Couple Recovering From Serious Wreck Looking For Missing Rescue Dog

A couple recovering from a serious car wreck said what hurts them the most is not knowing what happened to their beloved dog.

Terry and Bob Debbie said on May 13, a driver rear-ended them on Harrison Avenue by the I-40 overpass in Shawnee, pushing the couple's vehicle into a semi. Rex, who was in the back of the Debbie's car, ran off as first responders tried to help the couple.

"Rex is our life," Terry said. "We don't know what to do without him. We're lost."

The couple said they are going to therapy to manage their physical pain following the wreck. But there's still the emotional pain of not knowing where Rex is.

"There are nights I wake up crying and I hear myself saying, 'Rex, Rex!'... Sometimes now, when I have a snack, it's like I miss being able to give him - that he would be there," Bob said.

The couple said Rex was last seen in the area of Braum's and Lowe's on Kickapoo Avenue in Shawnee.

"(Witnesses) saw two ladies in a white SUV pick him up," said Bob.

Since then, the couple has returned to the area regularly.

"The first three, two-and-a-half weeks, we were down there every day for hours just to see if we could find him," said Terry.

The couple welcomed Rex into their home about three years ago after he showed up at their doorstep as a stray. The dog was thin and covered in ticks, the couple recalled. They could not find the owner.

Terry fondly remembers how much Rex enjoyed car rides.

"Even if we just rode up and down the road to the stop sign and back, he needed a 7 o'clock ride," Terry said. "You know, if he could talk, he would say, 'Oh, you're the best mommy in the world.' And I hope I was."

The couple said Rex has a microchip and urged anyone who may have the dog to bring him to a veterinarian's office to get scanned.

"They'll contact us. And you don't have to give us your name. We have a reward for them," said Terry.

Rex was last seen wearing a rope harness and leather leash. Anyone who may have seen him is asked to call the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office at 405-273-1727 or Terry at 405-240-2174.

"It's been a very, very empty house. It's not a home anymore without Rex," she said.