Orcutt community rallies to support family searching for two missing huskies

ORCUTT, Calif. – An Orcutt family searching for two missing huskies have received an outpouring of support from many in the community, as well as on various social media platforms, as they search for the lost animals.

The two Siberian huskies, named Crystal and Maya, went missing after getting loose from their Orcutt home on Nov. 1.

Ron and Heidi Hensic, who own the dogs, said there was one credible sighting of the dogs on Foster Road near Righetti High School soon after they got out, but the animals have not been seen since.

"It's very upsetting there," said Heidi Hensic. "We consider them part of our family, so it's been hard on us. We miss them, love them and want them home."

"We don't even consider them dogs," said Ron Hensic. "They are our kids. They are our babies. They are our girls. We've always referred to them as our girls. They've never been our dogs, they're family members."

Helping the Hensics in their effort to locate the dogs has been surge of community support from friends, as well as many strangers, who have teamed up in the ongoing search.

"It kind of just rolled into the whole community, rallying behind them," said Patricia Sly, an Orcutt resident who has been actively involved in the search process. "The reaction from Orcutt has been overwhelming in the most positive way possible. They want to help. They want the dogs to come home."

Also helping out the cause, has been a social media campaign on various platforms. Both the Hensics, as well as other people have started social media pages devoted specifically to the search.

Over the past two months, social media sites and posts have been seen and shared countless times,

"They're California famous," said Ron Hensic. "They are Facebook famous, TikTok famous, Instagram, all the social media platforms. I am shocked by the outpouring of support. I constantly get messages, sometimes 50 to 100 a day. I try to reply to all of them. We follow up on our leads. I got a call last night at midnight from somebody in Crescent City. We've had messages from all over different states and the support from the community is just overwhelming."

Patricia Sly, who administers an Orcutt community Facebook page is among the many in the community who have become an instrumental part of the effort to find the dogs.

"I just want the dogs to be home where they belong," said Sly. "The reaction from Orcutt has been overwhelming in the most positive way possible."

Similar to Ron Hensic, Sly is also experiencing first-hand just how much the search for the dogs has captured the interest from people far beyond the Santa Maira Valley.

"I get messages every day, text messages, Facebook messages, next door messages of people asking, are they home or how can I help?" said Sly. "Last night at 1 a.m., someone sent me text messages thinking they found the dogs. That's a normal now. It's reached from, as I would say, in Fraser Park, Orange County, Oklahoma, Texas. It's started here, but it's exploded throughout."

Even as the search for the two dogs has now stretched on over two months, with no confirmed sightings since the first day, the Hensics said they are optimistic and hopeful they'll seen reunite with Crystal and Maya.

"I'll never give up," said Ron Hensic. "We'll never we will never quit searching, and very moment that I get a positive message, that little bit of hope gets restored and faith and community gets restored because the outpouring of support, we won't give up. It's difficult, but we just want our girls home."

Anyone who has information about the huskies is urged to contact the Hensics at 805-363-0489 or 805-478-8052. There is a unspecified reward for the dogs safe return.