"It's her house and we just live in it a bit." But for 529 days, Valerie — a roughly 10-pound mini dachshund with short legs and a long black and brown body — was missing from that house.

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Be curious, not judgmental. However, when I walked into Golftec in Danvers, Mass., earlier this month, my mind was made up. I booked a mini driver fitting, and I wasn’t leaving without one. My plan ...

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