Triumph turned to tragedy for Dave Mercer’s family, with harrowing and touching scenes worthy of a movie, but they got their Hollywood ending.
Mercer spent much of the weekend hobnobbing with fishing luminaries at the Spring Fishing and Boat Show in Mississauga, Ontario. That’s where on Friday he was inducted into the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame, at 44 its youngest member.
Back home Sunday, things went awry. The Mercers surprised their 14-year-old autistic daughter, Cadance, with the early arrival of a service dog that would help calm her. The family had waited six years to get one, and within 10 minutes, Luna bolted from their backyard, most likely from the stress of a first-ever car ride, and four hours at that.
Dave said he began a frenzied search, and the rest of the day played out like a script from a movie:
- Girl gets dog, loves it dearly
- Dog goes missing, family heartbroken
- Dad hysterically chases after dog
- Odd occurrences hit during search
- Mom enlists social media group to help
- Girl, dog reunited for happy ending
- Huge response touches girl, family
Script takes ugly turn
The waiting list for a service dog is long, and the Mercers were thrilled to be assigned Luna a year and half ago. Cadance met several times with the white shepherd, which was being trained by Elizabeth Baker at Thames Centre for Service Dogs to react specifically to her needs.
The surprise arrival thrilled Cadance, who took Luna outside within the first 10 minutes. Dave said he went out to get a photo of their joy together, and the leash came free of Cadance’s hand and off Luna ran. Terror reigned.
“Imagine the emotional state I was in at the time. I was terrified,” Mercer said. “I don’t think I could have been any more scared.
“It felt like it was the middle of a movie. How does this amazing moment become the worst? This would have shattered our family. How do I even go to the Classic if this dog doesn’t come back?”
Mercer immediately pursued on foot, although the trainer later told him that might have spooked the dog more, that it would have come back on its own. Still in his slippers, Dave rambled through the crunchy ice, cutting his feet before returning home to get his vehicle.
Luna was not seen for two hours. Mercer posted a plea for help on Facebook, and his wife, Sarah, remembered a well-advertised lost dog in the area two years ago. Area citizens banded together and created a search group, Team Chelsea, for the name of the dog. The reach of volunteers grew to include people an hour and a half away in Toronto. She posted to their group, and they came en masse.
“There were like 60 cars looking for her. All volunteers, leaving dinners, their lives, and they were super prepared, with backpacks full of equipment,” Mercer said. “We had people driving from more than an hour to help. We all complain about the horrible things that happen online in social media, but thank God for Team Chelsea.”
The dog was sighted, but again bolted. Finally, the group lined roads around a farm where the dog was seen entering. At that point, Mercer said Luna was so spooked she would probably only come to the trainer, and maybe Cadance.
Finding humor afterward
It was quite a harrowing ordeal, Mercer said, but he can now look back and laugh, at least at some of it.
Every time Mercer returned to his vehicle after checking out an area, he had to plug in his dying phone. And each time it seemed the world was torturing him.
“You can’t make this up,” he said. “It would play, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone.’ I’m driving around screaming at my radio, ‘Shut the f@#* up!”
Baker also had a horrifying instance in her search. In the distance, she thought she saw Luna limping near a farm, thinking maybe a car had hit her. She drove around to the house to encounter the unthinkable – the farmer carrying a rifle. He assured her he had just shot a coyote.
“How is our timing like that?” Mercer asked. “How could that happen in that span of time? You’re like UGH!!”
Mercer also attached a GoPro to Luna to video the surprise arrival, but he took it off before letting Cadance take Luna outside. With his phone, he could have pinpointed the camera by picking up its wi-fi signal.
There was also a GoPro running in his pocket during the first two hours of the search. He heard its shutdown beep, and realized he never wants to relive those two hours.
“I’ll never listen to it,” he said. “Think of a movie and the panic – I was thinking it was just a bad nightmare and we’re going to wake up, and it’s all going to be fine.
“To me, the Hall of Fame, the Bassmaster Classic, all the cool things I get to do in my life, if a fairy had landed on my dash and said I’d have to give all that up to get Luna back, I wouldn’t have batted an eye.”
There’s no crying in fishing
Mercer was pretty stoked to get the call from the hall, but he didn’t choke up and shed a tear like some.
“It was one of the weirdest, most humbling experiences,” he said. “I was more nervous driving to this than driving to the Classic for the first time.
“This is voted on by my peers – all the other show hosts. To be the youngest person is shocking. I never expected a call like this now. It’s just such an emotional thing. The industry I’ve grown up watching, they gave me a standing ovation when I came up. It’s something I’m very thankful for.”
Mercer’s career began 23 years ago with one-minute videos and grew as viewers enjoyed his mix of fish-catching information and humor. His award winning Facts of Fishing show, now airing in 176 countries, became an audience hit, and he parlayed that into his dream job of emceeing Bassmaster Classic and Elite tournaments.
His career highlights are too long to fully list. He’s broadcast for most every network that airs fishing, is a best-selling author, a monster in Social Media circles, and has won the Rick Amsbury Award of Excellence.
Mercer didn’t tear up during the ceremony, but said he cried his eyes out looking for Luna.
“I bawled the whole way through it,” he said.
Finally found, reunited and bonding
The farm Luna was seen entering was surrounded, and Baker went in to find the dog was stuck with her leash tangled on a fence. Baker said the dog’s eyes looked at her as if to say, “What took you so long?”
With the mission complete, Mercer thanked many Team Chelsea members as they left. Most said they had no idea Luna was a service dog that can cost around $25,000.
So impressed with this group’s concern and assistance, Mercer said he plans make a video to promote Team Chelsea.
“They say everything happens for a reason,” Mercer said. “It was amazing for Cadance to see how many people cared. I think a lot of autistic kids get stuck thinking nobody cares.
“For Cadance, it can start to feel like, I got this thing and nobody else is making a special effort. When you see all those people, she can’t help but feel loved.”
Cadance and Luna have been getting to know one another better this week. Baker is helping Cadance with the final stages of training, and the Mercers said they can already see a huge difference. Their daughter is smiling much more and feels more at ease.
“They’re bonding so well,” Mercer said. “An example of how Luna helps was the other night. Cadance was having a nightmare and Luna sensed she was in stress and licked her face to wake her up. The dog already doesn’t take her eyes off Cadance.”
The Mercers expect many more good days and nights with Luna assisting Cadance’s emotional health, despite the difficult start.
“Honestly, we’re like, ‘Wow!’ We’re that family who had that experience. It all ended well. We could make a movie,” Mercer said. “I was joking today, I said to Cadance, ‘What you’ve done here is amazing. I work my whole life to get inducted in the Hall of Fame, became the youngest dude ever inducted, and nobody even remembers it now.’ ”