Here's a lost dog story with a happy ending for you

[NMDemDist2]

I live outside a small town in the middle of nowhere.

While driving home from work Saturday afternoon, in the middle of nowhere, literally miles from the nearest house, I see two dogs running down the road.

I slowed down as the little brown dog (LBD) was in the middle of the road while the big white dog (BWD) was on the side of the road. the BWD looked to be in a bit of distress, limping and tongue lolling.

As I went by slowly and got in front, they both started HAULING ASS to catch the car.

So I stopped and rolled down the window. The caught up, the LBD jumped up on the door and started whining, the BWD sat and whined.

I got out of the car, noticed they both had collars but no tags, their tails started wagging. I told them "Sit, Stay" and by God, they DID!!

I put the seats down in the back of the SUV and called them to get in. I had to help them both but now I have two strange lost dogs in the car. I called hubby and told him to meet me on the front porch with a bowl of water.

the BWD was in bad shape, thin and REALLY thirsty (he drank the bowl dry twice) but the LBD kept starting down the driveway. the LBD was ON A MISSION to go home? or someplace. the BWD was a happy boy hanging on the porch with people.

We couldn't keep them, I have 3 already in a small house, but hubby said he had overheard his boss say Thursday that his dog had escaped so he tried to call the boss. No answer.

So we loaded them back up in the car and took them to the drop off at the local shelter. I took food with me, but there was food in the drop off kennel so we gave them another bowl of water and left them.

Sunday, hubby called the boss and sure enough, LBD was his dog so whew! one dog accounted for and in a safe place til Monday when the boss could go get him. LBD would have escaped from our backyard in about 2.3 seconds anyway.

Monday AM we called the shelter and told them where we found them and that LBD's owner was already found and informed of the LBD's whereabouts.

Monday night, hubby went to work and another coworker overheard the story and said "Big White retriever type dog?? Did it have a red collar?" why yes! BWD did have a red collar!

coworker says "Oh man that's GREAT!! My next door neighbor's dog got lost last week and his kids are heartbroken"

So BWD got reunited Tuesday with his family too.

I love it when a rescue has a happy ending, don't you?

[flvegan]

1. Thank you for stopping and taking responsibility.

You'd already done more than far too many folks would.

Good work. And yes, I love a happy rescue ending too.

[NMDemDist2]

2. I see way too many dogs running loose around here

the ones that break my heart are the ones that are obviously lost and afraid but are too freaked out to come to a stranger and get rescued.

I try, but this is the first time I've actually been able to get the dogs off the road and to a safe place. and to find BOTH the owners within 72 hours was pretty cool!

[flvegan]

3. It's very cool to find both owners YOURSELF.

Ace detective work!

If you see a lot of stray/lost dogs, you might keep some uber cheap dog food in your car. You know, dry kibble. If they won't come to you, if you can leave a meal behind it might really make a difference for them. Just pour a cup or two out a bit away from the street.

My rescue gets a lot of calls from folks that see dogs running loose but couldn't stop to help for a number of (some decent, some forehead slappingly silly) reasons. It's always nice to hear of someone doing such a fantastic thing. Thanks again.

[NMDemDist2]

4. not a bad idea, the kibble thing

what breaks my heart is usually they are small dogs, chihuahuas etc and I know they will be coyote/hawk dinner all too soon if not rescued to a safe place

[flvegan]

5. Domestic dogs don't live long "in the wild" as is.

I hear what you're saying. There's not much you can do without really vesting yourself in animal rescue, which I don't recommend for everybody. Next thing you know, you're buying a extra large Havahart trap and baiting it with canned cat food. 99% success rate for small dogs.

[Lil Missy]

6. Thanks so much for the happy story and ending.

[NMDemDist2]

8. it has made my week a bit happier

the lost dogs were so good and so sweet it broke my heart to put them in 'jail' with an uncertain future

knowing they made it home to their people made me happy

[SeattleGirl]

7. A double happy ending!!

Great story! Thanks for sharing it, AND thanks for helping the pups out!

[NMDemDist2]

9. they were both such good boys

I'm so glad they made it home safe :bounce:

[Tektonik]

10. Happy Ending? oh wait that's not the type of ending you were talking about

:P

[NMDemDist2]

11. ....

:spank:

[applegrove]

12. Ya did good.

[marzipanni]

13. I hope those people will get ID tags for their dogs!

I have found many a dog whose owner could have been called right away if only there had been a tag with their telephone number on it. Some dogs have a rabies vaccination tag that has an ID number and their veterinarian's name, but that can't be traced on weekends or after hours.
AZDemDist6, as someone who likely saved these dogs' lives :thumbsup: :loveya: I think you are in a good position to do one more good deed and remind the owners (who were lucky to get them back this time) that an ID tag might have got them home sooner and saved them the expense of springing the dogs from the shelter.

[Shakespeare]

14. I love that the two lost dogs found each other and stuck together!

What a sweet story, with a great ending!

[hamsterjill]

15. Big Smile Here!

Yeah!!! Love it when it works!!

And thanks for being a "doer" instead of just a "watcher".

[mnhtnbb]

16. I love it, too! One time I found a dog in the middle of a street in Van Nuys, CA

in a pouring down rainstorm. I let him in the car and brought him home. I had a dog, so I had
to put him in the garage. He had a tag on his collar. I called the number and left a message on an answering machine. The people called me back, ecstatic. Of course he was a pet to a family with kids.
Apparently, this dog would go totally berserk during thunderstorms and he had gotten out of their fenced
yard. Another happy ending.

Years later we had a dog who would also go berserk during thunderstorms, only she would hide on the lowest level of the house.

[NMDemDist2]

17. funny you mention that, both dogs got out during a thunderstorm n/t

[hedgehog]

18. Can I make 2 suggestions for dog owners? FIrst, invest in one of those

collars that has your phone number embroidered on it:



Second, if you have a dog that can slip his/her collar, walk them in a harness:



Guinness has actually managed to back out of his harness, but now I don't worry about him losing his collar!