Well you can blame the Shark, Daymond John, for HumpDay’s tardiness this afternoon. The Quad City Chamber of Commerce heldtheir Annual Meeting at the iWireless Center hosted by the founder of FUBU, entrepreneur, and Shark Tank Investor. A handful of us were privileged to attend the event over lunch thanks to Grace’s very own entrepreneur and Chamber member, Phil Allen. While I did miss Mark Cuban and Mr. Wonderful, it sure was a delight when Phil nonchalantly approached me yesterday and asked if I wanted to see Daymond this afternoon. It’s never an ordinary day at Grace!
Take last Friday for example. The son of the boss (or SOB, for short) and International SalesManager, Drew Allen, came to work in the morning like any other ordinary day. Immediately upon arrival, one of his co-managers, Tori, saw a squirrel and bolted towards the heavily wooded area behind our new building. For those of you unfamiliar with Tori, she is the white Shar Pei/Pit Bull mix with a pink bow in last week’s HumpDay Team Photo. She is on the leaner side and is built like a Greyhound with a Pit Bull face. I am able to describe her to you in such vivid detail because of how many times I explained this appearance to strangers last Friday. Before I could even have my morning coffee, we were out and about, yelling, “Tori!”
Fun fact about Tori; she is full of energy all day every day. She loves to run as fast and far as she can, however, she is usually confined to the square footage of Drew’s yard via invisible fence. Last Friday, Tori got the run of the city of Davenport, unbound. That heavily wooded area I mentioned earlier opens up into a park with a bike trail and tree line that could take you to any of the four corners of the Quad Cities. Multiple people in the office came to aid and we could not have asked for a better support system. Her photo and description were posted on a lost and found Facebook page before we hit the road. Imagine Drew and me driving around Davenport (on and off the bike trails…) getting “real-time updates” from regular people throughout the city. It is truly amazing what technology can achieve in our lifetime.
By lunch time, as we continued to chase our tails (sorry), it became apparent to us that we were stuck one too many steps behind. Though everyone still had hope, we came to the honest conclusion that all that may be in our power is to wait. As soon as we got back to the office, we heard reports of a white pit mix heading across the interstate two miles east of Grace’s building. By all intents and purposes, Drew believed that she was trying to figure out how to get home. After the adrenaline of the squirrel hunting subsided, she may have realized she was lost.
Tori is very shy unless she knows you. This made our hope of her approaching somebody with the big bold tag you see pictured above dwindle as the day went on and Drew’s phone didn’t get a call from an unfamiliar number. Driving up and down the interstate looking for your dog, your fellow family member, and one of our beloved office dogs is an experience I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemies. Every piece of white litter on the side of the road gave us our worst fear as we approached.
With no luck, we went to our respective homes defeated by the day. I gave my Dobe puppy the biggest hug when I walked through the door. I couldn’t imagine having to go home while your little buddy is out there all alone.
At 10 PM, approx. 14 hours after her daring escape, Drew finally got the phone call. Tori was found safe and sound near the Red Lobster two miles east of here. She was caught in a fence, exhausted, and afraid, barking for help. The Bettendorf Police Department was called and came to her aid. On the morning after, for the first day in her life, Tori did nothing but rest all day. Drew has since invested in a GPS tracking collar.
What a long and exhausting day. But who needs coffee when you’re running on adrenaline? I would not recommend losing your pet to supplement energy; therefore, we are giving away a $20 Starbucks gift card this week to raise awareness for dog leashes, Drew. Hit the button below for our Survey question.
tl;dr – Sorry HumpDay is late! I was swimming with a Shark this morning. Last week we lost Tori but found her 14 hours later near the Red Lobster.
Have a great week!
The Grace Marketing Team
