Let me start at the beginning...
Saw a dog all alone in the middle of a baseball field.
No ID tags only a REALLY dirty collar. Took a few minutes of my time to persuade her to come with me. After a couple of belly rubs and shy kisses she attempted to jump into the truck bed.
Her chunky butt couldn't quite make it so I heaved her up. Drove over to a nearby animal clinic and had her scanned for a chip. Instantly a number came up. The amazing staff obtained her info in record time. She was registered to a rescue group about 3-4 cities away. The person they talked to wouldn't be able to get us the dog's owner's info until the next day, since it was around closing time when we found her. We said we could take her home and watch over her until the next day. Fiance and I went a little crazy and built her a dog house that night out of scrap wood we had lying around.
It's big enough for me and Blue to fit inside!
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| Waiting for her chip info. |
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| She has endless amounts of kisses! |
Over the next couple of days things happen so fast! We get in contact with her previous owner who says she's been missing for OVER a year! She can't take her back and we volunteer to have her transferred over into our ownership. We get her registration papers not long after and just like, that we have our first dog as a couple!
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| I bought her a new collar the very first night we took care of her. |
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| Giant tennis ball that she has already flattened. |
I've always been curious about her missing year between the chip owner and us. I assumed the worst: someone found her and kept her WITHOUT getting her scanned for a chip. Basically stealing her from her rightful owners.
We were walking her this weekend and noticed a white car drive by us a few times. I write it off as someone who forgot something at their house and had to make a u-turn. We start walking up one street and there's this crowd of people who keeps walking out onto the sidewalk looking directly at us. At this point I'm getting really apprehensive and start to lead Blue into the street to walk around these crazy people. One lady starts calling out a name: "Shady". Blue is her usual happy self and walks up to the lady with tail wags. The whole group starts talking at once: "It's her!" "She looks the same" "The scar on her nose gave her away" "Knew that was Shady". My fiance and I are confused and slightly annoyed. I was more defensive than annoyed, I really don't trust random people who have been staring at me from a block away. Turns out Blue use to be Shady. She ran away from this large family not too long ago. We told them the story of how we found her and had her scanned for a chip. They seemed shocked she had identification implanted in her. Some things we learned from this family that out numbered us:
-Blue hates thunderstorms/ fireworks and WILL run away (we've already experienced this)
-She's great at busting out of gates (also known already, the evidence can be seen on our gates)
-Use to live indoors
-Seems ok with puppies but not adult dogs
-Loves people (duh!)
-Will return home after running away
-Can open sliding doors with her nose
The lady who had been driving the white car got emotional over seeing the dog again. Said she had been looking for her for weeks after she ran away. I saw no signs around the neighborhood or ads on craigslist about a missing blue Pitbull during the first weeks we had Blue...screams guilty, no? She saw us walking and knew it was her right away and turned around. The whole time this encounter was happening I was severely uncomfortable. My assumptions had been correct back when we had talked to her previous registered owner. This large family had found her and did nothing to try to get her back to her real owners. They just kept her. I almost see it as kidnapping her. That really disturbs me. Even 24 hours after this all took place I'm still getting worked up! Luckily they didn't ask for her back because we let them know we have her registered in our name. On paperwork she is our dog now. Of course we did it in a subtle and civil manner. The lady said she was happy that Blue found a good family and we went on our way.
I'm definitely not walking down that street again. It's weird to know that people a few minutes from our house just take in dogs and keep them. Maybe this post is a little too emotional to be set free but this is how I feel. I know most dogs have checkered pasts but this just seemed wrong. How do I know they won't follow me home one day after I walk her and steal her out of my yard? Unfortunately it's a common theme in my city. I hate thinking in such a cynical way but it's better to be realistic than ignorant.
Hopefully nothing adverse will happen and Blue will enjoy the rest of her doggy life with us. That's all I can ask for.
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| All smiles when people are around! |
