Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Another Happy Tail

A couple weeks ago, my friend at work, Michelle, asked me if I could help her with a beagle that was found running stray in Indian Heights. It was one of those bitterly cold days, so we had to get this sweet little girl inside and safe somewhere.

The dog was brought to Michelle's mom by a nieghbor boy who visits them often. He had found the dog and asked his mom if he could keep her and she said NO!! So, he took her down to Michelle's mom's house thinking she would keep her. They realized she had tags, so Michelle's mom helped the little boy call the vet to try to find the owners. Unfortunately, the number they had was disconnected. Due to privacy, they wouldn't give out any other info, such as name, address, etc. At that point, Michelle's mom didn't know what to do. She kind of wanted to keep her, but her husband wasn't having it!!

So, I offered to pick this sweet little girl up after work. I really didn't know what would happen since she had tags, but I knew I didn't want her to go to the Humane Society. So, I met Michelle's mom at Speedway on Alto and Dixon at 11:30 after work and picked her up. I loved her as soon as I met her....and so did Ryan!!!

The next morning, Ryan called the vet's office again. He explained that we volunteer for the Companion Animal Association, so they were willing to give us more info. We found out her name is "Spice." Kokomo Animal Hospital is where her tags were from, and they are also the office that helps our organization by giving big discounts andboarding animals when we can't find foster homes for them. So, they were pretty receptive when we told them we were trying to locate the owners. If Spice was mine, I wouldn't have been able to sleep that night. She was so good and adapted so well to our dogs......she was just a good dog!!

Anyway, Ryan got the name and address of the owners and found the house. There was no answer when he went to the door, so he left a note.

After a couple hours, he got a phone call from a woman who found the note on her door. She didn't seem at all happy that we had found her dog, kept it warm and fed overnight, and even returned it. She was more worried about how we got her name and address. I didn't even want to leave Spice there. I'm afraid this may happen again. She didn't say one single word about how she worried through the night or anything. So, it makes me think they let little Spice run free all the time. That makes me furious!!!! She was really lucky that we even made the effort to find her after the phone number provided to the vet had been disonnected. It's her responsibility to keep those things updated. At that point, we just put the dogs in a foster home and put them up for adoption. So, she came very close to losing this sweet puppy, and I don't even think she cares.

Regardless of whether the woman was upset with us or not, I know we did the right thing by returning Spice to her rightful owner. If I just happen to be randomly driving through Indian Heights someday and pick up a stray beagle, I don't think I'll be contacting that lady again........

Ryan and I managed to squeeze in as much lovin' as we could in the short time we had her. It was actually less than 24 hours by the time we got her back home, but it was still long enough for us to fall in love with her.

She didn't even care when I tried to hug her little head right off her body :-)

I miss her already. I hope she is OK and her owners appreciate the fact that she is back with them where she belongs.

12 comments:

OliveSoul#4 said...

Aw! What a cute beagle! That makes me want one now. Those owners are ungreatful, little.....you know. You're right about them. They should've been worried about Spice, and not how you got their name and address. I would've been so worried if Sophie got away like that!

*Jen* said...

You two are so amazing with how you take in dogs. At first when I saw the picture, I thought you were going to say you found Mickey a home. I really hope those owners treat Spice well and realize they do love her. What a cutie! BTW...did you know that a beagle won best in show at Westminster. Her name was Uno and I saw her on the Today show this morning. What a sweetie!

sela said...

So, have you been back to the Heights since?

enN2sp said...

Poor Spice. I would be very upset if Sophie was gone. I would have to MAKE B go look for her and NOT sleep one bit until she was home with her family.

How dare that lady not even say "thank you for bringin' my baby home."

I have some friends that live in the Heights a teacher I know named Nora, but she allergic.

Andrea said...

I hope Spice is loved at home. I'd be sick if my dog was missing (that is if I had a dog).

You might have to do the occassional driveby out there - if she's out roamin...well I'm just sayin.....

alli-gal said...

Oh yeah....cruised through the heights today....no luck.

But now I have a dilemma.....I have had Mickey forever...at least six months, i think.

We got an inquiry about him today, and Ryan and I have been talking about keeping him. I can't help it...I'm in love.

So, i fibbed to the lady. told her Mickey has an adoption pending, and I would let her know next week what happened.

Now is when it comes down to brass tax. I gotta decide for sure if I want to keep him. i have the option to adopt him at the cost the CAA has put into him, which is cheaper than his actual adoption fee. So, I'm taking this lady's e-mail home with me tonight for Ryan to read and see what he says.

I'm thinking this lady is just S.O.L.

But, if we are able to find a good home for him, that means I can foster more....it's a catch 22 really. if I keep him, i can't do any more long term fostering................................oh, what to do...?....?....

*Jen* said...

Just follow your heart..... pretty cheesy, hu? But I'm serious, if you love Mickey that much, then don't get rid of him.

sela said...

Oh, that would have to be hard..

..what about all the other little sweeties out there that need a nice cozy place to stay for a while?

alli-gal said...

s-hooks...that's my only concern. I want to be able to keep helping the animals, but I definitely can't foster any more. We've got four dogs in the house the way it is now!!!

I guess I'll just have to volunteer in other ways.

enN2sp said...

Hey Alli did my boss ever email you about her dad getting a dog?
Because she told me on Friday that she was looking.

alli-gal said...

Was her name Melody? I got an email from her, but the dog she wanted was already adopted.

enN2sp said...

Her name is Julie but her sister ( I don't know her name) works at St. Joe.