Skip to content

Best Swag Ever! Traditional Geocache

Hidden : 9/28/2014
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:



20414049-10214398588577787-6820371786749737213-o

You are looking for a bison tube hidden in a usual and customary way.  But I hope you'll read a little further and enjoy a story with a very happy ending.

We geocachers frequently get asked by muggles to name the best thing we've ever found in a cache.  The sweet pup in the picture above is the best thing I've ever found.   No, she wasn't in the cache, but she was right next to GZ, which is close enough for me.

July 27, 2014 is a day that changed my life for the better.  I was geocaching with my friend Lee! in the Oklahoma countryside.  We were miles from the highway, and it was a hot and humid day.  We stopped to try and find a cache, and after about a minute, this exhausted, emaciated dog ran up to me but stopped short. She was barking and baying weakly. She was extremely thirsty and interested in what we were doing, but she was also terrified and wouldn't let me near her.  I became quite concerned because it was apparent this dog desperately needed food and water. She was not going to last long in the condition she was in.  It took quite the effort to coax her into the car, but after I managed to gain her trust, she pulled her weak body into the front seat and onto my lap. She was covered with ticks and fleas.

We stopped at the nearest convenience store, which was 8 miles away, to get her something to eat and drink. The very short version of this story is that we tried for a few hours to find a local shelter for her, but they were all closed as it was a Sunday.  All I knew was that we weren't leaving her to die. She only had a day or two left in the condition she was in. I decided to take her back home to Topeka and figure out what to do with her along the way. Lee suggested we call her "Sandy" because the nearest town to where we found her was Sand Springs.   She looked like a "Sandy", so that's what we named her.  And the wheels of fate began to move.......

Once back in Topeka, we dropped her off at the Helping Hands Humane Society.  I have one dog already and didn't think I needed another. But within 12 hours of dropping her off, I was an emotional mess. The only thing that made me feel better was giving consideration to bringing her home to live with me. There is so much of the story that I'm leaving out, but on August 12, 2014, she formally became a member of my little family. Today Sandy is happy, healthy and spoiled rotten.

Here are pictures of her the day our lives changed:

20375803-10214398584777692-3460156858678249963-n 20431183-10214398584737691-6764088021336448584-n

And here is a picture of her today:


26758190-10215935869048838-4203309512851686660-o

So that's our story.  She's the best swag ever!  Oh, and we never did find that cache.

P.S. I had Sandy's DNA tested recently to determine which breeds are in her genetic lineage. One of her parents is a purebred Basset Hound. The other parent is a very mixed breed dog with strong American Eskimo Dog and Great Pyrenees genetic markers. She's a mutt. I love her no matter what she is!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Rireterra ba gur fbhgu fvqr bs gur genvy ol gur tngr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)