Dog Days

I like the early mornings on weekends because they are quiet and there's not much traffic out. It makes getting around to our morning visits much quicker. I was making such good time this morning, I decided to change my visits around a little and ended up going a different route than I originally planned.

There were no other cars around as I was driving down S. Braeswood, on the way to my third visit this morning when I saw a little Pomeranian in the middle of the street. He was looking around as if lost and I noticed he had a collar and tags on. Thank goodness for the tags!! I pulled over, grabbed a leash out of my pet sitter's survival bag & quickly got the dog out of the street. He was very friendly and came to me easily. He knew I was trying to help him. He had a microchip tag, a rabies tag and a Pomeranian Rescue tag, all from out of town. I called the Rescue number and a nice lady took the tag number and my information and said someone would call me back very shortly. Within a few minutes the owners called me and came to pick up their dog. They thanked me and said they had just adopted him yesterday and he got out of their gate. I was so glad he had tags and I was able to return him safely home in just a short time! I hope they dog proof their yard now.

After they left, I went on to my third visit. I wasn't there very long before I got a call from my husband who was doing his round of morning visits. A puppy was at a client's house, laying up against their garage door. (This client only has cats and we had been pet sitting since Friday.) He was emaciated, very lethargic and did not want to eat or drink anything. He appeared to be around 6 months old and very cute. (No collar, no tags.) Where did he come from? Did he wander here from somewhere near, somewhere far? Did someone just dump him off? How is it, animals just show up where ever we go? I finished up my visit, drove home to get a carrier, and then to the client's house to pick up the puppy. Poor thing could hardly move, it was so sick and weak. He was growling in the beginning because he was scared. Now he seemed to know we were trying to help him. He just laid there & looked at us with those cute brown eyes. I took him back home in the carrier and set him on the front porch with food and water until we could get back from doing the other visits we needed to do. (These things always happen when you are really busy and on the weekend!) I took him to a vet as soon as I got home. I didn't realize how sick he was. He had a high temperature and now had bloody diarrhea. He was on death's door and most likely had Parvo. The best thing we could do for this sweet little boy was to euthanize him. It was very sad. I stayed with him, petting him until he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. At least he got some love at the end of his very short life. If only in the end, he knew someone did care about him. At least now he is not suffering any more and can run and play with all the other animals in heaven.

Today we rescued two dogs, both within an hour of each other. One had a happy ending, the other a sad ending. I can't tell you how many dogs we have found/rescued in the 7 years we've been pet sitting. I lost count. We find them a lot because we're driving or walking around all day. Usually, we are able to locate the owners within a few days, if not hours. On occasion, I've had to find a new home for one. That's because we've already kept as many as we can! (All of our eight pets were rescued or adopted from shelters.) If only we could find Roux, a client's dog who escaped out of her yard on April 2nd while we were pet sitting. (see April blog). That would really make my day!