As I am driving home up 122/main road in Northbridge, I see this little brown pup scurrying along the side of the road. There was NO ONE in sight that may have been walking him. By the time I turned around and got to a place I could pull over he had made his way all the way down to McDonald's and was in the parking lot entrance. Fortunately another car had stopped and between the two of us we caught him, not wanting him to get hit. I say "him" because he was CLEARLY an un-neutered male. He had a HUGE set for such a little guy...he was a small dark brown Chiuaua. I scooped him up and into my car we went.
He was a sweet boy and immediately took a liking to me, sitting on my lap. I had to close the window because I was afraid he was going to jump out while we were driving!
I drove up and down that main road where I found him, stopping at yard sales, houses, and asking anyone I saw outside. The little guy obviously had no tags or there wouldn't have been an issue. One guy I stopped on a bike happened to be a vet at Tufts and felt around his neck for a chip but didn't think he had one. After several stops and no luck we pulled into a vet called Paw Steps right along that main road where I found him. They scanned him for a chip and as the other vet suspected, no chip. I noticed some skin irritation towards his lower back so we got him weighed and put some flea medicine on him. He had some dermatitis from fleas...so who knows how long the lil guy had been out. A few dogs came in and out of the vet while we were there and the lil guy was very good, so I could tell he was OK with other dogs. The vet did a search in their system for any dogs who might fit his description but no luck. They called the Northbridge Animal Control Officer and took my information and I was on my way. (Since it was a Saturday there was no one staying on at the vet's office that could care for him so he was OBV coming home with me...)
I got him home, we put him in Hurley's old crate in the mudroom with a towel and some water, and tried to give him some food but he wouldn't eat. He WHINED AND WHIMPERED unless I was with him. Bentley loved him, and he & Hurley met with no growls or anything...
After an inital "Hello" Hurley actually couldn't have cared less!
In addition to Paw Steps in Northbridge & Northbridge Animal Control, once I got home I called the Northbridge Police Station, Grafton Police, Grafton Dog Officer, Gibson Kennels, Tufts Animal Hospital - which is in our town, Agape Vet - which is another vet near where I found him, and my own vet in Uxbridge. I figured any local animal-related place I was going to call in case they heard anything, and I left my cell with everyone. Northbridge Police dispatcher said that she would put another call into their dog officer and he could pick the dog up and they would kennel him in the local town pound until we found the owner - to which I immediately started crying when I hung up the phone. There was NO WAY I was putting this lil guy in some teeny town kennel. He was a sweet pup, fine with Bentley & Hurley, and I decided he was staying with us for the time being until we figured out what to do next.
A short time later Dan, the Northbridge Animal Control Officer called and offered to come get him. I said NO, I would like to keep him for the time being and see if we can find the owner. Dan's thought was that he did have a family who just hadn't realized he was gone yet ~ typically little dogs like that aren't "dump offs" because they are very easy to adopt in the event that someone needs to get rid of one.
Since I scooped him up at McDonald's, Auntie Candy suggested we call him "Big Mac" so "Biggie" he became! I played with him in the mudroom and sat with him...he was very snuggly...and we walked around the yard a lot. A few hours later I wanted to hit an antique store near where I found him because they were having a yard sale, so I brought "Biggie" along with me. OH - and as an aside - I ran through names like Taco, Felipe, Jose, Juan...to see if he answered to any stereotypical Chiuaua name, but no luck. Anyways - off to the antique yard sale we go. The people there loved "Biggie" and I explained his situation after they started commenting on how cute "my" dog was. While I was there...this place was directly across the vet I took him to, and on the road I found the lil guy wandering on...the Northbridge Police called and a girl had called in looking for her missing dog...(here he is on the ride to our antiquing adventure...)
THE SOMEWHAT HAPPY ENDING:
I told them I was right up the street and I had the lil guy with me, so come meet me. A short while later a woman and her 20-something daughter pulled up. As I was ready to give them a piece of my mind for not having tags on the dog as well as not treating his skin from the fleas, they proceed to tell me he was already a lost dog that they had found in Worcester! So they didn't know his name either. The Mom lives in Worcester and found the little guy wandering the streets and for the same reason I picked him up, thinking he was going to get hit, she grabbed him. She already had a yappy Chiuaua so her daughter agreed to keep the dog while they tried to find the owner ~ she put an ad on Craiglist hoping the owner would come forward (UM, in my opinion I would have done a lot more but whatever...........). Her daughter lives near where I found him and when she got home from work was wondering where he was ~ well her idiot boyfriend said "he got out" and that was it. So she freaked and first instinct was to call the police station, which fortunately I had notified and left my name/number. I explained to them that he had skin irritation and I paid for flea meds for him, but that his ears were red and he had been flapping his head around so I think they should take him to the vet. Then he puked! So we walked across the street to that same vet that helped me earlier but they were closed - and even though the lady opened the door for us she refused to have anyone look at the dog, thanks. We agreed that he was probably stressed. So I very hesitantly handed over my new friend and gave the woman my name/number. I told her that if they didn't find the owner and could not keep the dog to please call me and I would help find a good rescue for him...and I was off....I couldn't stop thinking about him all day yesterday and early evening my cell rang...
THE ULTIMATELY HAPPY ENDING (I HOPE):
This woman who found him in Worcester, Sherri, was calling to tell me that she found his home!!!! She took him on Sunday back up to where she found him and stopped at houses asking around until she was directed to his owner's house. It turns out "Biggie's" name is really BOBBY (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA - really, for a Chiuaua?!) and his owner was happy to see him. Although I don't understand why Bobby had no collar, flea mange, and his owner didn't seem to be looking too hard for him...
I'm hoping this is a happy ending for little Bobby because he was such a sweet boy!
~E
No comments:
Post a Comment