So when we headed into the chicken coop to check out all the happy truly free-range chickens, we left Bindu outside. I am fond of chickens, having raised them for a summer in my teen years. They are so funny to watch - especially the turkeys with their iridescent waddles, goofy faces, and heavy struts.

The time passed too quickly and suddenly I realized it was time to go. We had an appointment back in town, and we were about to be late.

That's when I first realized that Bindu had disappeared.

The farm teemed with animals. Where among the horses, goats, and sheep would a terrified little Yorkie hide?

For eight hours, we searched the farm and surrounding areas. But Bindu was nowhere to be found.

Eventually, we gave up and headed home. My heart was broken. Bindu had been my loyal partner for 10 years. He was the only dog I'd ended up with after my divorce. He was my source of comfort; I would rest my hand on his chest and feel his steady heartbeat to calm me when things got rough. When life was good, I could share my joy with him. He knew me and I knew him.

What if, I couldn't help but thinking, Bindu had been snatched up by a hawk or a coyote? What if he'd been trampled by a horse or been injured by a bigger dog? I knew these things could happen. Growing up in Idaho, I'd lost plenty of dogs to predators and careless drivers. I knew how unlikely it was that I would ever see my little Bindu again.

But I didn't give up.

On December 27, nine days after his disappearance, Bobby, Arnel, and I were climbing in Malibu Canyon when I got the phone call. A woman had found a small dog just minutes ago on a road near Healthy Family Farm. She checked his tags - and found our number.

Elated, we rushed to the farm. There was Bindu! Greasy and timid, but not skinny or hurt.

Thinking back on those difficult days without Bindu, the experience reminds me of several tried-and-true lessons. Lessons that apply not only to dealing with a missing dog, but to business and life in general.

Life Lesson #1. Take Action.

"Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit," said Conrad Hilton.

Whether you're searching for a lost dog, or trying to jumpstart your career, the best and only way to succeed is to take action. Sure, sometimes fear - of failure or success - can freeze you in your tracks. But nothing will happen unless you take steady strides forward.

I took an active approach to finding Bindu. Each day, I woke up with the thought that Bindu was alive and healthy. But having "positive thoughts" wasn't enough. Bobby and I headed back to the farm to scour the hills again. We stayed in our truck overnight, leaving the windows open so Bindu could smell our scent. We consulted a pet psychic, who suggested we place his bed on the ground and write a note welcoming him home. Our friend Lee Hiller made posters that we posted on trees and shoved into mailboxes. We offered a reward for Bindu's safe return. I told everyone I met - including all my Twitter followers - to keep an eye out for Bindu.

We did everything we could think of to bring Bindu home. Not only did it keep us busy, but I believe that everything we did put us a step closer to getting him back. In fact, the woman who found Bindu had heard about the reward we were offering. At the very least, our act of posting signs about Bindu made her aware that there was a missing dog, which may have made spotting him easier.

As Benjamin Disraeli said, "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." Whatever you are trying to do - for your personal life, for your career - you must take action. Wanting your life to change is not enough.

Life Lesson #2. Don't Try to Go It Alone.

Pride and fear can often make us reluctant to ask for help. But trying to achieve your goals by yourself often means that it will take you much longer to reach them.

When looking for Bindu, I was not afraid to ask anyone and everyone to help out. That first day, everyone at the farm joined in the search. The farm hands suggested that he might be hiding with the kittens under the barn. Others mentioned that he may have run off into the land at the back of the property. The farm owner's kids took up the search on horse back. Bobby and I trekked into the hills, shouting Bindu's name. We scoured the neighbor's property.

When that didn't work, I turned to Twitter. I told all my followers about Bindu's disappearance, allowing all of them to help. And while none of them found him, many sent me words of comfort and motivation to keep looking. Their thoughtful comments and suggestions meant the world to me, helped keep my spirits up, and compelled me to keep looking.

Yes, you can accomplish great things on your own. But why not cut the time it takes you to succeed in half by getting help and support from your friends, family, and colleagues?

Life Lesson #3. Stick to It.

You have probably heard the old story about Thomas Edison, who failed 9,999 times to invent the incandescent light bulb. But he kept at it, and eventually he succeeded.

You see, success does not come easy. You will falter. You will fail. But the only way to succeed is to keep moving forward. Now, I know that sometimes you will simply be on the wrong path. If you are tone deaf, for instance, you will probably never win a Grammy no matter how hard you try. But that doesn't mean you give up. You simply switch game plans.

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on," said Franklin Roosevelt. That's how I felt many times while searching for Bindu. When we were scouring the farm the day he went missing, I did not want to give up. But eventually I realized that he was nowhere to be found, not to mention that the darkness would make searching futile. So we headed home. But I didn't give up. With the help of friends, I kept thinking of new ways to bring him home.

And eventually, my persistence worked.

As a working mom, you may sometimes feel like I did the instant that I realized Bindu was gone. You may feel hopeless. You may feel overwhelmed. You may not have any idea what to do or where to turn.

If you apply the three lessons I shared above, you will be able to demolish those unhappy feelings. You will be able to achieve the dreams you have for yourself. And I am confident that you will find your own happy ending.