last night we were driving home from the grocery store and C. noticed a dog running across the (4-lane) road and up onto the freeway onramp. so he stopped (in the middle of the street!) and led the dog to safety (in a pr0n shop parking lot).
said dog was exceptionally mellow, a little skinny; had a collar but no tag. so we took him home — he happily jumped in the back seat of the car — and called animal control.
later — after some frisbee in the park and a walk around the neighborhood — they called us back and we went to the shelter (where Mr. Noisy went to die) to see if he has a chip (I guess they do that with licensing here). no dice, although the animal control guy was really impressed with the dog’s coloring and temperment. (I like him, and usually I hate dogs.)
so we took him back home, and C gave him some food, set up a bed, and made him an ad-hoc tag. it read, “I am lost” on one side, and “Last found by [C’s cell number]” on the other. then we went in, (finally!) had some dinner, and gave the cats lots of love while we watched old Kids in the Hall episodes.
’cause, wow, the cats were not happy.
we both woke up extra early this morning and talked about what we’d do. we’re not really set up for a dog — after all, we just took out the side/front fence! — and both the dog and the cats are a little too old to adjust at this point. Maddy in particular was/is freaking out….
when we got up, the dog was gone. I started working on tea/coffee, and realized we were out of half & half; C was talking about the “dumbass” dog, and as I stepped out with my grocery bag, there he was. so we took him for a walk to the store (not the one we were coming home from last night), talking all the way about what we’d do. after all, he was so friendly.
then C’s phone rang: a guy said he’d seen the dog this morning close by our place and written down the number. thought he looked like a nice dog and was interested in taking him. excellent.
later, after we rigged up a temporary fence, a city utility truck pulled up, and the guy who’d called us jumped out. came up, let the dog sniff his hand — very friendly, says he’s got 2 acres and kids, which is just perfect. (I hate to see dogs with not enough space.) so he’s coming back this afternoon after he gets off work, and then this lovely friendly dog will have someplace good to go.
then maybe Boingo will come back from the neighbor’s yard.
and this is the thing. I like animals, but C has this…I don’t know how to describe it. he just has a way with all sorts of critters, and an intense empathy with them. our first cat we got at the pound, but the other two were strays that he couldn’t bear to take to the pound. all the neighborhood cats just flock to him. and of course there was Mr. Noisy.
it’s one of the things I love most about him.