Where Are You Riley?

has been keeping hope alive for the past seven weeks that somehow her yellow Lab, Riley, 7, will come back home.

With all the responsibility of trying to win the $100,000 for the Orange Schools through the Patch Deck the House contest, you might think that I have forgotten about Riley.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I feel like I know this boy and my heart aches when I think about him, not knowing where he is.

I was out and about after the Chilly Run yesterday hoping for a miracle. But still no signs of Riley.

Lauren Collier from News12 gave us hope by saying that she knew of a dog that was missing for three months last winter and was reuinited with its family — we hope the same for Riley.

Also, I hope Ms. Collier is planning to do a story on him soon.

The next step is coming together and hiking the wooded areas where Riley may be hiding. If a cow can go undetected with a bunch of deer in Milford for several months, who says Riley can't be hunkered down somewhere too?

Patch readers are already volunteering to join in search parties, but we need the guidance of someone who knows the terraine and has experience in such things. Will anyone step up to lead us in the search for Riley?

Christmas has come and gone

Here at Patch we hoped Riley would be home for Christmas, but we aren't giving up on him.

If everyone could please keep spreading the word by posting his story on your Facebook pages, mentioning him to your Connecticut friends and relatives so everyone is aware that he is missing maybe the one person who knows something will get the message and let the LaPlantes know where he is. 

The weather is getting colder and if he hasn't been taken in by someone he's got to be cold and hungry. Let's not give up on Riley and keep him and the LaPlante family in our thoughts today.

Merry Christmas Riley, buddy. I hope you're okay on this Christmas Day. Come home soon.

Most Recent Post

Your local Patch, with readers' support and encouragement, is continuing to rally around the LaPlante Family in the search for Riley and our goal of getting him home for Christmas.

We ask that any media group, including television, radio and newspapers with a wide reach join us.

Why? From what I've heard in private e-mails, phone calls and people I meet on the street, Riley has become everyone's dog. We all feel for the LaPlante Family and we are worried about him.

Someone must know something, all we have to do is reach that one person to get the answer we need.

Let's all keep spreading the word and bring Riley home.

Previously:

Orange Patch and several other Patch sites have published his story across the state and many Patch readers (more than 600) have reposted his story on their Facebook Pages and reached out to local news personalities.

One Patch reader said Scott Haney from Channel 3 showed Riley's "missing" poster on television early one morning and Lauren Collier from Cable News 12 responded to a Facebook plea and asked for more photos of Riley which she will hopefully show on her weekend Pet Talk show.

Readers have been offering up a lot of wonderful ideas to the LaPlante family, including places to search online and a craig's list ad to follow up on. We would welcome some different photos of Riley so everyone can see what he looks like from different angles etc.

There are only 6 more days until Christmas and our goal at Patch is to have every follower post this story link on their Facebook page and spread the word throughout Connecticut and get Riley home by Christmas.

RECAP

and he was last seen on Halloween night between Forest Road and Orange Avenue in Milford after he was frightened by trick-or-treaters.

Since their story came out, Carol LaPlante said she has received calls of possible sightings, but they turned up empty. They are inconsolable in his absence, as "the Boy" is a beloved member of their family.

If you see him, the LaPlantes ask that you please , but call out, "Treats!" and call them any time of the day or night at 203-878-4556, or 203-606-8234 to report his location.

In a heartwrenching statement on Sunday, wrote, "It continues to get more and more difficult to live without knowing what has happened to our Riley. Life is not the same without the big golden boy bringing a smile to our hearts. My family is heartbroken so it is very hard for me to write about the boy. We are keeping the faith, and we are continuing to look."

EDITOR'S NOTE:  I don't know where Riley is, but I keep my eyes open for him wherever I go. If everyone in the area could repost this story link http://patch.com/A-px4P on their facebook pages then the word would get out beyond our area and maybe we could help make a Christmas miracle happen for Riley and the LaPlante family.