Is This Your Dog?

[UPDATE: Took the dog to the vet this morning. No microchip. Health problems were extreme and involved. Diabetes, dental disaster, tumors, the works. The intense panting wasn't from thirst or excitement, it was from some other health issue, most likely. It would have cost $600 just to learn what was wrong and thousands more after that and we just can't afford that. Vet suggested, and so I did, that I take him to Lied Animal Shelter, which I did. And yeah, it turned out to be male. His thing was so buried in folds of fat that even the vet had trouble finding it. Very, very sad.]

[UPDATE #2: At suggestion of Facebook comrades, I called and emailed Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, to see if they'll consider helping this dog. Will update if/when I hear more. Best Friends is the setting for the NatGeo show Dogtown.]


If not, she might end up being ours. Yikes.

Black, Jack and I were finishing our walk tonight when this dog was wandering around our front yard. It didn't just seem lost, it seemed very confused. I put our dogs in the house and went outside to get to know her. She's got huge cataracts, clearly almost blind and bumping into stuff, overweight and no tags. All she's got on is an ill-fitting chain collar.

I walked her around the block to see if anyone was missing her. No luck. I took her in, posted on Facebook about her and created a flier. Then I took her to put the fliers on the gates at each end of our large complex but she wasn't dealing well with the walking. So I tied her to a tree in the middle of the complex and went to finish putting up the signs. When I returned, she was gone.

Wow, I thought. Only I could lose a lost dog. I hurried home to get my car to drive around and see if I could find her. Lo and behold, she was about a half-block from...our house! That was quite a distance and a number of turns, so I'm kind of thinking she's chosen us as her new owners.


Pretty, huh? Black and Jack are a little thrown, but this dog is quite gentle and very quiet. Panting a lot, though, and we're having a tough time leading a blind dog to water.

We'll see if anyone calls tomorrow and take her to the vet. The signs to me are pointing toward a deliberate abandonment, particularly that odd collar situation. We're a little worried about the expense of inheriting an abandoned dog, but I think I'm falling in love. I've already got a name picked out. Well, two. Kate or Juliet. "Lost" fans will appreciate. Can't call her Claire. That was my grandma's name and we're saving that for a daughter. A human one.