The Case of the Missing Necklace

Harper is pretty infamous for taking things. Socks. Underwear. Shoes. Food. But jewelry? I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

On Sunday morning after yoga, I was in the shower and could hear Harper in our room running around like a lunatic — which usually indicates that he has gotten a hold of something he shouldn't. So I wrapped myself in a towel with the water still running and went to see what he had gotten into. He stops, glares at me, challenging me to chase him, and I see the chain of a necklace hanging out of his face like a piece of spaghetti.

Recognizing the necklace, I begin to panic, but managed to calmly grab the dog and pull the chain out of his mouth. Unfortunately the chain came out sans pendant. Harper kept chomping and running, but by the time I grabbed him again, whatever was in his mouth (presumably the pendant) was long gone. He looked very proud of himself. Not unlike after his recent total destruction of Dr. Penguin toy.




So I yell for Alex like a lunatic and he came running. Alex did a cursory look around but we didn't find the pendant. Presumably, it's in the dog. Fantastic.

Now, of all my jewelry, it appears Harper has good taste. Other than my engagement ring, the necklace he stole is probably the most sentimentally significant piece of jewelry I own. Back when I was in high school and my dad was still working, it was hard for him to wear his wedding band at his job because it was sort of an occupational hazard. Eventually we realized that it didn't fit him any longer, so my Mom and Dad took it to Bridgewater Jewelers over in Old New Castle and had it fashioned into a heart pendant for my Mom. The ring itself was bent into a heart shape and then the diamond from my Mom's engagement ring was added to the center.





I always really liked the necklace and the sentimental value it held, so in August of 2003, my parents gave me a similar necklace made out of my mother's original wedding band. When she worked on the floor at the hospital, my mom was only allowed to have a plain gold band, so the original white gold band was put away. Mom prefers the plain yellow gold ring, so she and my dad decided to have the original made into my very own heart necklace. They gave it to me that August because I was about to have my senior picture taken and they though that I would enjoy having something special to wear.


Since then, I have worn that necklace pretty much every single day, so needless to say, I'm pretty upset that my tiny little jewelry thief has made off with it.

So, after 3 days of checking poop, there was still no pendant . On Tuesday morning, I called the vet to get their recommendation. Of course they suggested an xray to see if it's in his belly, so Harper and I went down there and he waited patiently to see the doctor.




I assumed that the xray would look something like this, we would know where the necklace was, and that we would come up with a plan to get it back.





I was in the exam room closest to the back room where they do xrays, so I got to hear what was going on. After about 15 minutes of what sounded suspiciously like a Benny Hill sketch, Dr. Teti came in to tell me what they saw. Fortunately and unfortunately, the x-rays show nothing in his little puppy stomach and GI tract (except and lot of gas and poop). Luckily, this means no bowel obstructions or perforations which is great news. The bad news is, either H already passed the pendant and I missed it, or it's somewhere in my house. Fantastic.


So, even though on that first day we tore the house apart looking for the pendant, I went home after the vet and looked everywhere else that I could think of. I even got out a flashlight and checked behind furniture. Looked in all of the heat registers. Checked the crack between the carpets and the wall. Drains. Inside shoes in our closet. Under throw rugs. In cushions. Shook out clothes.


Didn't find the pendant....but what I did find? The chain of the necklace. AGAIN. I had put it up on my dresser (further back this time), but at some point Harper had yoinked it again. And where did I find it? Under the cushion of his dog bed. Are you effing kidding me? This dog is a ninja. So, needless to say, the search continues. If he's smart enough to hide things he knows he's not supposed to have, who knows what he did with the pendant.

So here's hoping that someone up there intervenes and I find this thing. St Francis. St Anthony. Dad. One of you guys up there. I do bet that when we do find it, I'll have a whole 'nother story for you guys. Cross your fingers!