This weekend, my friend made the comment that out of the four of us growing up (Me, her, my sister and her sister were pretty inseparable between my ages of 9 and 16 and are still wonderfully great friends.) she never would have expected that I would turn out to be the crazy dog lady of the bunch. I've always liked animals, but I think if you would have asked us 10 years ago which of us would own two dogs and be begging for a third, I would not have been the obvious choice.
And yet here I am, completely, hopelessly addicted to furry, adorable animals--particularly those without a home. I rescued both Jack and Ellie from shelters in Arkansas and instead of having favors at my reception that would just get left behind or lost or tossed after the wedding, we made a donation to the Louisiana SPCA. When we were in New York in August, a woman was set up on the sidewalk with homeless kittens and it was all I could do to resist stuffing one in my purse as a souvenir. Instead I just emptied out my wallet and kept my fingers crossed that someone would come along and take them all home.
But what always breaks my heart more than anything in the world, is when I see an animal on the side of the road--either running along the highway, or already hit by a car, and being unable to stop and help. I usually end up with tears in my eyes as I drive away, just hoping against hope that my own little dogs won't ever run away from home and find themselves in that situation. It's such an awful feeling to not be able to do anything for that helpless creature, confused by the speeding cars and bright lights, and yet I've never stopped to do anything. Until last night.
It was around 6:30, pitch black outside, the narrow back road very dimly lit by tall glowing lamp posts. I turned onto the street that leads into our neighborhood, and saw something moving on the side of the road. Suddenly, a big yellow dog came loping out of the bushes, tail wagging and tongue hanging out as he headed directly for my car. I slowed down to a snail's pace seeing that there were cars coming up behind me who probably hadn't seen the dog who was now wandering aimlessly down the middle of the road. I came to a full stop, causing the cars behind me to slow down and hopefully see the dog, and then I pulled over to the side of the road to slowly open my front door, praying that the dog was as friendly as he looked.
The other cars drove around us, giving a wide berth as the big yellow dog came toward me, 70 pounds of wagging tail and smiling eyes as he nuzzled my hand in greeting. I saw that he had a name tag on, so I stepped down from the car and, taking him by the collar, hoisted him into the back seat.
He had big, beautiful eyes that looked at me gratefully as he curled up on my back seat, tail thumping against the car door. He was completely quiet, aside from the swish of his tail, and he tentatively licked my arm as I fumbled with his collar, in search of a phone number. I saw that his name was Oliver and introduced myself to him, scratching the top of his head and the back of his ears as I dialed the number that would hopefully connect me to his owner.
After a bit of difficulty understanding the man who eventually answered the phone, I determined that he did indeed have a dog named Oliver, and that he would have his wife meet me by the gate at the foot of their driveway. Oliver seemed perfectly content, stretched out on the backseat, probably thrilled to be inside where it was warm after his big adventure outdoors in the below freezing temperatures.
I found his house, and together we sat in the car, waiting for his people to arrive. Eventually a woman came down the drive with another dog by her side, and I got out of the car to help Oliver down. When I opened the door, he stood staring at me, hesitant, unsure of what was going on, afraid to go back outside. I coaxed him down from the backseat and walked him toward the gate. I was a little concerned that he didn't seem more excited to be home, but then it suddenly seemed to occur to him where he was, and when he saw the woman waiting for him, his tail began beating rapidly again and he tried to lunge toward her with all of his adolescent puppy strength.
He dragged me toward the gate, and I made sure that he was safely behind the iron bars before leaving as the woman thanked me. I can't tell you how happy it made me to do that little thing. To reunite a family with their dog. I'm sure the scenario could have gone a number of different ways--Oliver could have been unfriendly, his tag could have been illegible, his owners may not have been home--but the way that it did turn out was perfect. Oliver got to go back home, and when I got home I hugged my own puppies extra tightly for as long as they would let me.
I actually have had a dog hit by a speeding car. It happened right in front of me. But I cannot live without a dog and a couple months later I rescued my current dog. I love me some pound puppies. I'd take them all home if I could!
Posted by: Miriam | January 24, 2008 at 08:19 PM
Awww...what a good person you are! I am not allowed to go on petfinder or anything like that because I end up crying over the poor dogs that need a home.
Posted by: Sassafras | January 24, 2008 at 09:02 PM
That is such a nice thing you did! I'm glad the story had a happy ending :)
Posted by: Michelle & the City | January 24, 2008 at 09:07 PM
This is such a sweet, inspiring story. It's people like you that keep my faith that there are good people out there!
I am a total dog lover too. :)
Posted by: Ashley | January 24, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Keep in mind that being soft-hearted doggy rescue people (like Muncle and Aunt Mimi) can end up with A LOT of precious lovable pups (7). How were Jack and Ellie with reeking of eau d` strange dog when you got home.
Posted by: Old Warrior | January 24, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Oh the story was wonderful and it made my eyes all watery. I cringe everytime I see an animal on the road. :-(
I'm so glad you were able to safe that puppy, and help him find his home. Dog tags! I'm going to get one for my brother's adopted dog. Thank you for reminding me.
Posted by: Jass | January 24, 2008 at 10:31 PM
The very first husky we had was a dog we found walking along our street. We opened the door and he jumped right in, but he didn't have any tags and after a few days of searching, we ended up keeping him for many, many years.
I'm glad you were able to reunite this dog with his family, I'm sure it made you feel so good inside :)
Posted by: Caro | January 24, 2008 at 11:06 PM
Our dog was in a shelter for 3 years before we adopted him and every time we see shelters out in a mall or a pet store doing adoptions, it's all I can do not to start jamming animals into my coat and run out the door!
It makes me so happy that you brought Oliver home! It makes me all sniffly!
Posted by: Jenn | January 24, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Yay that Oliver had a tag and was friendly!
I can say from experience that finding a lost dog is amazing. My old dog Sadie ran away for 6 days one time. She was a wandering spirit when she found me. I put up posters, went to the pound (heartbreaking!!!!!), and she finally drug her thirsty, stinky ass back onto the front porch--none the worse for wear. I coulda killed her!
Then Spencer wandered out of a hole in the fence and went on a mile and a half jaunt soon after we moved to Houston. A very nice lady found him and kept him in her yard all day until I got off work.
I'm very happy for all involved.
Posted by: sophie | January 25, 2008 at 03:16 AM
Awwwww.....
I love doggies too. I have a kitty and love him to pieces...but we can't have a dog right now. No room. No time. It wouldn't be right.
someday. :)
Posted by: Anonymous G | January 25, 2008 at 04:58 AM
The other day a dog ran in front of my car. Luckily I was able to stop. But I was so shaken up by it because 1) I could have killed him and 2) I knew that if I had hit him, I would have been a mess about it for months.
Posted by: slynnro | January 25, 2008 at 05:53 AM
I also have an incredible weakness for animals, especially shelter doggies and kitties. My parents have 2 dogs and 4 cats, all from shelters (with the exception of one cat born in our barn) and every couple weeks my mom will call and tell me that one of the cats has been missing for days (its always the same one) and that to not expect to hope that he'll be ok. The first couple times i cried about it but then he kept coming back so now i just expect him to return. I hope thats always the case.
Posted by: Ashley | January 25, 2008 at 06:04 AM
This was such a heartwarming post! I had a dog show up on my deck last summer, a gorgeous mutt named Pepper, and when we finally got a hold of his owner, he seemed angry at Pepper for running away and swatted his behind, and all I wanted to do was run after the car and kidnap Pepper!
Posted by: La | January 25, 2008 at 02:19 PM
I'm actually about to post about somethign that happened to my sister's dog when she got out and it didn't turn out as well. I wish I could say that my Reese never got out, but he unfortunately has, and I've been very lucky that people have been nice to call my number (it's on his collar) and I've rushed to come get him (usually I've been walking around hte neighborhood screaming his name by that point).
Posted by: Becky | January 28, 2008 at 08:10 PM
That's so wonderful. I have called the number on the tags of "lost" cats I find in the neighborhood several times. Each time the person has been amused or annoyed that i called and confirms that their cat is just an indoor/outdoor cat whose home is just a few blocks away, but I can't help it. you never know, they COULD be lost. And if it were one of mine, I'd want someone to make that call!
Posted by: Operation Pink Herring | February 04, 2008 at 09:40 PM