Dog rescue can be a sad business in Baja

Today is a sad day at our house! A friend reluctantly let us know that our Baja rescue, Noble, has been missing from the Pescadero Refugio.
Noble stole our heart in the spring of 2004. He was a flea bitten, skinny frightened dog that lived on the streets near the home we were renting. It took weeks of throwing food onto the street until he would finally come close enough for me to pet him. He could not take more than 2 steps without scratching himself. Managed to get some flea meds on him and a collar and looked forward to seeing him waiting by our gate for his morning meal. By the time it was time for us to leave he was looking so much better. After much soul searching, when the time came for us to leave, we decided that we could not leave him behind. We managed to get him into the van and took him to El Refugio where Mariposa and her family socialized him and kept him fed. We would pick him up whenever we were there. We thought he would have a heart attack his first trip to Casa Loma!! He was so frightened! It did not take him long to adopt the best lawn chair, and last spring our favorite time was first thing in the morning when he bound into the trailor and join us in bed for a "morning cuddle". He drove around with me in the front seat as proud as any dog could be!!! We always thought he was saying "look at me"!! Hard to believe he won't be there for us at Christmas. It was a friendship that was too short, but so rewarding. This is probably the first of many more of these heartbreaks that we will experience. Does it ever get easier??