A disturbing dog story

 

I am deliberately not posting the real dog from this story,
because I don't want to stir the pot
This is for the algorithms. 

This is one of those “It’s always something” stories. As Jean said when she left last night, it’s never dull at the Burton/Alter compound. Last night, as I was cooking supper, I looked out the window over the driveway and saw a small, unattended dog. Thinking it was our neighbor’s dog, I called Jordan to go corral it and see that it was safe. Within minutes she reported that it was not the neighbor’s, but she had it on the front porch with water, food, and a dog bed.

The dog was maybe ten pounds, clean, well-cared-for but no collar. Christian noticed that even her teeth looked like they’d just been cleaned, and she was not hungry, nor thirsty, nor tired. We figured she came from our neighborhood or an adjacent one and put notices on all the email lists. No response.

Meantime, Jean was late for supper and finally came in saying, “I’ve been playing with the new dog on the front porch.” And that’s how the evening went—everybody played with the new dog. Eventually they brought her to the back yard, and it was like an impromptu party. Jacob held Soph on a leash, because poor Sophie just wanted to play, but the little dog was having none of it. Everyone assumed that since Soph is three times larger, she would hurt the dog. So the stray was loved and cuddled, while Sophie was restrained.

The report this morning was that the new dog—she desperately needed a name—was the prefect dog. Housebroken, calm, a little fussy about food but that was okay. Jordan slept on the couch to be with her, and the dog spent the entire night between Jordan’s legs.

This morning Sophie was desperate to get into the house and play with that dog, so she jumped at the back door. I got a call to lock her in the cottage for fear she’d hurt the new door. I reminded that it is a metal door. Sophie likes to lie on the patio of a morning, and I like to have my door open and get some fresh air. We spent some of the morning closeted in the cottage. I worried about the adjustment if the dog stayed.

The Burtons were off to our wonderful vet clinic, University Animal Hospital, where it turned out the dog was chipped. The registry called the owners, and Jordan and Christian came home to wait for these frantic, desperate owners to call. It never happened. They had been given the name of the rescue group from which the dog had been adopted but were told that the owners had a hold on any personal information. The only clue they got was that the owners lived in Fort Worth but not anywhere near us. The dog’s name was Muggles. As Christian said, it was not a good name.

Deductive reasoning: she’d been dumped. At the foot of our driveway for all we knew. It’s a nice neighborhood, and maybe they figured someone would take care of her. Although last night there was speculation and a little bit of weakening to adding her to our family, in the cold light of day, reality struck: we have three dogs, one with severe health problems, one with abundant energy (yes, that’s my Sophie). A new home was needed. Fortunately, Jordan has a friend whose sister-in-law wanted a dog, so today Muggles went to Dallas. If the owners claim her within ten days, they can have her, but at this point that is doubtful. After that, the adoption is final.

I have several thoughts about this, first and foremost gratitude that the dog is safe and in good hands. Beyond that, what were the owners thinking to dump a tiny dog on the streets? Did they expect it to find a new home, let alone survive without care? Did they have any idea of the danger they were subjecting that dog to? Muggles (she still needs a new name) was lucky, but abandoning a dog is heartless and cruel. Shelters are overcrowded with all those dogs quarantined people bought during the worst of Covid for company and now don’t have time for because they’re back to their full lives. But there are places and people who would take in a dog to keep it off the streets.

Did these owners not realize the dangers, especially for a tiny dog—her little legs were so thin I thought they might just spontaneously break at any minute. Dogs on the street suffer from hunger, thirst, cold, heat, predators both human and animal. Then there are cars—who knows if Muggles had any street sense? Probably not. I’m told organized dog fighting is not common in our area, but there are always horrific tales of bait dogs.

Lost and found dogs are one of the causes I am passionate about—reuniting lost dogs with their proper owners, making sure that those who claim them really are the owners, finding homes for the homeless and keeping them safe. There’s a huge network out there of shelters and animal health care professionals and just people like me who care. There is no reason, np excuse for anyone to simply dump a dog in the midst of a big city. If Muggles really was abandoned, my scorn for her former owners is without measure.

This afternoon there was a notice on our neighborhood email listserv that there was a stray dog on our street. Christian, standing with his back to the front door, told Jordan, “Do not go out this door. Do not go out into the street.”