Yesterday I was outside with all four dogs, watering the grass and doing poop patrol (the glamor!), when a truck stopped outside The Compound. A woman got out and handed me a flyer. The day before, her dog Fang had slipped her collar and run after the woman picked her up from Happy Tails. I know Happy Tails well–the owner is a wonderful animal advocate and a major supporter of Scout’s Honor, and many Scout’s Honor dogs board there on their way to foster homes. Happy Tails is on a busy road, and as the woman told me that Fang, a German Shepherd mix, is sweet but skittish, I understood what a nightmare she’d been living for the previous twenty-four hours.
One of the reasons Fang’s mom stopped and gave me a flyer is because Fang is drawn to other dogs, and the Compound Four are generally an enthusiastically noisy bunch when they’re outside, so Fang might want to meet them.
As of right now, Fang is on the petamberalert.com site and the findtoto.org site. Hopefully someone will find her and connect with her family. It broke my heart to see this woman’s face as she was enduring one of my worst fears–Margot or Guinness somehow lost and loose on the streets. One advantage Fang has is that she’s chipped. If she’s taken to a vet or shelter, she can be scanned and reunited with her family.
Margot and Guinness were never chipped. I’ve talked about it occasionally, but never followed through. As of today, that has been corrected. If the worst were to happen, and either of them got separated from us, I’d never forgive myself for not doing everything possible to be reunited with them.
Coincidentally, all of this happened about the same time an online friend wrote me about an experience he just had with a cat. He saw someone put the cat out in a public place as he was driving by. He circled back, found the cat, and surrendered her to a shelter. He wondered if he’d done the right thing–his hope is that she’ll be adopted, as he’s not in a situation to care for her himself.
I want to say again what I said to him. He ABSOLUTELY did the right thing. No one has to keep an animal he or she rescues if they don’t have the right home, and surrendering an animal is that animal’s best chance of finding the right home. Even if that ultimately doesn’t happen, and the animal is euthanized, there are worse things, such as: an animal who hasn’t been spayed or neutered creating more homeless animals; an animal catching and spreading parasites and diseases, including rabies, to other animals or humans; an animal becoming feral and aggressive and attacking another animal or human; an animal killed by a vehicle–or damage to people and property caused by an effort to avoid hitting a stray animal with a vehicle; cruelty to an animal by individuals who have no respect or value for the lives and well-being of strays; attack on the homeless animal by other animals (wild dogs, raccoons, coyotes, to name a few).
Thank goodness for this person (who doesn’t want attention, so I’m not naming him). I hope someone as good and conscientious as he is finds Fang and helps her get home. And should my girls ever be lost, I hope someone like him finds them, too.
I had the girls chipped a long time ago. Because of the traveling I did with them when we did obedience, I was afraid that we may someday be in a car accident and they might somehow lose their collars. Thank goodness it never happened.
Tod was chipped before we left the shelter.
(Not to say there aren’t times I wish they weren’t chipped….) KIDDING!!!
And especially since they get to run in the country off leash–always better safe than sorry.
We’re lucky that both Mabel and Alfie were chipped at their shelters, that seems to be standard practice these days. My heart goes out to Fang’s mama, though. I can’t imagine being in her shoes, and wondering where her dog was, or even if he was ok.
It’s a good practice–I think most rescue groups do it now. We took Guinness from a friend who found her on the street, and although Margot went through a rescue group, it was in the days before chipping was common.
It’s definitely helped my peace of mind. Fang isn’t listed as “found” yet, but sometimes I know it can take weeks, so I’m going to keep hoping that someone finds her and reunites her with her family.