Matt McHugh drove about 20 miles to spend part of dreary and damp Wednesday afternoon looking for a dog he'd never seen.
When McHugh, 29, of McCandless heard that morning radio personality Jim Krenn's beloved Gizmo, a 15-pound rat terrier, was missing, he and dozens of others joined the search.
Krenn, it turns out, has many friends he has never met.
"You listen to them, and you feel like you know them," McHugh, who has listened to the WDVE morning program since high school, said about Krenn and co-host Randy Bauman.
Gizmo was last seen at dusk Tuesday in Banksville Park, where Krenn and his wife take their dogs about four times a week. The small dog ran off after it became excited at the sight of several unleashed bloodhounds.
"We looked for him all night. He usually comes back," a ragged-looking Krenn said, about 18 hours after Gizmo went missing.
By early morning, Krenn distributed dozens of "lost" posters, which described Gizmo as "friendly but scared" and offered a $1,000 reward.
For much of the night, Krenn; his wife, Hedy; and friend Bill Barker walked through the park and up and down wooded ravines in the city's Beechview and Banksville neighborhoods.
"It's been a long night. I had no idea how much work it is to walk on these hills. It's easy to get disoriented," Barker said.
In fact, hills in the area are so steep that Krenn wondered whether the small dog could scale them. Until morning rain, the area was covered with snow and ice.
"It's rough weather. And Gizmo is not used to this. He's not an outside dog," Krenn said.
Krenn was so distraught by Gizmo's disappearance that he did not go to work yesterday. Co-host Bauman spoke about Gizmo's plight, and by midday, dozens of volunteers arrived at the park to search.
"I heard about the dog on the radio. I have nothing better to do, so I thought I'd come down here and help," said Jack Ricker, 70, of Ambridge.
Krenn has posed with Gizmo for an advertisement for Animal Friends.
He was particularly gratified by the turnout of so many of his show's listeners.
"The feeling I have for them is mutual. People are amazing. It's like medicine to have them around when you are going through a crisis like this."
Additional Information:Looking for Gizmo
Anyone with information about the Gizmo's whereabouts is asked to call 412-215-9982.
