PORT ANGELES — It’s been said that a dog is a man’s best friend.
But for John Fabian, a dog is more like family.
That’s why Fabian, who lives in the Port Ludlow-Shine area near Hood Canal, didn’t hesitate to offer a $1,000 reward for Katie, his missing Shetland sheepdog (also often known as a Sheltie).
It’s also why he spent six days searching for her near Lake Crescent, about 25 miles west of Port Angeles, after she ran off during a visit to the lodge at the lake on Oct. 24.
“Anyone who has ever had a dog knows that they are family members,” said Fabian, a 71-year-old former NASA space shuttle astronaut and a co-founder of the Hood Canal Coalition.
“You take their well-being like you would your own children.”
He rented a cabin at the Lake Crescent Lodge for six nights to look for the 4-year-old dog but had to leave after the lodge started its seasonal closure Monday.
Fabian said he is not giving up hope.
But after 12 days of no sight of Katie, he said any chances of finding her are most likely in the hands of others.
Anyone who has seen the dog, which is microchipped, can phone Fabian at 360-437-7911 or 360-531-0597.
Fabian flew two space shuttle missions and later led the Air Force’s space operations.
In 2002 he helped form the Hood Canal Coalition, a 4,000-member environmental watchdog group that opposes industrialization of Hood Canal.
He was recently named a Distinguished Member of the Association of Space Explorers at the association’s recent XXIII Planetary Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fabian is only the third astronaut or cosmonaut to be so honored.
