It’s been a busy week for Fancy. The little shih tzu walked away from her Springfield home Aug. 26 and ended up with Beverly Bailey, another city resident who was mourning the recent loss of her own dog. Bailey assumed that Fancy was a stray and quickly became attached to the friendly pooch.

Last Friday, just six days after finding Fancy, Bailey learned that the dog was missing and that her owner was looking for her. She knew she had to return the dog, but it wasn’t easy.

“I hated to give the dog up, but I know how I felt about my dog,” Bailey said.

Jaleesa Davis, Fancy’s owner, said the ordeal started when Fancy got out of the yard while her husband was mowing.

A woman, not Bailey, found the dog and took her to a veterinarian. A microchip indicated her name was Fancy. Unfortunately, the chip said she belonged to someone in the Chicago suburb of Carol Stream, a previous owner.

The woman posted Fancy’s picture on a neighborhood Facebook page. A short time later, she bumped into Bailey at a garage sale.

Bailey said she had gone to a local pet store to get a new dog, but the store didn’t have any dogs. On the way home, she saw signs for the garage sale and decided to stop.

She had no idea that a dog would suddenly become available.

Bailey said the woman told her she already had three dogs, and her husband didn’t want her to get a fourth.

“The dog seemed to like me and my daughter. She was a friendly little dog,” Bailey said.

Bailey took Fancy home. The dog was a little stand-offish those first few days, she said, but her true personality soon emerged.

“She started getting frisky. She was trying to jump up on my bed, and she would jump on the love seat,” Bailey said. “She acted like she was part of the family and I just fell in love with her.”

For Bailey, Fancy helped fill the void that was left when her previous dog, Preston, was euthanized recently. Preston had been part of the family for five years. But he became paralyzed, and the vets didn’t think he would survive much longer.

“I couldn’t stand to see him suffer anymore,” Bailey said.

Once Fancy arrived at Bailey’s house, she started to make an impression on the entire family.

“Fancy was so friendly and good with kids. My 8-year-old great-grandson fell in love with the dog,” Bailey said.

As it turned out, there was a reason Fancy is so good with kids. There are five children, ages 1 to 9, at Davis’ home.

Davis had seen the post on the neighborhood Facebook page, but when she contacted the garage sale woman, she learned that Fancy had been given to Bailey.

The other woman didn’t get Bailey’s name, so for six days, Davis wasn’t sure what would happen. The Davis family updated the Facebook post with their contact information and put out fliers throughout the neighborhood.

“The kids have been asking me all week, ‘When is Fancy coming back? Is she outside?” Davis said.

On Thursday, Davis got the call she had been waiting for.

Bailey had taken Fancy to Capitol Illini Veterinary Services, 1711 Wabash Ave., for vaccinations and a checkup. An employee who had seen the Facebook post recognized Fancy as Davis’ dog.

“I shouldn’t have gotten so attached to her, but she was so friendly and good with kids,” Bailey said.

Davis said her kids were excited to see Fancy again.

“They looked at me and said, “Fancy’s back!” Davis said.

Davis said she's not surprised that Bailey became attached to Fancy in such a short time.

“She loves people. She’s a very loving dog,” Davis said, adding that she and her friends are going to try to find Bailey a dog of her own.

–Contact John Reynolds: john.reynolds@sj-r.com, 788-1524, twitter.com/JohnReynoldsSJR.