Doctors said he wouldn't live.

In fact, Darren Frey's health was in such dire condition that doctors said he had better put his affairs in order.

And one of those affairs was Dodger, Frey's short-legged, low-slung, doe-eyed, 1½-year-old tri-color Basset hound — who was as perfect a specimen of his species as the famous Hush Puppy.

But a lucky turn of events — sort of — has left Frey alive but Dodger missing in action.

"It's a nightmare," said family friend Jeff Dissinger of Salunga. "It's a sad thing the whole way around."

For three years, Frey struggled with his health after two liver transplants. When he entered hospice care, Dodger went to a kennel.

Frey's family and friends rallied to do what they could for him.

"The doctors called the family and said, 'You better go see him — he doesn't have more than a day or so to live,' " Dissinger said.

Meanwhile, Dodger's care cost $20 a day at the kennel. With Frey's health unquestionably terminal, Dissinger and his family decided to find a home for Dodger.

"We sat around a table and said, 'What can we do for him?' Three or four of us made a decision to find him a home because we were all working and none of us could take him," Dissinger said.

Dodger went to temporarily live with Frey's sister in Conestoga until a home could be found for him. One day, possibly the Saturday before or after Thanksgiving, a hunter came to the home asking to cross the property to retrieve an eight-point buck. The hunter took a liking to Dodger, who Dissinger said is a neat and fun dog.

"(The hunter) was petting the dog and (Frey's sister) said, 'We might be getting rid of the dog because the owner is terminally ill.' They exchanged numbers and the man came and took the dog," Dissinger said.

A few days later, when the hunter called to say he wanted to return Dodger because the 55-pound dog wasn't doing his carpet any favors, Frey's sister was unable to give him a permanent home because she lives in a rental property that doesn't permit dogs. The hunter said he'd find a home for Dodger. And that was the last they heard from him.

In the meantime, Frey left hospice care and was taken to several hospitals, Dissinger said. He called to tell his family he was recovering, but no one knew what to believe because Frey was heavily medicated. The next thing they knew, Frey was back at home in West Lampeter. And he wanted his Dodger back.

"I'm stunned," Dissinger said of the turn of events.

And aside from being stunned, Dissinger feels awful about Dodger and Frey being separated.

"We thought we were doing the right thing," Dissinger said. "I told him, 'You have to realize what we were told by your doctor.' (Frey) said he didn't think he would live either. He's a very nice man. He accepted his death. So now it would make me happy if we could help him."

Since Dodger left Frey's sister's home, the hunter's telephone number was lost.

Dissinger said he checked with neighbors in the area where the hunter shot the buck, but no one knew him.

"I think his name was Jeff and he was hunting at the tree farm off River Road and Shenks Ferry Road," Dissinger said.

They offered to help Frey get another dog, but Frey wants Dodger — so much so that Frey is willing to get another dog for the family who has him now, if they can be found.

Dissinger hopes the family who has Dodger or the hunter who placed him with the family will read this article and contact him so the hound can be reunited with his human.

Dissinger said he thinks the family who has Dodger has four children and lives in the Conestoga area on a large property. He believes the hunter may have known the family from his church.

And while it might be hard for the family to give up Dodger, especially during the holidays, Dissinger said it would mean the world to Frey to have him back home.

"(Frey) bought the dog for his son, and now he doesn't know what to tell him," Dissinger said.

If anyone knows any information about Dodger, Dissinger asks they please call him at 330-9103.

"It's just a sad thing. And now we may have to take a dog from children at Christmas," Dissinger said. "He just wants him back. I'm doing whatever little thing I can do to help make that happen."

E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com