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!

The Wolf Is at the Door!

Literally! Another case of watch what you wish for! I was whining yesterday for inspiration, so a blog (dog) post comes beating down my door! The wolf is at my door!!!!

Beautiful sky this morning! Isn't it! And ask me, why was I up early enough to photograph this wonderful sight? It was Ears here. Ears kept us (Saby and I) awake all night long.

A neighbor called yesterday morning to warn me that a large black dog that looked like a wolf mix was on the loose in the neighborhood. She called me because our dog, the comical Saby, does not get along with other dogs. In fact, when Saby sees a dog like that and she's on a leash, she's a danger to herself, me, and the other dog. She's too powerful for me to hang onto. She's literally pulled me off my feet and practically jerked my shoulder out of socket! So I was careful to walk Saby in the other direction yesterday morning away from the lakes where Wolfie had been spotted.

When Craig took Saby to feed the ducks last night, he ran into Lobo. Craig prefers Lobo to Wolfie. And Lobo (actually Loba)was attracted to Saby. Saby, of course, did not care for the dog, but Craig has the muscle to hang on for the ride! Loba (Wolfie) followed Craig home and Craig got a bucket of water and food for the dog and placed it out front. Meanwhile Saby's running all over the house extremely upset for the entire evening. And Wolfie has found her courtyard!

Wolfie dog barked all night long out front in our courtyard. Howling at the moon, howling at cars, howling at other dogs and/or anything that moved in the neighborhood. Also jumping up and down on our front door repeatedly, jumping up on our windows, staring in the windows, running around to the park behind us and barking at all the other dogs in the neighborhood -- you get the drift! Craig had to put the trash and recycling bins in front of our large (expensive) wood door because the dog was scratching it up and down and hitting the handle repeatedly. And Saby's on the other side of the door frantically barking to protect her territory.

Meanwhile Craig is off in dreamland and I'm awake all night! Grrrrrrrr. I feel so sorry for the dog. It will sit on command. But it won't quit raking our front door and keeping everyone in the neighborhood awake (well, maybe just me) all night long.

We can't keep her because Saby won't tolerate siblings, so we're going to get help for her today. Maybe Wolfie will stay in the vicinity of our house for long enough for an animal rescue organization to come pick her up. Who am I kidding -- she's out there barking right now! The Shea saleswoman in the models also has a history of being able to place abandoned strays in homes in the neighborhood very quickly. I'm also going to circulate an e-mail to see if anyone in the neighborhood has lost her.

At the moment, she's racing back and forth between our house and the Bumpuses. At the Bumpuses, she's gleefully running patterns, ripping up the turf, practicing her high jump skills over the low rail fence, etc... She's ecstatic that she's found attention, water, and food. And a courtyard to protect.

I feel slightly guilty for not just taking the dog in, but Saby's an only child and won't tolerate it. And I'm not sure I could handle Wild Thing. And Wolfie won't fit in my VW Bug to haul her anywhere.


Despite her large set of white canines, she's a very sweet dog. And I'm guessing a young dog since she's playing by herself in the Bumpuses front yard. Maybe she could pull some weeds while she's over there!

Craig's volunteered at an animal rescue facility in Gilbert, so that'll be the first call this morning. Hopefully, Wolfie already has a home and just got loose without her collar.


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