This adventure started Monday evening when I received a text from Suzanne saying, “I was just made aware of ring finders. I have a lost ring in my yard. It’s a big yard as we have a farm. My dog actually ate the ring then pooped it out, but we somehow missed finding it. We have grid searched as best we could with a borrowed metal detector but admit we didn’t know what we were doing. Interested? Suzanne.” I was intrigued so I called her to get more details. She informed me that their “big yard” was about 3 acres, and the incident took place about a year ago. I was a little perplexed and asked if the poop had been thrown out with the trash. She said they throw the waste in and around the bushes. I’m thinking, OK, the ring’s out there someplace and I love a good challenge, so I agreed to help. I told her I could be there at 10 am this morning, Sept 27th, and she agreed.
I think I was awake most of the night thinking of all the various scenarios I might run into. So, this morning, I packed up a small ladder and my Endoscope in case I had to check the tops and insides of bushes, and 3 metal detectors (Gold Bug II, Deus II, and my Equinox 800). Overkill I know, but I was prepared. When I got there and drove down the long driveway to the beautiful house with a manicured lawn, detached 2 car garage, a big barn with fenced in pastures, I was definitely intimidated! I met Suzanne in the driveway, and she showed me all the areas encompassed by an electric fence where the ring could be. She described the ring and said it was yellow gold with rubies and diamonds. She also explained the details of that faithful day. She said she was going out of town and was getting ready. She set her cell phone and beautiful Ruby and Diamond Ring, which her husband Terry had given her on their 16th Wedding Anniversary, on the Kitchen counter. When she came back to the kitchen the ring was gone and the cell phone had the unmistakable mark of a big wet tongue lick across the face of the phone. They took their loving pet to the vet for X-rays and guess what showed up just as clear as day. There was Suzanne’s beautiful ring nestled in the dog’s stomach. So, Terry was now assigned poop patrol while Suzanne was away. When she got back, Terry assured her that he checked every pile but there was still no sign of the ring.
Ok, I knew I was looking for a very sentimental ring that should alert in the low teen target numbers on the Equinox 800. I grabbed the 800 and started gridding the more likely areas first. I was almost 2 hours into the search, finding numerous targets in the 9-16 range but no ring. I took a quick break and Suzanne came out to see how things were going. She remembered that after she got home from her trip that she had picked up a few of the dog piles and had scattered it around 4 trees, which was not in the search area. I finished up my break and hit the newest area. After 10-15 minutes I got a booming 13 on the 800’s VDI (visual display indicator) about 2 inches deep. I carefully dug around the target and saw the bottom portion of a gold ring. I removed it from the hole, and I had Suzanne’s ring in my hand, I remember saying out loud, “Holy Sh__!” (No pun intended). I devised a plan on how I’d surprise Suzanne. I went around to the front of the house and knocked on the door. Evidently, she had been sitting on the back porch and came around the house. I told her, “I’m going to go grab some lunch, but I wanted to give you this before I go” as I held her ring up for her to see. She was overwhelmed to the point where she was shaking. She couldn’t believe she was seeing her ring again after 9 months and a wild end to end ride through her dog. Suzanne texted me, after I had left, that all this happened in the beginning of December 2021. She was so excited and said that she never thought she’d see her ring again. A very happy ending to a very wild story, which proves everything, always comes out good in the end!!
Suzanne – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your very special treasure.
Jim
