Lost & Found

My evening started out very much like any other

typical Thursday night...relatively dull. I came home from work, changed, and then checked my email before sitting  down at my machine for a bit of practice. After some excellent Jury practice, I opted for a break and took my pooch out for his evening walk. We were no more than a couple blocks into our walk when I found we had an extra companion. Much to my surprise, a large, black lab decided to join our journey and began to follow us on our walk. I was a little alarmed by the whole scenario. He had no collar, no tags and I had no clue who the owner was. I began asking people along the way and even knocked on a few doors to see if anyone could claim him, but I had no luck. So, when I arrived home, and I still had this extra sidekick, I decided to try and at least get him into my backyard so I could stop and think of what to do next.

 

After a quick regroup, I took a photo of him on my cell phone and started canvassing the neighborhood for the owner. I asked just about anyone and everyone, and at one point, I even thought I had found the owner. The individual walked all the way down to my house, just to discover, it wasn't his dog after all. My reaction was "Ugh....now what?!" I had a huge black lab in my backyard and nobody claiming him. I started to panic. I called the SPCA to get info but quickly decided that was not the way to go since they will put a dog down if not claimed or adopted within a certain amount of time. It was too late for a shelter as they were all closed for the night, so I decided I would try to keep him overnight and find a shelter in the morning.

 

In the meantime, I posted a lost and found add on Craigslist, as well as took photos of the dog and made a flyer. By this point, quite a bit of time had passed and it was getting late, but I went to Kinko's and had some flyers printed up and around 10 o'clock at night I started walking the neighborhood again, posting the flyers. There was still quite a bit of activity so I felt I would be safe enough. 

The shortened version, is along the way I passed a house with a group of people out front and it seemed they were just hangin' out. So, I decided to ask if they had by chance lost a dog....to my surprise, I FOUND THE OWNERS!!!!!!!! The entire group practically jumped out of their seats. I guess they had been out looking and somehow our paths never crossed. Saying they were quite relieved would be an understatement. It seemed they must have been sitting there quite dejected after a search for their lost dog turned up nothing. They couldn't have been more happy. I was quite relieved myself. As a dog owner myself, I can only imagine how devastated I would be if I lost my pooch. So after several hours of stress, it all worked out. We all walked back to my place to get their dog. The dad even told me, he was so grateful as this pooch was like his first grandchild. Even the dog was excited....so excited that he jumped my fence and ran to greet them. It was a classic Kleenex moment for sure. It felt pretty darn good to know that I had helped a family and their four-legged friend reunite.

So, yes, I am exhausted and basically didn't do anything else, but mentally and emotionally I am relieved, happy and content. The lost dog is now home safe and sound with his family, where he belongs.

Lesson of the day: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep a collar and tags on your furry friend!