This is the conclusion to an ongoing local lost dog story.  Pippin has been
mentioned every few weeks in the paper since he went missing.

Pippin's Christmas miracle
By Kymm Mann/Appeal-Democrat

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Bay Area residents Margo and Kevin Riach received a Christmas gift that
never will be matched.
After they spent seven months searching for their missing collie, Pippin,
and quitting their jobs in Walnut Creek, the dog was found Tuesday in Browns
Valley.
"It's a miracle," Margo said Thursday. "With all the coyotes, cougars and
bears up there, he made it, and he's home."

The Riaches were at Collins Lake in the Yuba County foothills on Memorial
Day weekend with their dogs, siblings Shasta and Pippin. The couple own
property in Forbestown and often visit the area.

While neighbors were walking Pippin, the dog broke loose. Both Riaches were
heartbroken, Margo said. She and Kevin began looking for the dog in the lake
area, where personnel gave them keys to access every part of the large
recreation site.

Margo quit her job of 12 years at a career-marketing firm to hunt for Pippin
full time. Then Kevin quit his job as an electrician. The couple even
considered not getting married in November as planned, but did.

Margo estimated they drove tens of thousands of miles and hiked as many as
20 miles per day searching for the dog. They eventually returned to work
when money got low.

Then, on Nov. 18, one day before Margo Gaspar became Margo Riach, she
received the call she had been hoping for.

"A girl working on this 1,000-acre property in Browns Valley called and said
she knew it was our dog living up on this hill," Margo said. "We went up
there, and sure enough, it was him."

Margo said the couple working the property, Dale Patton and Trina Jones, fed
Pippin after finding he had dug a shelter under an old pump house. The
Riaches raced to the property and saw their long-lost dog.

"We tried calling him and making his sister, Shasta, bark, but he was very
timid," Margo said. "We finally had to go out and put a trap out to coax him
in, and we got him Tuesday."

Margo and Kevin were afraid Pippin would be aggressive when they tried to
put him in the truck, but "Kevin picked him up and put him in the truck, and
Pippin sat on his lap the whole time. There must have been some familiarity
there."

Margo took the dog to the vet and was amazed by how well he had fared in the
wilderness. Pippin had just a few scrapes, an abscess on his side and had
lost 3 pounds.

"We never gave up hope," she said.

The Riaches had offered a $1,000 reward for Pippin. Patton and Jones refused
to take it, Margo said.

"The things people have done, and the people in the area here, you could not
find better people," she said. "Through this whole adventure, we have met
the most amazing people."

Margo said several people, including Bill and Nancy Kauk, helped make the
last seven months bearable. The Riaches met the Kauks while searching for
Pippin. Margo said the Kauks would run out immediately to look for the dog
if someone thought they spotted him.

"I just want to say, 'Thank you' so much for being such a wonderful
community with such caring people," Margo said. "We got Pippin back, and he
seems really happy, but not as happy as we are."