National Dog Day: Lost Dog on My Doorstep
On Friday afternoon, a dog came running up to us while we were out in the yard. My husband was still out of town for work, and a couple of my brothers were over to mow the lawn. She had a collar, but no tags, and I had never seen her before. She was mostly clean, except that it was clear that she had just run through a muddy ditch or something because her legs and underside were wet and dirty. She looked somewhat underweight, but it was really tough to tell with her body type. I can only guess her as a Pit Bull Terrier/Rhodesian Ridgeback/Something Else mix. She has a bit of a pibble face and markings, but her body type is not quite right for a pibble. She also has a very distinctive ridge down her back, which is why I’ve thrown in the Rhodesian Ridgeback mix guess.
And her muddy legs?
(This was after a couple more trips to the muddy ditch.
This pic was also taken through dirty glass, so forgive that.)
I got her some food and water, and she hung around the whole time the guys were mowing the lawn. They would talk to her and give her pats now and again, and to be honest, I thought she might go on once they were gone. She ran off a few times, only to find whatever muddy ditch she had been enjoying, and would return dirtier than before. I wasn’t in “rescue mode” just yet because I was hoping that she just belonged down the street and would go back home after my brothers were no longer out there to give her attention.
Nope.
After they left, she hung around. And by hung around, I mean she was sticking like glue. I began posting her on every possible Lost and Found page I could find. No responses. Husband got home late Friday night. On Saturday, we took her to have her scanned for a chip. No chip. Since she had no tags and no chip, I had to treat her as stray, even though I knew she was somebody’s baby. We called every no-kill shelter and rescue in town. No dice. Everyone is packed to the gills. We even drove her to the SPCA, thinking maybe if we showed up in person… not even going to finish that sentence. You know they said no. Not surprising, since it’s summer. Summer means puppy and kitten season. Every shelter and rescue usually sees a very high influx of puppies and kittens during the warmer months on top of their already overwhelming adult intakes.
She is incredibly sweet and friendy, and just has a wonderful temperament overall. Very sweet. Seriously. She is simultaneously stealing/breaking my heart. We could not/cannot let her in, because even though she is so sweet, she seems pretty young and wants to be playful. As some of you know, one of the my babies (Li’l Girl) has had surgery for a herniated disc in the past and we just cannot risk this sweet girl jumping on Li’l Girl on accident. Plus, my shorties are both pretty scared of bigger dogs and we are afraid they might react defensively to this bigger dog suddenly being in their home, and then this wonderfully sweet dog might react to their defensiveness… and whole situation could get very scary very quick. As much as it absolutely kills my heart to leave her outside, we just could not risk bringing her in. The first two nights, she whined and howled most of the night. I got zero sleep those nights… not because of the noise, but because I felt so desperately brokenhearted for her.
Last night, she was quiet all night as far as I know, which made me even more sad. I’m hoping it was just because she was able to sleep better. She was miserable with fleas, so earlier in the day, my husband hosed her off as best as she would let him; and I went to the store to get her some Capstar to give her some relief. I also picked her up a bully stick while I was there, which she was ultimately thrilled with and of course finished much faster than the wieners normally finish theirs. But like everything else we have given her, she took the bully stick very gingerly, set it down first and looked at us like, “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to give me this?” Yes, baby. We’re sure. We’re more than sure.
I’m telling you… she will break your heart.
We know that we can call our city shelter to come get her. Perhaps it’s even what we should do, since perhaps her people might look for her there… not knowing to look on all the internet resources where I have her listed. But my husband and I are so afraid that no one will claim her, and she’ll meet her end at the city shelter since they are so overwhelmed right now. They have an intake of 50+ per day, every day. We could not live with ourselves if this wonderful dog were put down. I can’t save them all, but I can save this girl, damnit. I finally got a rescue to agree to represent her, sort of… kind of. They have no foster homes available, but say that they will list her as a courtesy and take her to adoption outings if we will sponsor her ALL of her vetting and either pay for her to be boarded or foster her ourselves until she is adopted. Oh, and if we do all the transporting to the vet and boarding and maybe even sometimes to the adoption events.
Well, we will do whatever it takes. This girl deserves a loving home. We will figure something out and I will keep updating. In the meantime, we will keep her listed as FOUND on all the Lost & Found pages and will be ready and happy to reunite her with her people if they contact us. (And don’t worry, she’s not going to continue to stay on the porch. We are working on changing that situation.)
If this post seems rushed, that’s because it is. It’s been hectic around here, and the post I had planned for today went out the window to make way for this post. We are leaving in just a few minutes to head to the vet with… … Gracie. Yes. Gracie. That’s what I will call her for now, since by grace she found our doorstep.
The story continues… read the second part HERE. I will continue these posts until Gracie has been reunited with her family or found a new loving family.
Aw what a lucky girl! I mean lucky in the sense that she found some nice peeps. She looks kind of like a Basenji to me. Totally see the Ridgeback in the fur too, but those dogs are usually HUGE. Good luck to her!
Well, we found out yesterday that she’s probably only nine months old… so I suspect she still has some growing to do. The vet guessed Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer mix… not pibble mix. Funny, I also kind of though I saw a little Basenji in her. Who knows? She’s probably a multi-mix ;).
Wow! She looks adorable. Did you leave the info with the local shelters and police in case someone calls looking for her? I hope she has a family that will find her. Thank goodness she found you to look after her, she may never want to leave your place!
Yes, we are doing everything we can to find her owners, but have had no hits so far. We are getting interest from others who may want to adopt her, though.
Yeah, she has kind of attached herself to us, but we unfortunately cannot keep her. She is too big and too young/playful to be around my Doxies. We can’t risk her injuring them on accident while playing.
Hi Gracie! You sure are a beautiful little girl and we love the ridge down your back. We hope that your family finds you as they must be worried sick about you. We pray that you were not just dumped.
You sure picked the perfect home to camp out at! We know they are doing everything possible to help you sweet thing. Bless them for that!
Hugs,
Lily Belle & Muffin
We hope so too, but we’ve had no hits on her “Found” listings so far. We’re doing everything we can to find her people, but we are also working on getting her adopted if her people don’t claim her soon.
You’ve got me crying. Gracie is adorable. And she is very, very smart… to have picked the perfect doorstep to show up on. Sharing.
Aww, we’re trying the best we can. We wish we could do more (like give her a good home ourselves), but the best we can do is find her another loving home if we can’t find her people.
She is just beautiful and I commend you for taking such good care of her. I didn’t notice where you live (can you send me the info privately? stone.jodi@ymail.com) Maybe we can find someone to take her.
We’re doing the best we can! I’m going to write another post updating the progress. Will PM you.
Oh, she couldn’t have picked a better doorstep to turn up on for some help. Gracie is a perfect name for her. She looks so sweet! I hope someone is looking for her and you get to help reunite them. Hope she’s not just “running scared.” Give her an extra pat from Rita and me!
We have been trying hard to find her family. I’d much rather see a dog reunited with his/her family (if they were a good family, of course) than go to a new home. But we’ve had no luck so far. Not a single bite on all the “Found” ads I’ve listed.
I think Gracie landed on the right doorstep! Good luck to you and her, no matter what happens!
Thanks! We’re trying our best!
She is so cute. I am glad to see you are like me when it comes to shelters. I would never take a stray to a kill shelter even if I had to keep it myself. I get attached real easy and feel sorry for every dang cat that gets dropped off and end up finding them a new home usually. I hope she finds a forever home soon!
We are just too afraid that she’d have no chance at the shelter. Our city shelter takes in 50+ animals per day, and as hard as they try to get as many adopted out as they can… there’s only so much room. Last year, more than 12,000 animals were euthanized at that facility.
And yes, we get very attached too. It would be very easy for us to wind up with a house full if we weren’t careful. It’s one of the many reasons why we need to get Gracie home or with a new family as soon as possible.
Awwwwe…she looks like a sweetie and she is so lucky that she found you to take care of her! Hope it all works out for the best!
We hope so too… we are doing everything we can.
It is nice of you to take her in. In some of those shots, her face looks a little like a Beagle.
Yes, she kind of does in some of the pics. We truthfully don’t know what all is in her mix. Vet has guessed Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer, but I’m certain there’s another breed (or breeds, plural) in there too.
She doesn’t look like a normal stray dog. She looks like she’s been fed well. Gracie is a great name for the situation! Reading part 2!
It’s so cute when she smiles. Your stance on shelters is similar to mine, which is great. Even if I had to keep the animal myself, I would not like to put a stray in a kill shelter. Every cat that gets dropped off gets attached to me quickly, and I usually end up finding them a new home. Hopefully, she will find a great home soon!