The Fourth of July is often responsible for lost pets that are frightened by the loud fireworks. This year was no exception and it was cause for a special personal encounter.

On July 5, I went kayaking on the American River with my fiancé Don and his friend Russ. We put in at Sunrise for an 11-mile ride to Watt Avenue and enjoyed watching dogs playing with their owners along the way.

About two miles before the end of our ride, we came across a golden retriever splashing and barking. We watched her as we floated by and soon realized that she was alone. We paddled back upstream to get to her and see if we could find her person. The riverbank was empty, with no homes or cars nearby. She was collarless and alone.

Being a dog lover, I refused to leave her there, so I picked her up and loaded her into my kayak. I was hoping to paddle my boat, but she really wanted to get back in the water. Instead, we tied our three boats together with mine in the middle and the guys paddled us the last two miles to our trucks. I held her tightly and calmed her with peanut butter filled pretzels.

Along the way, I decided to call her Kaya (Kayak sounded too masculine) and I discovered that she was missing several teeth including her lower left canine. The absent teeth caused her tongue to hang from the side of her mouth giving her an endearing lopsided smile.

At last, we reached our destination and I played with Kaya while the guys loaded up the trucks. I found that she absolutely loved to play fetch and would retrieve anything thrown for her, even rocks.

Don and I brought her home with us and set her up in the side yard with food, water, toys and a bed. I gave her a bath, brushed her and checked her out to see if she had any wounds. Aside from her teeth, she appeared to be healthy. Still, I didn’t want to let her play with our two dogs until she had a full exam from the vet.

We posted an ad in local papers and contacted local shelters to see if anyone had reported a missing dog. On July 8, I took her into Banfield Pet Hospital where they scanned her and found a microchip embedded between her shoulder blades. They connected me with her owners and within a few hours, I had arranged for them to pick her up.

I learned that her name is Aspen, she is 4 years old and she had several teeth pulled after she ran into a metal cage while playing fetch. She had escaped from the home of her owners’ parents on July 4 where she was frightened by neighborhood fireworks. Although we would have enjoyed adding her to our family, it was very exciting to reunite her with her owners.

This story had a happy ending, but so many do not; the tale just goes to show the importance of protecting pets—especially on the Fourth of July. Quick advice: Make sure pets are wearing collars with tags; get them microchipped; and keep them inside on July 4.