Family pet gone missing following Tea Fire

[Rick]

SCOTT STEEPLETON, NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR December 10, 2008 12:00 AM

A Santa Barbara family is asking for just one thing this Christmas: to have their 11-year-old Border Collie mix back.

Sally was last seen Nov. 13, the day the Tea Fire started, on La Paz Road.

Her human companions, Bobbie and John Kinnear, have been searching for her ever since.

They heard from a woman who saw a black and white dog matching Sally's description near Milpas and Cota streets on Monday -- and Mrs. Kinnear spent part of Tuesday plastering the area with fliers sporting the dog's picture.

"I just feel like I'm always one step behind," said Mrs. Kinnear on Tuesday. "I can see her going down Cold Spring, crossing over Sycamore and making her way down to the Milpas and Cota area and meandering."

The dog, which has been part of the Kinnear family since it was a pup, got its name from the 1989 book "My Way Sally" -- the title character being a foxhound pup that's best described as stubborn -- which the Kinnears' daughter, Katie, read as a 12-year-old.

"The dog had a will of her own," said Mrs. Kinnear. "We named our Sally 'Sally' because she has a will of her own."

"And that's why she's making do," added Mrs. Kinnear. "She's finding her way."

The first two weeks of the search proved frustrating for the Kinnears because their phone service was knocked out by the fire -- and the phone company was not able to forward their calls.

They're hoping now that restored phone service and all those fliers -- even a newspaper story -- will help bring Sally home.

"More eyes will find her," said Mrs. Kinnear.

Anyone who thinks they know Sally's whereabouts is asked to call Bobbie Kinnear at 455-0944 or John Kinnear at 729-5618.

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