Lost!

Mike Dillingham has lost his babies, and about the only thing comforting him has been the outpouring of help and support coming from people as far away as Germany.

Last Saturday, Dillingham and his friend were traveling down Knik-Goose Bay Road to the kennel of GB Jones, an Iditarod musher and friend of Dillingham's. With four dogs in the dog box on the back of the Ford Ranger, they were looking forward to running the dogs with Jones and enjoying the afternoon.

But near Mile 13, just south of Knik Bar, they hit ice and rolled the truck, which was totaled. After realizing he was alive and OK, Dillingham thought about his babies in the back of the truck.

"I don't even really remember everything because all I was thinking about was my dogs," Dillingham said. "They are a part of my family. They are my kids. I cut off the seatbelt and crawled outside to get to them."

Of the four dogs, two were still there. The other two -- Icy and Lakota -- took off, breaking Dillingham's heart in the process.

But this isn't just a story of two lost dogs. It is a story of people pulling together, and about a community's support. These weren't just any dogs, mind you. Thousands of people know these dogs, because they were stars in "Rivers: Diary of a Blind Alaska Racing Sled Dog," a book Dillingham wrote.

Rivers is a blind sled dog that Dillingham got from Raymie Redington's kennel. He is an Iditarod veteran, and immediately appealed to Dillingham, because Dillingham's house dog, Sandy, has eye problems as well.

Dillingham and his wife, Mary, love animals, and they have collected several dogs in their "recreational" husky lot. They still maintain a daily blind dog e-mail group for owners of other dogs that suffer from sight illnesses or blindness.

Now, however, two of their own family members are gone, and they can use the help. People from as far away as Germany are helping the Dillinghams try to put their family back together again.

Dillingham has developed a daily diary for Rivers, in which he e-mails people around the world about what life is like from Rivers' perspective as a blind sled dog. When people heard about the accident and about the lost dogs, help started coming immediately.

"We have had a lot of people who we don't even know offering help and their prayers, and that means a lot," Dillingham said. "We've had so many e-mails from people trying to help. We've even had kids who wanted to donate money for the reward. Of course we didn't accept, but the outpouring of support has been unbelievable."

Because of the daily e-mails, people from other states have heard about the accident. They have, in turn, e-mailed their friends who live in the Knik area, and they have offered to help.

The German lady has candles lit in the windows of her home as a way to offer her prayers for the Dillinghams and their dogs. A woman who operated the Web site www.sleddogcentral.com offered to put an "online flyer" on her Web site because she heard about the accident through e-mails she received.

"I can't believe the good in people. I grew up in New York City, where you don't even look at the other guy across from you," Dillingham said. "We've had complete strangers call us on cell phones saying they may have seen Ice or Lakota."

Dillingham has canvassed that end of the borough, putting up signs and flyers everywhere. As a result, they have gotten numerous phone calls from complete strangers who think they might have seen the dogs. Some have come from the Pittman Road area, which is a good way from the crash site, but Dillingham and his wife check every lead. Veterinary clinics have also been trying to help the Dillinghams find Ice and Lakota.

Redington and Jones have been sweeping the trail, both with their dog teams and on foot, trying to find the two lost dogs. The Dillinghams, along with many other people, have thoroughly checked the area on Knik Road where the accident took place, but still haven't found the dogs. They aren't giving up, though.

"The hardest part of all this is that there isn't any closure. I know they survived the accident, but after that, we don't know what really happened," Dillingham said. "Not knowing is the worst part.

"I just want to find my dogs. My dogs are my buddies. Losing them and not knowing what happened is extremely painful for my family," he said.

Dillingham said if anybody knows anything about Ice and Lakota, they can give him a call at 357-4524.