Things to do if you've found a lost dog

I'm sure it's happened to many of us at least once. We find a dog we don't recognize, with no tags. Friendly, but no humans apparent.

It's a dog owner's nightmare, really. Their dog gets loose, gets stolen, wanders. It happened just last week, with the dog my coworker found. Apparently she was a very very old dog, and had been through medical treatments lately. So, not mistreated. Just old and ill and with doggie dementia, and wandered off as her family cleaned the cellar of a Sunday. They were very grateful and happy to have her back, though I don't know what her real name is; I don't think the vet told my coworker when she called.

It's one reason I have all the tags I do on Elka's collar, on two separate rings. If one dangling rings gets lost, maybe the other will still be there. Plus her microchip. Some breeders tattoo their dogs (under anesthesia, I believe), inside the ear, or inside the inner thigh. That's a visible identifier that cannot be lost. It's why, on our car trip, Elka was on a harness attached to her leash, and with the dogIDs collar on separately, with its name plate.

Have I got a story for you....

When my BFF coworker got to work today, she said "Oh boy, I have a story for you." And I waited with bated breath because really, her stories are pretty good.

She and her husband were driving to see his parents, and when they were in a little town just outside Hartwick, NY, she saw a dog by the side of the road. She ordered him to stop the car, and leaped out once it was stationary.

The dog she saw was emaciated. As in, shoulderblades, hip bones, and leg bones visible when the dog moved. The dog wasn't moving much, just kind of milling around I guess. Though it's been a bit cooler here, it was still a good 85 degrees and sunny. And the dog had a chain around her neck. No tags.

With some gentle, gentle coaxing, my coworker got the dog to approach her and received a lick on her hand for her trouble. The dog seemed terrified of just everything. They took a long, sloooow walk back to my coworker's car, the dog occasionally pausing to sniff my coworker's hand again, give her a lick, and start walking again. Once at the vehicle, they were able to coax her into the back seat, and had to give her a boost when she just wasn't able to get herself there.

They stopped at the next gas station they saw and bought a bottle of water, and asked the attendants about a non emergency police number, animal control, something.  It turns out there was an animal clinic the next town up, Exeter Veterinary Clinic in Richfield Springs New York, and that's where they took her. The vet there is Pamela Lea.

The dog had no tags, no microchip, nothing. The vet estimated that she's older, maybe 11, partially deaf and with cataracts. They're going to keep her there and try to get some weight back on her. When my coworker called today, she was eating and drinking. They hadn't heard anything from or about an owner.

My coworker and her husband named the dog "McQueen", after Steve McQueen, specifically because of The Great Escape. She took a single picture, which told me I could share. If no owner is found, no charges brought, what have you, my coworker and her husband unfortunately can't take McQueen; they just moved to an apartment where literally every other house pet is allowed but dogs.

Product Review: Rubit Clip (and giveaway!)

When I received Elka's swank new collar from my aunt, I realized that if I wanted to switch tags between collars with any kind of ease, I should probably look into getting a Rubit clip. I'd heard a lot of people mention them, and most people seem to like them. It isn't like it's a huge hassle to switch the tags, but most innovation comes from convenience, right? Right.

So, I wrote to Rubit, and they sent me not one, but three clips! A very generous surprise, I thought. So, I've used one, and I'm going to give two away!