Acclaimed author Dennis Lehane is used to tackling missing person cases in his best-selling novels. But today the man who wrote Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone is on a desperate search of his own.
Tessa, Lehane’s beloved black-and-tan Beagle, is M.I.A.
“She’s smart, fast, and immeasurably sweet,” Lehane writes of his missing dog. “She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”
Lehane is hoping that his fans will join in the search for Tessa, and has offered up an unusual reward for his Beagle’s safe return—while most worried owners with missing pets pay their pet’s rescuer in cash, Lehane will offer the person who finds Tessa the chance to appear as a character in a novel.
“Naming of character in the next book for anyone who gets her back to us! (No, really!),” Lehane said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Tessa first disappeared Monday and is thought to be on the lam somewhere in or near Boston. Lehane explains that his Beagle jumped a fence in suburban Brookline that morning, and was seen at a gas station in the Allston neighborhood around 4:30 that afternoon.
“It’s possible she’s staying in some good Samaritan’s home right now or has tucked herself away on a porch,” Lehane writes.
Tessa is microchipped, Lehane explains, but was not wearing her identification tags when she went missing.
Concerned fans and dog lovers from all over the country have taken to Lehane’s Facebook page with words of encouragement, tips, and promises to spread the word about Tessa’s disappearance.
“Heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s posted on FB. Means the world to me,” a grateful Lehane wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday night. “We’ve followed up on all leads. She is still out there.”
Lehane asks that, if you have any idea of Tessa’s whereabouts, or have had a possible Tessa sighting since the time of her disappearance, please post information on the author’s Facebook page as soon as possible. Anyone who is able to find Tessa is also advised to contact the Brookline Animal Control at (617) 730-2222.
