A So Cal Girl in the Desert

Well, with a lot of help from my fellow pet sitter friend, who has more experience in successful animal rescues than I do, I've achieved my first dog rescue! We call her "Skinny," because she seemed pretty malnourished when I found her. All her ribs were showing, and her belly was concave. She also looked like she had given birth to a litter in the not so distant past, but she was empty of milk, so we're not worried about the puppies in so far as nursing goes.

So it happened on Tuesday. I went to the little post office in Maricopa, and as I was exiting, I saw this skinny yellow lab tearing down the street. It seemed as if she was running after a car, so I was hoping her owner would notice and take her back home. No luck. I pulled out of the post office parking lot and saw her hanging outside of the medical clinic. I parked and left the Jeep running so Kermit could enjoy the AC, and tried to coax her to me. I asked the guy standing outside the clinic if it was his. No luck. I poked my head in the clinic and asked the people in the waiting room. No luck. Skinny finally came to me and I pet her for a bit. She was really timid, but friendly. She seemed pretty young...maybe a year old. She had a collar and a flea collar, but no tags. I asked the lady behind the counter at the clinic if she could get me a little cup of water for the stray, and she looked at me as if I had two heads and said "the water is all the way back in the break room." I guess that means no, and I guess that means you're a lazy heartless *BLEEP.* Some nice pregnant lady waiting to see a doctor gave me her whole water bottle. I didn't want to take it at first, her being pregnant and all, but she told me she had lots more in her car, so I took it. Skinny was grateful.

After she got hydrated, I pulled her by the collar over to my Jeep, but she either didn't like the fact that it was running or she didn't like Kermit, because she wouldn't get near it. I got her close enough to where I could reach Kermit's leash and my cell phone, and I hooked her up. There was only one thing to do. Call Mrs. D, my pet sitting friend. She probably rescues an animal a week, and she's got "Johnny" from animal control on her speed dial. There are a lot of strays in our town, and us pet sitters probably rescue most of them. There are some other nice citizens who are also part of the effort. When Mrs. D got there, she agreed with my assessment of Skinny (that's when we named her), and we got her into her SUV. She said she would take Skinny back to her place and post something on the 85239.com forum. Meanwhile, I drove around the homes behind the clinic and post office to try to look for her owner. This is the old area of Maricopa, made up of mostly rundown old trailers, and I found out after trying to talk to several people outside their homes that they spoke only Spanish, and the men were more interested in my "ta tas" than helping me with my "lost perro amarillo." Mission aborted. We wouldn't want her to go back to a home like that anyway.

I drove back to Mrs. D's, and she said that she didn't even want to bother scanning Skinny for a microchip because she was so malnourished, she'd be better off with a new owner, anyway. We didn't get a response from our post on the forum, except for a couple of "good luck"s from some friendly neighbors. Mrs. D said she would keep her until we got a response or we found her a new home. I felt bad because I was the one who found her, and now Mrs. D had to deal with her, but I couldn't very well take her back to my apartment in Chandler, so we didn't have a choice. We also called the town groomer, whose shop is right next to the post office. She said she'd seen the dog running around for months, and hadn't been able to catch her.

Mrs. D kept Skinny until Wednesday, and then couldn't stand it anymore. She said "I can't stand the thought of sending her back to her previous owner, so I'm going to call a couple of my clients and see if they're interested in adopting her. I think I know one, in particular, who has one yellow lab already and might be interested." I thought it was a great idea. I thought she would definitely be better placed in a loving home that fed her and didn't allow her to run all over town. Mrs. D called me a couple of hours later with the good news. Yellow Lab Lady decided to take Skinny! Or at least try her for 24 hours before committing. She had actually been thinking about getting another yellow lab, so it was good timing. Yeah, Skinny! After taking Skinny to the Yellow Lab Lady, Mrs. D called me to say that all was well and everyone was very happy.

Thursday morning, I got an email from Mrs. D. Skinny had dug under Yellow Lab Lady's fence and was gone! Death wish doggie!!! Mrs. D drove around, then my husband drove around both by the clinic where I found her, and her Yellow Lab Lady's neighborhood, then in the afternoon, I looked for her. No luck. About 4pm, I got a call from Mrs. D. Town Groomer Lady caught her! Yeah! Mrs. D gave Skinny a bath (this picture was taken just after her bath) and then called Yellow Lab Lady. She was willing to give it another try! I haven't yet received a call or email from Mrs. D, so I'm assuming Skinny made it through the night in her new home.