The Dog Story, continued

I just realized that I never shared with you the ending of the dog story. For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you already know. But to the others (if there are others--Hellloooo out there), you don't know if the dogs are 1) sitting by my feet right now or 2) at home with their owners.

1 or 2? What do you think?

The answer is: They are home with their owners.

The night that I found them, I posted Found ads on craigslist and our local community website. I received several emails from people thanking me and wishing me luck, but nothing from the dogs' owners. So, as it got later, I put blankets on the floor by my bed for the dogs to sleep on. We watched TV for a while, in which they laid on the floor and rested. Then I turned off the TV from my bed and got ready to go to sleep. Within seconds I had a visitor. The yellow lab jumped up on top of the bed as if it were her domain. I turned on the light to snap a picture, and made her get down (she hadn't had a bath.)

The next morning at 7:00 am (on the dot!) I woke up to two yellow paws on the side of my bed. I assumed it was restroom time. So on the coldest morning we have had in years (about 20 degrees) I took the dogs for walks. After feeding them I needed a nap. I brought my pillow and blanket to the couch and watched TV as they laid on the floor.

Finally, I got up to take a shower so I could take them to the vet to check for microchips. I've read Marley and Me, so I know what big dogs can do when you take a shower. So I closed my bedroom door and left them in the living room. You would have thought they were puppies left alone. They cried and barked. After my shower I came out of my room to find the black dog laying at the door waiting on me, and the yellow lab snuggled in my blanket and pillow on the couch! As soon as I came out she slowly crawled off the couch with a look of 'oh crap.'

I googled local vets and decided to take them to the first one that came up. After sitting in the waiting area for awhile, someone who worked there came out and looked at me suspiciously. She asked if the dogs were mine. I told her no and that I had found them. She said a lady had called in earlier asking if someone had brought in a yellow lab and black chow. She called the lady back and they were on their way. When they walked in the door of the vet and saw the dogs, they started screaming and crying! We turned that place upside down!

They were shocked to see that the black one was so friendly toward me. They said he normally doesn't like new people.

Now get this, the vet I went to was the ONLY vet they had called. And it just happened to be the only one I went to. God thing? I would say so. Come to find out, the dogs weren't even these people's dogs, but were their neighbors. The dogs came from different houses!

The ladies who came to pick up the dogs from the vet insisted that I come back with them to meet the dogs' owners. The yellow lab belonged to a little girl who received her as a Christmas present last year. The black chow belonged to a couple whose wife loved him and had cried the whole night, whereas the husband was glad to see him gone. All of the people lived on the water and called themselves River Rats. They deemed me an honorary River Rat and said I could come kayaking with them anytime. The chow owner said they had been considering getting rid of him because the husband was tired of him. The wife cried and said she didn't want him to go to someone who wouldn't love him. "You took care of him and loved him. I would be willing to give him to you. Do you want him?" I explained that I lived in an apartment. She said if I move into a house within the next year to let her know.

So now I have some River Rat friends and a great story to tell. All because I pulled over on a cold evening to keep the dogs from being run over.