Whoops! We Did It Again! A Dog Rescuer Story

When I write a Dog Rescuer story, it is usually about my husband, who seems to have a way of finding, saving, rescuing, whatever you want to call it, lost or abandoned dogs, cats, and even calves.

This time, though, it is my story.

Penny and I headed off for our run about 6:00, a little later than I should get out. It was already pretty warm, at least 85. Lately, I’ve only been taking her for about two miles (she’s my grand old lady at 12 years old), and I usually turn left from our house so that we can run on the trails.

Today though, I turned right. We love to pass the boxer who lives on the corner. He always flirts with Penny as we run by, putting a little extra spring in her step. When we run this particular route, the first mile is downhill, which is always nice for warmup (though it means finishing uphill!). We didn’t make it a mile today.

At about a third of a mile into our run, I noticed a little dog in the street. And I mean right in the middle of the inside lane of the street. We stopped, of course, and I tried calling gently to the dog. The last thing I want to do is to scare into running away from me, getting farther and farther from home. She didn’t run, but she didn’t come to me either. She just looked at me nervously like she was getting ready to make a dash for it.

I decided to let Penny do the work. Penny love little dogs. She’s an Alpha, so with big dogs she tends to try to show who’s the boss, but with little dogs she is sweet and gentle.

As Penny slowly approached the little dog just stood still. When Penny had sniffed her a couple times, I moved a little closer inch by inch, until I was able to reach down and pet her. Fortunately, it was early, so there were no cars to worry about, but I still wanted to get her out of the street. I finally picked up the dog and we moved to the sidewalk.

The first thing I did was Facetime Alan just to show him he is not the only dog rescuer to show him the dog. I was only a third of a mile from home so I could have walked back, but I didn’t turn down the ride. When we got home, we dug up an old halter (of course she didn’t have a collar or tags), then one by one brought our dogs outside to meet her. It went remarkably well. She has a little fire in her and let them know if they got too annoying. They were, of course, curious, wondering why mommy and daddy were bringing home yet another sibling.

Alan left to go for a swim, and I decided to take Penny and our little rescue, who we’re calling Coco because it’s nice to have a name, for a walk down to where we found her. I asked the few people who were about if they recognized the dog, but it was still only 7:00 and there wasn’t much going on. After a trip up and down the street, we went back to the house so I could get ready for work.

By then, Coco seemed to have bonded with me and stuck pretty close while I showered and dressed. The other dogs relaxed, except Buddy, who seemed to think we’d brought him a new girlfriend. Let’s just say, he was neutered when we rescued him last year, but he hasn’t let it slow him down.

Buddy aside, Coco seemed pretty comfortable just sticking close to me until I left for work. I did take a quick trip down to the closest vet to see if she was chipped, but no such luck. When I finally left for work, Alan got busy making posters, which he hung around the neighborhood close to where I found her.

In the meantime, she is safe at home with us. We thinks she’s a Yorkshire Terrier/Poodle mix. A Yorkie Poo, or as Alan says, a Yorkie Doodle. She is even smaller than Lily, weighing in at about 7.4 pounds. I thinks she’s pretty young. Alan has already had hopeful potential parents on his Facebook page, so we know that no matter what, Coco will end up with a good home.

And that’s all that counts.