Saturday, July 25, 2009

Channeling Freckles?


I think I've mentioned before that when my brother and I were little, we owned the terror of the neighborhood -- Freckles. Actually, we didn't own him -- he owned us. Most mornings, my mother would awake to find an assortment of neighbor's papers, milk deliveries, shoes, etc... on the back stoop. Freckles met his tragic demise after supposedly biting one of the meanest kids in town (who had a brick in his hand especially for Freckles).

Well . . . I looked out this morning and the front yard was a nightmare. Shredded neighbors' Saturday papers, a small bathroom rug, and the neighbor next door's decorative flag -- all lying in our front yard. And what woke me up was Ears barking for a half hour solid, evidently trying to catch our attention so we'd come out and see her new collection of toys. Actually, Craig has renamed the dog Radar. I don't know WHY!




Craig quickly ran out there and got all the shredded evidence into the trash so neighbors wouldn't have even more reason to call the dog catcher.

Radar has a pattern now. She shows up here around 7 p.m. when she sees us outside watering the pots. Last night she was dripping wet because she'd been in the lake chasing Taffy and Daffy. Craig feeds, waters, pets her, then comes inside. Radar then alternates between running round the neighborhood and lying outside our front door. She's no longer scratching the front door and pouncing on the windows, so that's an improvement. But she is barking off and on all night at anything on the street that moves. She then disappears in the morning, probably after she's given us her 30 minute wake-up call.

We took a morning bike ride this morning and saw no sign of her anywhere. Who knows! Maybe she's like some of those Isla dogs who actually have homes, but roam around downtown begging the tourists for extra food and attention? But she's certainly being neglected if that's the case.

Craig's going to make some more calls this morning to try and find someplace that could take her. From what we found out yesterday, the Humane Society and other shelters are packed with 'foreclosure' dogs. And according to Craig's contacts, a lot of those places euthanize after three weeks. So sad. I can't send this dog to her death. She needs people who can handle a young dog with a lot of energy! Preferably someone with some land where she can run it off! We're also going to check out a German Shepherd rescue organization. Several people have said she could actually be a purebred because some of them are bred to have that sloping rear end and they look rather goofy (like Radar) when they're younger.

But then again, maybe Radar is Freckles come back to life!

8 comments:

jeanie said...

I am so sad to hear that the shelters are full of 'foreclosure dogs'

Life's a Beach! said...

Jeanie, it is a really sad situation. I can't believe people do that to pets. They simply move out and leave their animals, probably because they can't take the pets where they're going. But at least drop them off at a shelter! A nice woman in the developer sales office was handling the stray problem, but now her rescue sources that don't euthanize aren't accepting new dogs. I found a little purebred dog two summers ago that had been dumped from a puppy mill. That dog immediately got a home through the neighborhood telegraph. I think she was a bichon? So for now, we'll just make sure Radar gets some food, water, and a little attention.

Vee said...

Beck, look up your zip code on petfinders.com. You should see the names of some rescue organizations with the dogs listed. Usually you can click on the name to go to the org's Web site. We have more than a dozen rescue groups in our area, so surely you do, too. Good luck, and good for you guys for helping out Radar!

Vee said...

Oops, Beck, that's petfinder - singular.

Vee said...

And I just saw an option to find animal welfare groups just below the search pets fields on petfinder. Hope this helps!

Sue said...

Beck - sounds a lot like what happens to us on Isla with strays, and how Negra came to live with us (along with her late son Jimmy). Actually, that is how Loco got to us as well - he just hung around for a week and we fed him and he decided he was staying. It's a tough situation, especially when the dog is destructive with neighbor's belongings. I hope you find a solution soon before someone decides to take matters into their own hands. In the meantime, Radar is one lucky dog to have you and Craig looking after her.

Life's a Beach! said...

Radar didn't come back this evening. I have a sneaking suspicion that this dog could be from one of the farm lanes/county islands around us. Maybe she got attracted to all the attention from Craig, dog bones, etc... Or, maybe one of the other animal lovers in the neighborhood has taken her in. I'll keep you posted!

And Vee, the place where Craig has volunteered is actually one of the listings on Petfinder. Craig knows they don't take any new dogs. He tried to contact them and several of the others, but no luck. We'll take it day by day.

jeanie said...

Ears is in my thoughts and prayers tonight along with all the shelter pets. It breaks my heart.