Tuesday, December 8, 2009

All's Well That Ends Well



On Saturday morning before Thanksgiving,  my son in law called me to say that he'd found a young male Cairn Terrier wandering in his neighborhood; in fact, he had seen it running about for several days, looking tired, scared and hungry. It had finally wandered its way into his yard, and his dogs were not happy!  The terrier wore no collar, thus no tags which might help reunite him with his owners. Since I had a fenced back yard, could I please keep the little dog for the weekend until the Animal Shelter was open?  He would bring dog food from his own supply, and a kennel.

Since I'm known to be a pushover, I said "Sure" and he quickly arrived with the dog and kennel, which was placed in my kitchen.

The little dog was a honey!  Dirty, but sweet and friendly, and we took to each other like we'd been raised together. After wolfing down a pack of moist dog food and taking great slurping drinks of water, he had a great time leaping and romping through the leaves in my back yard, barking at birds and chasing squirrels.  I took a few photos of him and, while he was romping, I prepared a "FOUND" poster for son in law to post in his neighborhood.

As evening drew near, bringing quite chilly temperatures, I knew it was time to bring him inside (I don't "cotton to" leaving dogs outside in the cold. I know some folks keep dogs outside, especially large ones, but I'm too tender hearted to do that. I expect if I had a Saint Bernard or a Great Pyrenees, it would be a house dog, too.)

Before carrying him into the house to meet the cats, I brushed him down to remove the worst of the grime. He accepted the brushing almost gratefully, so I expect he was tired of being dirty. I would have loved to have given him a bath, but I didn't think I was up to quite that much activity.

The introductions were more civil than I expected.  The female cats mostly ignored him; only my large male cat seemed to be incensed over the intruder, but warfare was avoided by sharp reprimands to both cat and dog.

It appeared that the little dog, who I temporarily named "Charlie" was used to being inside, and was very comfortable being a lap dog, and just the right size.  He lay beside me in my recliner on both Saturday and Sunday evenings.  When it was my bedtime, I placed him in the kennel, turned off the lights and went to bed. I didn't hear so much as a whimper from him all night. Nice dog!

On Monday morning, I called the Animal Shelter (a prerequisite before bringing an animal to them.) They had not had any inquiries about a lost Cairn Terrier, but would accept him. "Charlie" sat calmly in the passenger seat of my car while we made the trip to the Shelter. He was logged in and the attendant said that, were he not claimed by the owners, he would be put up for adoption the following Monday. I told "Charlie" good bye, and went on my way, knowing that were he not reclaimed nor adopted, I would be back for him. (Our shelter is, unfortunately, not a "no-kill" shelter. Animals not claimed one way or another are euthanized after several weeks.)

Now... you're thinking that I have a dog in my household, aren't you?  Wrong!

I called the shelter on Thursday of the week he was up for adoption and learned that he had been reunited with his owners.  As I said in my title: all's well that ends well. 

13 comments:

Jinksy said...

It was certainly his lucky day that your kind hearted family looked after him! I hope the owners said a big thank you...

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Well---I'm glad that the little doggie is back with his family. At least I hope I'm glad about that. Hope his family do a better job caring for him..

That was nice of you and your son-in-law---to save that sweet doggie.

I thought that YOU had a new doggie in your life for sure. He sounds like a sweet one.

Thanks for sharing. I just hope he will be okay.
Hugs,
Betsy

Patty said...

What a delightful ending. I'm happy he got reunited, but I would also love to know how he got lost to begin with.

You are a good (dog/puppy) mommy

Snap said...

I think you should have kept him!

Countrygirl said...

You are a kind soul! We have, many times, taken in strays until we find their home. It's a rewarding thing - especially when they aren't sure if they want to go or stay with you.

SunShine said...

“Charlie” is a cutie! I was thinking you had a new companion. Very sweet of you to let him stay inside at night and to make sure he was reunited with his owners after you took him to the shelter. : )

Jackie said...

Great story...and at the phrase, "The little dog was a honey"...I knew that this would have a happy ending one way or the other.
Can you imagine how happy the owners were to get their sweet dog back...and how grateful they must be to you for taking such good care of him. This warmed my heart...
Smiles,
Jackie

Hilary said...

Fess up.. I'll bet that part of you was disappointed to hear that news. He is a sweet-looking little guy. I'm glad he had big-hearted you to look after him. :)

Anna said...

A good story, Pat. He sounds like a guy who was missed, and those folks will be blessing you and your SIL for a long time to come. You enjoyed that too much - start surfing Petfinder.com :)

Arkansas Patti said...

I am so happy he is back with his family but I am kind of sorry he didn't become a permanent house guest of yours. He sounded like just the perfect dog for you.

Lovely story Pat.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

I, too, am happy that he is back with his owners...but wish you could have kept him...such a sweet face!!! Love him...he really puts me in mind to get another dog...haven't been able to bring myself to it since our dog died...I so enjoyed this post! Love you~Janine XO

NitWit1 said...

Yes, all is well that ends well, even if that is not exactly the desired result.

However, if owners are responsible they will get tags and a collar, etc so home can be found easier. The shelter may have required it, before returning him.

Our animal catcher does as he has an ordinance to enforce. Cats and dogs have to have rabies tag and city tag before being reunited with owners who admonished about fences or other methods of keep an animal home. I'm not so sure such regulations are very enforceable with cats.

NitWit1 said...
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