ORWIGSBURG - Little Cosmo has been the most popular dog in Schuylkill County for the past three weeks.
After running away from his home Jan. 26, the Shih Tzu survived two weeks of bitter cold, snow and freezing rain before being found Feb. 9, thanks to a search effort spanning the entire county.
"We had a whole community looking for this dog," Beth Connors, Cosmo's owner, said Friday. "It's really amazing."
Beth and her husband, Terry Connors, were in Philadelphia for the day when Cosmo went missing. Beth said they had someone stop by the house to check on him and the other dogs when Cosmo got scared and ran out the door. The Connors have an electronic fence set up in the yard of their Liberty Street home that activates a shock collar on the dogs, but Cosmo was wearing a different collar and just kept running.
"People were out looking for him even before we got home that night," Terry said.
The Connors said they looked all night with friends and family to no avail. During the next several days, the Connors asked more friends to help them look and put up "Missing Dog" posters with a picture of Cosmo.
"We just couldn't give up. We love him too much. We couldn't let the little guy out there." Beth said. She even called a pet psychic in Washington state.
Cosmo's picture turned up on Facebook and the Connors took out several ads in The Republican-Herald offering a $2,000 reward for his safe return. In a short time, the photo of Cosmo was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook. Beth also went online and had a pet amber alert issued to 2,500 people in the area.
"Everyone I talked to on the phone said they didn't want the money, they just wanted him to come home," Beth said.
"I think it's because the community likes animals. Some people helping us look didn't even have animals, they just saw the photo and knew about the bad weather on its way."
Terry said he took a week off from work to continue searching for Cosmo, and Beth said she also took off several days and had to leave work early because she was so concerned.
A fellow dog-lover, Dana Smith-Mansell, Pottsville, saw the Facebook posts and contacted the Connors to give them advice, but soon found herself organizing search parties.
"Once you get involved in something like that, it gets very emotional and want to keep going," Smith-Mansell said Friday. "You feel for the family and the dog because you ask yourself, 'What if it was me?' "
After a failed group search, another was organized Feb. 9 where people lined up on Market Street and Ridge Road as others tried to flush Cosmo out of a wooded area.
"We really had a lot of people looking," Smith-Mansell said. "The unfortunate thing that we found out as the search went on is that he was only getting more scared and well-meaning people were doing more harm than good."
Terry said his nephew saw Cosmo near a pile of brush that day at the Schuylkill Country Club, about a 1 1/2 mile away from his home, and finally caught him.
Cosmo lost about 5 pounds and had a few cuts from running in the brush, but was hydrated and otherwise healthy.
"In my experience, he is a lucky dog, especially with the weather and the high volume of traffic in the area," Smith-Mansell said. "It can happen to the best-trained dog. If there is something that spooks them, they just take off and keep running. They become so frightened they just hide. That's what makes it so difficult, especially the little ones because they are subject to predators."
After getting a fresh haircut, Terry said Cosmo is still a little shaken up but he has been eating and sleeping a lot.
"I had so many calls from people asking if we found him yet and saying they were praying for him," Beth said. "I was overwhelmed and every time someone called I started crying. People are still asking if he was found and if they should still look on their drives home from work."
Even though Cosmo was found a week ago, the Connors said they are still getting calls asking about him.
"I was so surprised with the support we got from people. It really restored my faith in humanity," Beth said.
Cosmo has also been receiving cards and gifts from people welcoming him home, which is only fitting since Cosmo celebrates his third birthday today.
"I have a better outlook on people now," Terry said. "There is still a lot of good people out there yet."