This is a blog I was hoping not to write.

More than a week ago, Dennis Lehane appealed via Facebook, Twitter, the media, posters, such as the one at left, and just about any other method to find his lost dog, Tessa. The beagle went missing on Dec. 24 after she escaped from the yard of Lehane’s home in Brookline, Mass.

Lehane has even offered a reward: In his next novel, he’ll name a character after the person who brings back Tessa. (Lehane’s latest novel is Live by Night.)

The search for Tessa has been shared and posted and tweeted and reshared and reposted and retweeted myriad times. Stories have appeared in the New York Times, the Associated Press and in the Boston media. In addition to his own Facebook page, a Finding Tessa page has been set up.

Still no Tessa.

So if anyone who has not heard of Tessa’s plight finds a stray beagle roaming the Boston area, please take her to the nearest veterinarian. Tessa was not wearing her collar but she does have a microchip.

In an Associated Press story a couple of days ago, Lehane was quoted as saying “No dog since Lassie ever got this attention.” In the same AP story Lehane added that finding Tessa was “a no-questions-asked issue.” “Bring the dog to a shelter or call me and I will pick up the dog.”

As a dog lover, I know how Lehane feels. I would be devastated if any of our dogs went missing.

Tessa is a rescue dog. What often doesn’t show up in profiles on Lehane is that he and his wife support several causes, including Beagle Rescue. Many successful authors, such as Lehane, quietly contribute to a number of causes.

I am hoping that within an hour of this blog being posted that it will be old news, that Tessa will be reunited with Lehane and his family.