Iris, with Last Hope Doberman Rescue in Texas

Iris is a four year old, natural-eared fawn Doberman with Last Hope Doberman Rescue in Texas. She was found as a stray in Amarillo, Texas. You have to wonder how she ended up like that, poor little girl! But she's safe now. And look at that face!

(image from Last Hope Doberman Rescue available dogs page)

Duchess, with Georgia Doberman Rescue

This is Duchess. She's a cropped and docked albino female who has been in rescue for over a year. She was originally with Southern Doberman Rescue, after somebody saw her for sale on Craigslist as a breeding female. They got her from that person, and then turned her into rescue to be spayed and rehomed. Then she made her way to Georgia Doberman Rescue.

(I got the picture from the Georgia Doberman Rescue Facebook page)

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.

Lost Angel in Michigan, a sad update

On Tuesday, I posted about a lost dog in Cheboygan, Michigan. The unfortunate update from 24 Paws of Love is that Angel's owners found her body by the side of the road.

I can only imagine how very heartbroken Angel's people are, in addition to the writers of 24 Paws of Love (who were Angel's breeder, if I understand correctly). 

Angel's owners did a lot of things right as soon as she was missing. They got the word out, and they searched for her tirelessly. Equipment failures happen; if Angel had never before slipped her collar, there was no reason to anticipate that she would at that time. There are any number of things that startle a dog into running. It's a sad fact, and my heart hurts for them.

"Collar security" as such didn't initially occur to me as a beginner dog owner. Elka in fact slipped her collar once, but it seemed more like it was for fun than any other reason. I talked about an equipment epiphany when I got Elka's new collar, and also Liberty's Attachment, and an EzyDog Harness. I self deprecate myself a bit, calling myself paranoid and a crazy dog lady, but stories like this make me want to wrap Elka in cotton wool and never leave the house ever again. There's just no anticipating what can happen in a day.

My thoughts are with Angel's family, and I hope they heal well and soon.