Despite sub-freezing temperatures and iced-over roads, one public servant went out of his way to reunite a family with their missing pet during the recent ice storm.
The drama started when a mischievous-minded canine named Roscoe, a four-year-old rescue husky adopted in October, slipped past Shelly Glasgow’s front door in Flower Mound’s Wellington community on Thursday, Dec. 5.
She was concerned but figured with ID tags on, someone would spot Roscoe and contact her.
As the winter storm began to pound the area with freezing rain and ice pellets, Roscoe still hadn’t turned up and Glasgow’s concern deepened.
That evening, Glasgow posted a notice about Roscoe on the Flower Mound Cares Facebook page, along with a picture. Other residents quickly chimed in, and one had happened to see Roscoe collected by Animal Services in a grocery store parking lot earlier that day.
Of course, the Animal Services Center (like most of the town) was closed the following day due to treacherous road conditions. Nevertheless, Town Manager Jimmy Stathatos joined in the Facebook conversation and facilitated the communication of the issue to Flower Mound Police Chief Andy Kancel, who in turn took a photo of Roscoe with his phone and sent it back to eventually obtain a positive identification.
“The police chief called and he [Roscoe] was there, but because of the storm I couldn’t go get him,” Glasgow said. “He told me ‘I’ll bring him to you’ and a little later they both showed up at our front door.”
Kancel, who took the top cop job in Flower Mound on Nov. 4, said that delivering the dog over the frozen Flower Mound tundra was all in a day’s work.
“Being a pet owner myself, I knew that they needed to know their dog was OK,” Kancel said. “I did what any of my officers would’ve done. We are about serving and taking care of our citizens, as well as developing relationships with them.”
Glasgow was overjoyed with the police chief’s gesture, but was not surprised by the helpfulness of everyone involved in Roscoe’s safe return.
“I’ve lived in Flower Mound 20 years and even with the growth, this is like the same small town,” Glasgow said of her fellow residents and town officials’ assistance. “I would’ve thought the city leaders would be too busy doing other things but they were so nice and helpful in getting Roscoe back to us.”
Perhaps the Glasgows weren’t the only ones wanting to thank the chief.
“I told him we’re going home and Roscoe acted like we were best friends,” Kancel said. “He jumped right in the back seat and laid his chin on my shoulder the whole way home.”
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