Posted: 12/27/05
Dogs journey 28 miles to Caledonia
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Talk about a sixth sense. CJ and Page have it.
The two dogs made a 28 mile journey from their home south of Nodine in Winona County to Caledonia two weeks ago.
They apparently were in search of CJís owner, Amber Jergenson, who lives in rural Nodine and works at Fastenal Call Center in Caledonia.
Amber didnít even know the two animals were missing until the afternoon of Wednesday, December 14. She received a message from Kevin Schroeder, who lives on Highway 76 near Caledonia, that two dogs were hanging out at his house. And sure enough, when she got home she discovered that her black lab, CJ, was missing, along with Page, a German shorthair owned by her father, Joe Jergenson, who lives nearby.
Schroeder had found a veterinarianís phone number on a tag on Pageís collar. Kevin called the vet, and was given Jergensonís number.
ěThey just showed up in the yard,î Kevin said. The dogs hung around most of the day, but by the time Jergenson called him that evening, they had left.
Schroeder checked with his neighbors. They had seen the dogs too. He even drove around that evening to try to find them again, but to no avail. He figured they took off toward town.
Jergenson drove back and looked for them too, but with no success. She did the same the next day. She called Caledonia Animal Control Officer Mike Gavin, and he told her he had seen the dogs on Highway 44 heading toward Hokah. So after work that Thursday, she went door to door asking for her dogs. ěPretty much everyone on Highway 44 had seen them the prior day at the bottom of Schauble Hill,î she said. Schauble Hill is about five miles north of Caledonia.
One of Jergensonís co-workers, Nancy Messner, mentioned it to her husband, Gary, who works at at B&M Service in Caledonia. Gary had spied the dogs in town on Wednesday, and he saw them again on Friday by Ellingsonís Motors. ěWe just called them over here and they walked right in,î Gary said. Then he gave Jergenson a call.
ěSo I went and got them and kept them in my car until I could go home,î Jergenson said.
It was a happy reunion. ěAs soon as my dog seen me, she jumped up on me,î Jergenson said. ěThey were pretty much pooped out. They slept the whole way home and that whole night.î
The big question remains how the heck the dogs knew to come to Caledonia. ěI have no idea how they got up here. They must have smelled my car or something. Iím not sure.î
Jergenson travels to work on Highways 76 and 44, which was the route that the dogs apparently took too. ěIíve never taken them on a car ride up here or anything,î Jergenson said.
Jergenson thinks Page is the culprit and led the charge to Caledonia. ěAnd of course my dog will follow,î she said with a laugh. ěIím blaming it all on her [Page].î
The search a lot of work for Jergenson, a lot of door knocking. ěI think everybody in the area has my phone number,î she said. ěEverybody was so helpful though.î
Jergenson called Kevin Schroeder back when she found the dogs.
ěI was glad to hear that [she found them],î Schroeder said.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com