Here's a story about finding a stray pet. One rainy morning last September my partner, Danica, called on her way to work and said she had found a stray dog roaming the streets. She put her in the car and after driving around to see if anyone was looking for the dog, she went down to The Anti-Cruelty Society, only to find out that they no longer accept stray dogs.
They directed her to Chicago Animal Care and Control. She called me again and we agreed that it was not the place to take her, as it is a kill shelter. We thought maybe she was chipped so we took her to our vet to see. No luck. We decided she would bring her here and I would deal with it since she had to get to work.
Danica told me that the dog was a puppy that looked like our friend Kathleen's dog. I was picturing her small Sheltie as an adorable 10-pound puppy. I went to the basement and got the small crate and small bowls thinking that a tiny, little ball of fur was coming over. When Danica walked in with a 35-pound puppy, we looked at each other and the crate and both yelled, 'What are you thinking?' Kathleen has two dogs and this one was more like her bigger dog.
Danica had to get to work so she left me with the moose puppy and our two dogs.
Topo was fine; she has a way of telling bigger dogs to leave her alone. Bowie, on the other hand, wants to play with every dog. He is just too small though and I was worried he'd get hurt. I put the stray in a bigger crate in another room and started to call shelters. There was not one ( no-kill ) shelter that would take her! Animal Care and Control told me that she sounded like a highly adoptable dog, but if no one claimed or adopted her after a week she could be put to sleep. I had a bad feeling about taking her there, but found a leash and headed to the nearest police station, as instructed.
The stray ( I started calling her Sammy ) was adorable. She hopped in the back seat wagging her tail with that excited 'where are we going' look. I got to the police station and could not get myself to get out and bring her in. It just didn't feel right and she was giving me 'the look.' I pulled out my phone and thought, 'OK, who do I know without a cat that could take this dog for a while?' I called my friend and co-worker, Suzanne, and she agreed to take her while we looked for the owner.
We drove around looking for lost pet posters; plastered the neighborhood with found pet posters; sent Animal Care and Control her picture and description; and posted her on Craigslist, but didn't get any responses. It was apparent that nobody was looking for this dog. In the meantime, Suzanne was falling in love with the dog but was unsure if she could care for her alone. Even though I told her it would be hard to make up rhyming songs to sing to her, she renamed her MK. Suzanne had MK spayed and chipped and they are now living happily ever after with the help of friends, neighbors and doggy day care. Sometimes it does take a village.
FEATURED PET
FOR ADOPTIONRUBY LOUISE
Hi there! My name is Ruby Louise. I hate to brag, but it must be said that I have the prettiest long black and white fur you'll ever want to see. I'm a two-year-old female who was found living on the streets with my five kittens. Life was hard on the windy streets of Chicago. I was always hungry, but I always made sure my kittens had enough to eat first. I had to learn to mistrust people while living on the streets, but since coming to Treehouse I've learned that folks can be very kind. Now I have plenty to eat and love to roll around while people stroke my soft fur. I would love to go home with another kitty. I especially like big, handsome male cats who enjoy long sessions of grooming.
Call the Tree House Animal Foundation at 773-784-5488, ext. 221. Adoption Hours are Wed.-Sun.,12-6 p.m.