'I just want my girl back': Watauga resident's missing dog gains community support to be found

Another potential lead for finding Nala, Whitney Case's pit bull, went dry Thursday morning. The blonde-furred canine has been missing for a week and a half. Case's search for her pet has been nothing short of consistent, with 10 days of time dedicated to sharing photos of her dog online, putting out her contact information for any leads and hanging up fliers where she can to get the word out about Nala. Nala has been her dog for three years, and in that time, it was rare Whitney and her four-legged companion were separate from one another. "We adopted her from the Washington County Animal Shelter in November of 2023, and since I have gotten her, honestly, she has never left my side," she said. "From day one." Finding Nala at the shelter was accidental. Case said she and her two children had gone to see and potentially purchase another dog, which did not end up working out. As they were leaving, Nala – known as Amber, at the time – made her presence known. "We had went the wrong way to exit," Case said. "When we went the opposite way we were standing there, and my son felt a little paw reach out of the kennel and scratch at his leg. We turned around, and it was Nala…We looked at her, and as soon as I seen her I immediately was like, 'We gotta have her.'" In the three years Nala has spent with her family, she very quickly became an integral part of their lives. Case said Nala became much more than a pet, always traveling with the family and becoming heavily attached to Case and her kids. Around 8 p.m. on March 8 is when everything changed. The evening was normal, with Case letting Nala and her other puppy outside to relieve themselves. She said it was a routine thing to do, allowing the dogs to run their property – a private, wooded area that's surrounded by other members of Case's family – so she and her kids didn't worry about putting on the GPS/Fi collar Nala typically wears and is taken off at night for her comfort. She said it wasn't uncommon for Nala to roam about for an hour or two at a time and then return to the house. "That's her normal routine," Case said. "I never really worry about her, even if she didn't have a collar on because I thought, 'It's raining, it's sprinkling, she's gonna come right back.'" That night, the only returnee to her house was the puppy. And from then, the search for Nala began. "I immediately posted that she was missing, told my neighbors that she was missing, got fliers up because after a few hours I immediately just felt like something's wrong," she said. Case said what started in her personal group of friends and family of sharing Nala's disappearance quickly grew in number, with her missing dog's post being reshared by upwards of 500 people. People from Elizabethton, Watauga, Johnson City, and even upwards of Bristol, Va. have all been part of looking for her pit bull. She added many individuals have also contacted her to give support and/or share any information that might be helpful to Nala's whereabouts, something she said she never imagined would have taken place over the announcement of her dog missing. "I'm used to being so private and just keeping in my own bubble, so to have complete strangers tell me how that Nala has affected them or they can see how much I love her from my photos or my posts, and how I've had complete strangers cry over my dog, it's really touched me," Case said tearfully. "It blows my mind that it's reached this many people, but I just appreciate it so much. It means the world to me." In the 10 days since she's been missing, Case shared there has not been any credible sightings as of yet for Nala. However, Case said another facet of the community support has been the response of local shelters, such as the Carter County/Elizabethton Shelter and the Washington County/Johnson City Animal Shelter, and animal control officers keeping an eye out for her dog. She added the company for Nala's microchip, HomeAgain, has also helped in sharing her dog's disappearance by sending out emails and alerts to assorted pet facilities. As the search for Nala continues, Case said her biggest hope is that her dog is being cared for if she has been found by someone. While her hope and want is to have Nala returned to her, she wishes if that cannot be the case for Nala to live comfortably. "My hope would be that somebody, somewhere is keeping my baby warm and keeping her out of the rain, and making sure she's not hungry or thirsty or something," she said. Until Case has some sense of closure about Nala's disappearance or if and when she's found, she intends to keep searching for her girl, wanting to bring her home. "I feel like if it's something you truly love, how far is your limit?" she said. "My limit is never-ending…Even if it's five years down the road and I haven't found Nala, if there was a chance that I could find her, by any chance, then I'm going to continue." Any information or potential sightings on Nala can be given to Case by calling 585-356-3359.