Whitey and Brownie - checking out the bird house in back yard
Last Friday Patty and I ended up with a couple of stray hunting dogs (See two previous articles).
Yesterday, our friend Bob called. One of his buddies said he would love to have Whitey and Brownie because he already had another German Shorthaired Pointer and he loved the breed. Naturally, we wanted to make every effort to contact the owner first so we told them to stand by, just in case they were needed.
A little later we made contact with the vet whose name was on Whitey’s tag. The vet knew about the dogs. As it turns out Whitey and Brownie have other names: Clark and Mollie. The vet also had a working cell phone number for the owner.
Their owner, Adam, moved into The Denver area about a month ago. He rented a home in a semi-seedy town about three miles away. Apparently Adam went out of town last week for a couple days and left the dogs with a neighbor who was unable to contain them. By the time we found them, they had been on their own for about 48 hours. Somehow they managed to get by without Patty until then.
Adam was supposed to be by our home around 3:30 to pick up the pointers but he was 2 hours late so I put in a follow-up call. I thought his tardiness might indicate that he really didn’t care all that much about them, so I told him about Bob’s friend; but, Adam assured me he did indeed want to get them back. Adam drove over to get the dogs in a run down van. He appeared to be about 25 years old. Both Adam’s neighborhood and his van told me that he lacks the financial means to properly care for those special dogs.
It looked like the van had already driven around the earth a few times. There was a for sale sign in the window. He only wanted $800, or best offer, for the beat up old van. Each of those dogs was worth approximately that amount. I felt sorry for Clark and Mollie. But in spite of my deep reservations, I had handled the original phone call in such a way that there was no doubt Adam was their owner. I had to give them to him. I invited him into our home.
When we entered the room, something was different. Clark and Mollie were going nuts. I have seen dogs enthusiastically greet their owners many, many times, but I had never seen two dogs get that pumped up. They were whining and jumping all over him. He reached down to acknowledge them and it was obvious the feeling was mutual. He took a seat on our sofa and the two dogs mauled him with love, crying and doggie kisses. They were not content to be next to him or sit on his lap. They took turns jumping up on his head, each one pushing the other one out of the way because they both wanted to engulf him. He was hugging them and assuring them that the feeling was mutual. It was one of the funniest and most touching displays I had ever seen. Even though they had not seem him for 5-6 days they knew exactly who he was and they were thrilled. They obviously all really loved each other.
As we got to know Adam, I completely changed my mind about him. He adopted both of those dogs which says a lot for him. And the actions of those happy, happy dogs screamed to me that the feeling was mutual. I have concluded that Adam may not be able to afford the best home or the best van, but his heart is filled with riches and he really does have his priorities figured out after all. Clark and Mollie made that perfectly clear.
After they all drove off, Patty and I were so happy everything ended so well, we savored a celebration hug. But we did not jump all over each other’s head like the dogs did when they saw Adam. Darn.
The lasting message from this tale is that a first impression told one story, but two energetic pointers, Clark and Mollie, told a quite a different one. The true one. Adam deserves them after all.
God Bless them.
Last Friday Patty and I ended up with a couple of stray hunting dogs (See two previous articles).
Yesterday, our friend Bob called. One of his buddies said he would love to have Whitey and Brownie because he already had another German Shorthaired Pointer and he loved the breed. Naturally, we wanted to make every effort to contact the owner first so we told them to stand by, just in case they were needed.
A little later we made contact with the vet whose name was on Whitey’s tag. The vet knew about the dogs. As it turns out Whitey and Brownie have other names: Clark and Mollie. The vet also had a working cell phone number for the owner.
Their owner, Adam, moved into The Denver area about a month ago. He rented a home in a semi-seedy town about three miles away. Apparently Adam went out of town last week for a couple days and left the dogs with a neighbor who was unable to contain them. By the time we found them, they had been on their own for about 48 hours. Somehow they managed to get by without Patty until then.
Adam was supposed to be by our home around 3:30 to pick up the pointers but he was 2 hours late so I put in a follow-up call. I thought his tardiness might indicate that he really didn’t care all that much about them, so I told him about Bob’s friend; but, Adam assured me he did indeed want to get them back. Adam drove over to get the dogs in a run down van. He appeared to be about 25 years old. Both Adam’s neighborhood and his van told me that he lacks the financial means to properly care for those special dogs.
It looked like the van had already driven around the earth a few times. There was a for sale sign in the window. He only wanted $800, or best offer, for the beat up old van. Each of those dogs was worth approximately that amount. I felt sorry for Clark and Mollie. But in spite of my deep reservations, I had handled the original phone call in such a way that there was no doubt Adam was their owner. I had to give them to him. I invited him into our home.
When we entered the room, something was different. Clark and Mollie were going nuts. I have seen dogs enthusiastically greet their owners many, many times, but I had never seen two dogs get that pumped up. They were whining and jumping all over him. He reached down to acknowledge them and it was obvious the feeling was mutual. He took a seat on our sofa and the two dogs mauled him with love, crying and doggie kisses. They were not content to be next to him or sit on his lap. They took turns jumping up on his head, each one pushing the other one out of the way because they both wanted to engulf him. He was hugging them and assuring them that the feeling was mutual. It was one of the funniest and most touching displays I had ever seen. Even though they had not seem him for 5-6 days they knew exactly who he was and they were thrilled. They obviously all really loved each other.
As we got to know Adam, I completely changed my mind about him. He adopted both of those dogs which says a lot for him. And the actions of those happy, happy dogs screamed to me that the feeling was mutual. I have concluded that Adam may not be able to afford the best home or the best van, but his heart is filled with riches and he really does have his priorities figured out after all. Clark and Mollie made that perfectly clear.
After they all drove off, Patty and I were so happy everything ended so well, we savored a celebration hug. But we did not jump all over each other’s head like the dogs did when they saw Adam. Darn.
The lasting message from this tale is that a first impression told one story, but two energetic pointers, Clark and Mollie, told a quite a different one. The true one. Adam deserves them after all.
God Bless them.
more pictures added to two previous posts
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2 comments:
We must have been in some lost and found dog moon phase last week.
I stopped by my parents to see if I could fix a small computer problem, I parked in the driveway and as I was getting out of my truck I noticed a lady holding a small dog talking to my mom at the front door. I just assumed it was a neighbor passing by on a walk with her dog and started into the garage but my mom asked me to look at the little dog who as it turned out was a stray picked up by the neighbor lady in front of her house.
He had a collar and tag but the tag had no information of any kind on it. The little guy was clearly a Shih Tzu and very friedly.
I asked the lady to try to contain him on the ground so I could take some pictures to post on Craigslist in the Lost and Found section.
I lost my dog several years ago in a remote area and posted his picture on Craigsist and got him back in 5 days so I know the tactic does can work.
I got the ladies phone number and posted a picture that did not show the collar or tag but did reveal his face and coat very well. I asked that if anyone could identify the dog to give a name ,gender and any other useful information to confirm that it was really their dog.
The following afternoon I got an email from Craigslist with a name,gender and a few other specifics so I called my moms neighbor and gave her the owners contact info.
She spoke to the owner who provided more information about the dog and it turned out they lived about 10 blocks away.
a few hours later ,after the dog was safely back with his family I got another email from someone who thought that the little fellow may be their missing companion. Very sadly I had to tell them that the identifying traits they provided were not a match. I took down the listing after that to avoid having to dash anothers hopes and do wish I had done it sooner.
That was so nice of you to take the dogs in and take such good care of them, all while looking for their owner. Many would not have done the same. You and Patty are two very special people!
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