March 14, 2009 - It was a very cold and snowy day in Baltimore, but there was no time for cuddling up beside the fire. There was much work to be done and multiple boxes to be loaded and carried up the street to our new home.
As I was loading items back and forth from the house into the truck, I noticed a white dog roaming freely among the houses in our neighborhood. I had not seen him before, nor did I see anyone out looking for him. He was playfully running from house to house, sniffing every bush and tree along the way. It was apparent to me that he had "escaped" from someone or somewhere, so I called to him to get him over to our yard. He did not hesitate to come to my command of "here puppy, puppy" and seemed so excited to have someone to give him some much needed attention. He was a very sweet dog, a Westie and just as happy as he could be. I walked him inside our former home and gave him water and put him some food down. He lapped up the water and ate a bite or two of the food, but mostly he was just excited to have some attention.
I continued moving boxes from my home to the truck as the dog continued his roaming around in the yards nearby. I kept calling out to him, "Mr. Dog! Mr. Dog!" so that he would come back toward the house and stay close by. In the event his owner came looking for him, I wanted to be able to tell them exactly where he was.
After about 45 minutes, I had the truck loaded and it was time to take the full load up to the new house to unload. I called out to Mr. Dog again and got him back in our former home, with water, food and a blanket, and left him there until I could get the truck unloaded. I didn't want to take the chance of him running off again. As a pet owner myself, I couldn't stand the thought of loosing my own dog and I would want someone watching out for mine as well.
When I returned awhile later and peeked in the front door, "Mr. Dog" was lying down on his blanket. Upon opening the door, he ran and greeted me with as much excitement as when I first showed him some attention earlier in the day. He was a very sweet dog, well mannered and apparently, well taken care of, but where was his owner? Perhaps Mr. Dog had gotten out of his yard while his owner was at work, but in this cold and snowy weather? I couldn't imagine anyone leaving him outside and besides he was clean, except for his feet! I had to assume that his owner would be home soon and begin looking for him.
I knew what I had to do, so I loaded him up in my truck and away we went to our new home up the street, to meet our dog, Ms. Maggie Mae. Since she is our little princess and rules our home, I knew this would not be the most well-received guest in our home. However, I could not let Mr. Dog stay out in the cold, snowy weather, with temperatures dipping down even further into the evening. So, upon entering the front door of our new home with our new house guest, Maggie took direct control of the situation and was all over Mr. Dog, sizing him up. Mr. Dog only wanted to play, but Maggie would have nothing of it and growled excessively at Mr. Dog as he scampered from room to room, curiously scouting out the new place. As I figured, Maggie was NOT happy with our new house guest, but I just could not allow Mr. Dog to roam the streets in this weather. I had to do whatever I could to help him find his way back home.
So began a week-long venture of non-stop "FOUND DOG" campaigning within a 30-mile radius of our home. Nothing was done on a small scale as far as our efforts went in finding Mr. Dog's owner(s). First of all, I took him to be scanned for a microchip at the local vet, but there wasn't one there. I then purchased approximately thirty (30) of the 14 x 16 Neon posters and placed them all over the surrounding areas and neighborhoods, businesses, bus stops, doggy daycares/salons, Pet Stores, and/or Vet clinics within a significant area of our neighborhood. I added his description to the many veterinarian clinics in the 30-mile radius of lost and/or found lists also.
My husband posted notices online at Craigslist, which gave us multiple replies of "potential new owners" for Mr. Dog, but not THE owner. I placed online ads on multiple pet sites around Maryland, as well as the usual and recommended sites for lost and found dogs. I was really amazed at the number of quality organizations around Baltimore that are dedicated to helping with lost and/or found dogs vs. turning them over to the "dog pound" as many are forced to do. ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE EFFORT ON ONES PART TO CHECK INTO THE ALTERNATIVES FOR THESE HELPLESS ANIMALS.
Since a blanket email was sent out in our neighborhood organization, one such neighbor volunteered to babysit Mr. Dog for one night just to give us a break. It was wonderful for us since Maggie just refused to allow us to have anything to do with Mr. Dog. Her jealousy was simply too much for us to adequately give him the attention he so deserved. He was such a sweet and well behaved dog. He didn't beg for food while we were eating or get in our way ever. He always stayed in "his" area unless you called to him. Whenever you would pick up the leash, however, he would get so excited and he was very well trained on a leash. WHERE WAS HIS OWNER? WAS HE/SHE NOT MISSING THIS PRECIOUS DOG?
After just over a week, and with our extensive and numerous attempts to find Mr. Dog's owner, my husband and I realized that we had to make a very hard decision about his future. As much as we had bonded with him, we just could not take on another dog with our current situation. However, we were not about to just turn him over to anyone, especially since we didn't know 98% of these folks that were literally hounding us to adopt Mr. Dog. He had become special to us and we owed it to him to make sure he would be well taken care of.
As fate would have it, our neighbor that babysat Mr. Dog got a call from her mother saying that a fellow friend had recently lost her dog companion of many years and was looking for another one. They both were actively involved in the local pet club in their area and thus began my correspondence and communication with this lovely, older woman. It was this woman that ultimately won over my heart and eventually, Mr. Dog's love.
On the day I drove Mr. Dog to meet his new Mom, I sang to him and prayed for him. He sat in my lap much of the way, something he rarely got to do since my precious Ms. Maggie Mae never allowed him that pleasure. I rubbed behind his ears and patted his head and assured him that he was going to be all right. He seemed very calm and happy and as I handed him over to his new owner, I cried the biggest tears. I was giving away a piece of my heart that had only recently formed, but was solid. I knew I had done something good, but also that this was the right thing to do for all involved.
I keep up with Mr. Dog every couple of weeks, as he is now called "Josh". He got a clean bill of health from the local vet and he is just as happy as can be in his new home, sleeps right up in the bed with his Mama and goes just about everywhere with her on weekends when she visits other family members. What better life could I have asked for him? I am just so relieved that I was there to help Mr. Dog find his way on that very cold and snowy day. I guess you could say I was his Guardian Angel, but then I would hope anyone else would do the same thing for me and/or my dog in that situation. My heart is just so darn big and I couldn't help myself. I will continue to pray for the other lost dogs of the world to find their Guardian Angels too...... anything is possible.
As I was loading items back and forth from the house into the truck, I noticed a white dog roaming freely among the houses in our neighborhood. I had not seen him before, nor did I see anyone out looking for him. He was playfully running from house to house, sniffing every bush and tree along the way. It was apparent to me that he had "escaped" from someone or somewhere, so I called to him to get him over to our yard. He did not hesitate to come to my command of "here puppy, puppy" and seemed so excited to have someone to give him some much needed attention. He was a very sweet dog, a Westie and just as happy as he could be. I walked him inside our former home and gave him water and put him some food down. He lapped up the water and ate a bite or two of the food, but mostly he was just excited to have some attention.
I continued moving boxes from my home to the truck as the dog continued his roaming around in the yards nearby. I kept calling out to him, "Mr. Dog! Mr. Dog!" so that he would come back toward the house and stay close by. In the event his owner came looking for him, I wanted to be able to tell them exactly where he was.
After about 45 minutes, I had the truck loaded and it was time to take the full load up to the new house to unload. I called out to Mr. Dog again and got him back in our former home, with water, food and a blanket, and left him there until I could get the truck unloaded. I didn't want to take the chance of him running off again. As a pet owner myself, I couldn't stand the thought of loosing my own dog and I would want someone watching out for mine as well.
When I returned awhile later and peeked in the front door, "Mr. Dog" was lying down on his blanket. Upon opening the door, he ran and greeted me with as much excitement as when I first showed him some attention earlier in the day. He was a very sweet dog, well mannered and apparently, well taken care of, but where was his owner? Perhaps Mr. Dog had gotten out of his yard while his owner was at work, but in this cold and snowy weather? I couldn't imagine anyone leaving him outside and besides he was clean, except for his feet! I had to assume that his owner would be home soon and begin looking for him.
I knew what I had to do, so I loaded him up in my truck and away we went to our new home up the street, to meet our dog, Ms. Maggie Mae. Since she is our little princess and rules our home, I knew this would not be the most well-received guest in our home. However, I could not let Mr. Dog stay out in the cold, snowy weather, with temperatures dipping down even further into the evening. So, upon entering the front door of our new home with our new house guest, Maggie took direct control of the situation and was all over Mr. Dog, sizing him up. Mr. Dog only wanted to play, but Maggie would have nothing of it and growled excessively at Mr. Dog as he scampered from room to room, curiously scouting out the new place. As I figured, Maggie was NOT happy with our new house guest, but I just could not allow Mr. Dog to roam the streets in this weather. I had to do whatever I could to help him find his way back home.
So began a week-long venture of non-stop "FOUND DOG" campaigning within a 30-mile radius of our home. Nothing was done on a small scale as far as our efforts went in finding Mr. Dog's owner(s). First of all, I took him to be scanned for a microchip at the local vet, but there wasn't one there. I then purchased approximately thirty (30) of the 14 x 16 Neon posters and placed them all over the surrounding areas and neighborhoods, businesses, bus stops, doggy daycares/salons, Pet Stores, and/or Vet clinics within a significant area of our neighborhood. I added his description to the many veterinarian clinics in the 30-mile radius of lost and/or found lists also.
My husband posted notices online at Craigslist, which gave us multiple replies of "potential new owners" for Mr. Dog, but not THE owner. I placed online ads on multiple pet sites around Maryland, as well as the usual and recommended sites for lost and found dogs. I was really amazed at the number of quality organizations around Baltimore that are dedicated to helping with lost and/or found dogs vs. turning them over to the "dog pound" as many are forced to do. ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE EFFORT ON ONES PART TO CHECK INTO THE ALTERNATIVES FOR THESE HELPLESS ANIMALS.
Since a blanket email was sent out in our neighborhood organization, one such neighbor volunteered to babysit Mr. Dog for one night just to give us a break. It was wonderful for us since Maggie just refused to allow us to have anything to do with Mr. Dog. Her jealousy was simply too much for us to adequately give him the attention he so deserved. He was such a sweet and well behaved dog. He didn't beg for food while we were eating or get in our way ever. He always stayed in "his" area unless you called to him. Whenever you would pick up the leash, however, he would get so excited and he was very well trained on a leash. WHERE WAS HIS OWNER? WAS HE/SHE NOT MISSING THIS PRECIOUS DOG?
After just over a week, and with our extensive and numerous attempts to find Mr. Dog's owner, my husband and I realized that we had to make a very hard decision about his future. As much as we had bonded with him, we just could not take on another dog with our current situation. However, we were not about to just turn him over to anyone, especially since we didn't know 98% of these folks that were literally hounding us to adopt Mr. Dog. He had become special to us and we owed it to him to make sure he would be well taken care of.
As fate would have it, our neighbor that babysat Mr. Dog got a call from her mother saying that a fellow friend had recently lost her dog companion of many years and was looking for another one. They both were actively involved in the local pet club in their area and thus began my correspondence and communication with this lovely, older woman. It was this woman that ultimately won over my heart and eventually, Mr. Dog's love.
On the day I drove Mr. Dog to meet his new Mom, I sang to him and prayed for him. He sat in my lap much of the way, something he rarely got to do since my precious Ms. Maggie Mae never allowed him that pleasure. I rubbed behind his ears and patted his head and assured him that he was going to be all right. He seemed very calm and happy and as I handed him over to his new owner, I cried the biggest tears. I was giving away a piece of my heart that had only recently formed, but was solid. I knew I had done something good, but also that this was the right thing to do for all involved.
I keep up with Mr. Dog every couple of weeks, as he is now called "Josh". He got a clean bill of health from the local vet and he is just as happy as can be in his new home, sleeps right up in the bed with his Mama and goes just about everywhere with her on weekends when she visits other family members. What better life could I have asked for him? I am just so relieved that I was there to help Mr. Dog find his way on that very cold and snowy day. I guess you could say I was his Guardian Angel, but then I would hope anyone else would do the same thing for me and/or my dog in that situation. My heart is just so darn big and I couldn't help myself. I will continue to pray for the other lost dogs of the world to find their Guardian Angels too...... anything is possible.
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