Charlie, a beloved beagle at Legare Farms, has been missing since Dec. 26. Photo used by permission of the family.
Legare Farms’ greeter is missing.
Charles, or Charlie, is a beagle who would meets every carload of folks that heads to the farm on Johns Island for the pumpkin patch in the fall, every busload of kids that comes for a field trip to learn about where their food really comes from.
He’s been a part of the farm for 12 years, but now he and his friend Ella, a 10 month old puppy, are missing.
Searches, Facebook messages, and email blasts have yielded nothing.
The pair went out for their morning run on Dec. 26 like they do every day, but something changed.
“We didn’t think anything of it until the next day,” Linda Legare-Berry said. “They’ve never been away from home overnight.”
What followed was an exhaustive search of the 300 acre farm, along with checking with neighbors and showing photos of the dog.
“There’s not an inch of this farm that we haven’t looked at.,” Linda said.
More than a pet
Linda’s email tells the tale of Charlie:
“Tommy Legare had raised beagles most of his life and thought his only grandchild should have a beagle. He had made arrangements to purchase the puppy but died of a heart attack before he could pick up the puppy. Sarah’s Grandmother Ann Legare picked up the puppy so that her husband’s last wish for his granddaughter could be carried out. The lady with the puppy would not take any money for the puppy after she heard the story.”
Friday afternoon, Sarah and her friends, out of school for the holiday, searched the farm for the dogs, but found nothing.
Now, Charlie has been known to wander, but he’s always come back.
“When Charles was younger we would get calls from all over this end of Johns Island,” Linda said. And she means all over—up to 10 miles away. But that hasn’t happened for a few years, probably not since Charlie was bitten by an alligator in 2006.
Charlie’s collar has the phone number for the farm, and he’s always been returned.
Holding out hope
He’s not the most well-behaved dog, Linda admits, since he got himself expelled from obedience classes on the second day for being too energetic. But any dog owner knows what Linda, Sarah and the rest of the family are going through right now.
“Animals are her life,” Linda said of her daughter. “They’re the strong thing to get her through the tough times the past few years.”
That’s been even tougher because the family’s three cats, with them for 16 years, all died within the past three months.
Charlie and Ella need to come home.
So, Linda’s hoping that somebody found the dogs and didn’t realize who they belonged to. Maybe the person doesn’t realize Ella is microchipped. Maybe Charlie’s collar came loose.
“I think if he was able to get home he would,” Linda says. “I feel like somebody just picked them up.”
There is a reward. If you saw the dogs, please call Legare Farms at 843-559-0788 or e-mail legarefarms@bellsouth.net.