Well finally, some new things are going on!
First, (now this is a little overdue) but we have a new family member. February 8, I was home and so was my brother-in-law. He went out to his car, then came back in saying there was a dog running around and tried going up to him. I looked out my window and saw this skinny, skinny dog running confused from house to house. I went outside to get a better look at her, check to see if she had tags since I saw a collar on her. I whistled and she came over to me, laid on her side and was very jittery. She had no tags, so I tried to coax her in my backyard and she ran off. I figured, ok, well I'll try if she comes back.
Let me take a moment to say here, that I often see dogs running loose in my neighborhood. Most of them have collars/tags, but they all seem to "know" what they're doing. Kind of like they belong somewhere in the neighborhood, but are just making their rounds for the day, and seem to be well fed anyways, which is why I don't bother them. But this one was different, she was obviously lost, confused and scared, so I felt compelled to get involved.
I saw her circle back around so I went outside with some dog treats. I was able to take her back into my yard and immediately took a picture of her to post on Lost and Found on Craigslist. I gave her some water and food while I waited for just a bit to see if anyone responded. After she got a chance to drink some fresh water and munch a little bit on food, I took her to my vet to get scanned for a microchip. She did have one, and they looked up her info to try and give her owner a call. The number went straight to voicemail, so they passed on her info to me to try at a different time.
We went back to my house, and I gave her a bath, since she was caked in mud on her belly and legs. I kept trying the owner phone number with no luck. I posted on many sites about this found dog. She settled in and stayed with us for the rest of the week. She took to me immediately, and as much as I tried to resist, I did to her as well.
She seemed to have been scared of the cats at first. Her first look at Rocky was him all puffed up and glaring at her through the back door glass while she was outside. Rocky really was all bent out of shape that this random dog was in the backyard, and he made that known through the window to her. When I brought her in for the bath, she did not want to be near either cat. It made me think she never was around cats before.
Don didn't want to keep her. He just didn't want a dog at this point. We had no luck trying to find her owners, or a new home. But neither of us wanted to drop her at a shelter. Don had given me a deadline to have her somewhere else by that Friday. Well, Friday morning came around and I was bawling my eyes out in the shower thinking about having to drop her at a shelter. I just couldn't do it. Finally, on Valentine's Day, Don agreed to let her stay. I went and bought her a new collar and bowls immediately. A week later, took her back to the vet to get her updated on her shots. She's about 1.5-2 years old. She is spayed, and a lab mix. Through the microchip, we found out her name, which she responds very well to.
As these past few weeks have passed, she's revealed a little more about herself every week. She got used to the cats fast, and now play chases Rocky, and corners Buster to give him lots of kisses. Rocky gets kisses too, but he's too fidgety to get more than one. She's a sweet girl, with great energy and a desire to please me and Don, which results in her listening to us (most of the time, haha). She fetches, catches a frisbee, rolls in the grass and does well as my jogging partner. With almost everyday that passes, I truly believe that I didn't find her, she found me, and Don. She knew what she was doing running around my house ;) She's now a spoiled, well-loved dog who filled a hole I didn't know was in my life.
Here's our newest family member on the day she found us: Daisy
And here she is "officially" ours, sporting her bandanna and enjoying her tennis ball:
