Tuesday started with fun and joy for the Morgan family. Like everyone else in Zachary, they enjoyed the beauty and fun of a once in a lifetime snow day. But things took a turn that evening, around 6 p.m., when long-time Zachary resident and former Northwestern Middle School teacher Libby Morgan stepped outside to grab something from their garage refrigerator. "We always keep the carport closed, but my husband had spilled some gasoline from the lawnmower earlier and we'd opened it to air things out," she explains. Unbeknownst to Libby, her 3-year-old dog, Coco, had followed her outside.

Around 6:30, she realized that she hadn't seen Coco in a little while and started looking around the house. She wasn't in any of her usual spots, and the Morgans started to worry that she had gotten out in the snow. By this time, the sun was down and temperatures were dropping rapidly.

"We went outside and knocked on our neighbors' door to see if they'd seen her and they immediately bundled up and came out to help us look," recalled Libby. Soon, more neighbors joined in to search the Fennwood Neighborhood for the little dog. "I almost cried walking around because I could hear people on different streets yelling "Coco, Coco!"" Although there had been several sightings, no one could get Coco to stay put long enough to catch her. By 9 p.m., it became clear that it was too late and too cold to continue the search that night. Before they went for the night, a neighbor suggested that Libby put out a lost dog notice on Facebook. She made the post before she went to bed.

The next day was a flurry of activity. The streets were still icy, so almost everyone in the neighborhood was at home from school and work. They immediately went to work looking for Coco. "I'd get a call or text from someone saying they spotted her, and we'd rush over, but she'd be gone before we got there," explains Libby. People from all walks of life joined in the search. "We just have a beautiful little community, that's what I want people to know," says Libby, "I know people talk about how divided we are and how bad the world has become, and honestly I was starting to get down and feel that way, but this was God showing me that there's still such goodness. It was like glimpsing heaven. Everyone working together to find this little dog, it was just beautiful."

At one point an off-duty firefighter, Josh Curry, drove around with Libby for two hours tracking down sightings. Later, someone suggested finding a drone operator to come help and soon Clay LeBlanc arrived with his heat tracking drone. "With the drone, we could follow her tracks and we realized she was making a big circle between Eagle St. and Rollins. Unfortunately, even with the drone spotting her, they couldn't convince her to come to rescuers. The story spread across Facebook, with even Mayor McDavid sharing the story. Everyone in town was on the lookout and worrying about Coco being out in the cold. 

By that second night, the Morgans were struggling. "We got Coco when my husband was going through treatment for Lymphoma," Libby told us, "I decided to get him a dog to have a companion during his treatment." Coco's sibling went to their daughter. "She's just a big part of the family," Libby said. And yet, they all knew that she was spending another night in the cold. Wednesday's lows set an all time record.

Thursday morning came with more reports of Coco sightings, this time all the way over by Rollins. They bundled up and headed over, meeting with several property owners in the area who gave them permission to search their fields for her. At that time, the "dog whisperer," Doug Atkins came with a trap. He explained to the Morgans that calling for Coco was probably confusing her and that they needed a different approach. He was planning to lure her in with food when she came by on her next lap. Libby was exhausted and decided to go in for coffee "while the men talked."

Soon after she got back home, she got a call that a family had Coco cornered! She rushed out (no make up on, wearing sweat pants!) and came upon the scene. She saw poor Coco shivering with fear and cold, but remembered the advice not to scare her by calling out. She couldn't help it and quietly said "Coco" as she slowly approached. Coco jumped into her arms. 

Now, Coco is safe and warm back home, but the experience has changed Libby forever. "I'm a school teacher! I always want to think the best about people, but over the last few years I had started to feel like the world was just going the wrong way. God used this experience to show me just how wrong I was. People are still so good. Our community is so good. Zachary is still the wonderful place it has always been. When they were looking for Coco, no one was worried about politics or any of that. They just wanted to help. I just want everyone to know that we have a beautiful community."