After a three-week appearance, Kate’s story has come to a sad end.

Janna and Bill Nicholson of Catlin learned Saturday night that their beloved beagle had been fatally hit by a car on County Road 2550, five miles from where she was last seen.

A caller told the family he noticed her body on Jan. 1.

Janna was too upset to talk about her loss Saturday, but her story is worth sharing.

Janna spent more than $400 on gas in her search. She knocked on doors, posted flyers, made frequent checks at the animal shelters, and even employed a business that looks for lost pets.

The 2 ½-year-old dog was loved by the Nicholson family.

It all started Dec. 29 when Janna’s son, Cody, and her nephew, Sean, both 16, took the dog to Kennekuk County Park.

“Kate is not very good at coming on demand,” Janna said earlier in the week. “She started chasing some deer, and didn’t come back.”

Cody called his dad, Bill, and mom, who searched until dark.

“Kate is an inside dog who has never spent a night outside,” Janna said, explaining why she was so concerned about the pet’s safety.

Although the family bought Kate as a hunting dog when she was a pup, she turned out to be a lap dog instead.

Since the disappearance, Janna was on a focused mission, even keeping a log of all the telephone calls she’s made and received.

She took time away from her job as a hairdresser in Fairmount to put up posters, drive around the Kennekuk area almost every day, and call the Vermilion County Animal Shelter and the Danville Humane Society every other day.

She and her daughter, Abby, 10, have gone door to door with flyers.

“Abby goes out and looks all the time,” Janna said. “We’ve searched the tops and bottoms at Kennekuk.”

They’ve driven up and down County Roads 21, 22 and 23, as well.

Janna even returned to the park, and left a blanket and a glove in the hopes that Kate would pick up on the familiar scent of her family and stay around that area. However, someone took the items.

Another resource that Janna wants people to be aware of is an Internet-based service called FindToto.

For a fee, the service calls homes within the area where the pet was last seen. Prices are based on the number of houses called.

The service leaves a short message telling your neighbor you’ve lost your pet, and a short description of the pet and your phone number.

For Janna, the service called 550 homes.

She was impressed with all the help she’s received.

“The compassion, support and helpfulness of the people in the Kennekuk area has been greatly appreciated,” she said.

One farmer even called and said he was going to spend the day driving around looking for Kate.

Other people have given her permission to walk through their property.

Kate never growled at anyone, and was special to the family, which also includes daughter Kirstie. She even had a wardrobe of coats.

This column was supposed to be a plea for Kate’s return; I was heartbroken to hear the sad news. In dog heaven, I bet Kate has caught that deer.

Contact Mary Wicoff at 477-5161, send an e-mail to mwicoff@dancomnews.com or write to Commercial-News, 17 W. North, Danville, IL 61832.