Lucky Is Home

Just an update to let everyone know that the dog we found last week is home and happy. It was a Saturday all-consumed with finding the dog's owner. Kaliedoscope Girl and I had posted a few notices about a lost dog on-line. People would call and tell me their dog's name and I would try to call her but she never responded. It seemed like she like being called Lucky - at least that name got her attention.

So Saturday morning..... I cleaned the carpet in the little room and reassured all involved that he fireworks were over for another year. Then I folded up the back seat of the Jeep and loaded in Blue and the stray dog. Blue took her usual front seat. Captain Bogg aka Lucky needed a collar and a boost up to get into the back of the Jeep. She must be a well traveled dog because she got herself comfortable and because she is big, could watch out the window with ease.

First stop was Dove-Lewis Animal Clinic in the NW where they said they would do a free micro-chip scan. They were so very nice that I would recommend them to anyone looking for emergency pet care or for a donation destination. There was no chip to be found, but one of the clerks called several places checking to see if this dog was theirs.

Then we drove to the Washington County Animal Shelter. Portland is made up of 3 different counties. I never heard of that before moving here. I thought cities made up counties. We had to find the shelter closest to where we found the dog, hoping that that was the shelter her family would check first. And it was a l o n g drive out to the Hillsboro/Beaverton area. It reminded me of driving out Rt 125 in Cincinnati with all the businesses and car dealerships lining the road. Oh! But wait! There is a Goodwill. Must remember to stop there on the way home.

We arrived at the shelter and I took the dog in....leaving Blue with a deserted look on her face....as if CB and I were going to Graeters without her. I was filling out papers when one of the clerks came up and asked me if I was the one who had posted the lost dog photos on Craig's List. I was. Her owners had just been there and flipped through their file of lost dog notices and they were 100% sure that this was their dog. They were so excited that they took my phone number but didn't leave any info about themselves! OH NO. The shelter thought I should leave the dog there and then when these people called just tell them where she was. The only problem was that the shelter was closing until Monday in just a couple hours and who knew if I could get home in time to receive and return a phone message and if the people were close enough to pick her up in time.

It all worked out. I arrived home to two messages from the grateful owners and called them back in time. And here is what they told me. The dog is 11 years old and lives in a little country town about 10 miles from the shelter. She was frightened during the lightening storm on Wednesday night and had run "over the hill". When she didn't come back they started looking and calling and posting signs. Several people called to say they had seen her running. It turns out that a lot of the neighbors in that town had helped raise this dog and her sister. The summer she was born, the mother dog got into some elk meat left out by a neighbor and was poisoned. She left 9 puppies that had to be hand fed and even tube fed until they were strong enough to suck. The vet showed them how and because the couple worked, neighbors took turns feeding the pups every couple hours. The vet helped them find homes for 7 of the puppies and they kept the 2 sisters. The people told me that the sister dog had been beside herself without this dog. So our over-night guest was reunited and called by her real given name - "Sissy". There's more - Guess what the sister dog's name is....."Lucky".