It might be an understatement to say I'm a sucker for animals.. especially dogs.
***pause for sarcastic comments from the peanut gallery***
Anyway, when I pulled into the neighborhood after lunch today, a stray lab mix crossed the street in front of me. By the time I got out of the car, the dog was out of sight. As I turned to go back in the house, I noticed another dog at about the same spot where the first had appeared. I grabbed the extra dog food out of Jack's trunk (leftovers from a previous car trip with one of the dogs) and headed off after it. I caught up to him a few houses down where he was pilfering cat food & water off a neighbors porch as an unconcerned cat stood by watching.
He was a big dog, a Rottweiler, and paid me no mind at all. I called to him several times while shaking the dog food, trying to determine his temperment before approaching. Once he had polished off the cat food, he searched around the porch & driveway for more food before noticing me. I threw a few pellets of food in his direction which scared him at first. Once he realized what I had, he came closer and in this fashion I led him down the street.. dropping pellets on the ground along the way. Out of habit mostly, I told him to sit for more food and he surprised me by doing just that. Certainly faster than any of mine would sit! I called Jack to bring out a water bowl and help me decide what to do. He was too covered in mange, fleas & dirt to take him to a shelter in our car so Jack called Animal Control while I kept an eye on the dog in the backyard.
He was a sweet and calm boy. I fed him treats which he repeatedly would sit for and take gently. He didn't mind being locked in the fenced yard at all and really just seemed unconcerned as if he knew he was safe. I led him on a tour around the yard, but after just one trip around he was satisfied and found a cool spot under the porch to hang out. He laid there quietly while I read a book (we were concerned about leaving him unattended as he may need to potty. Too many diseases could be passed to our pups that way so I had to watch for & clean up any poop).
When the officer came, the dog followed me to the gate but would not let the large man get ahold of him and retreated to the safety of the porch. As the man went for the grab pole, I coaxed him back out but again he retreated. The officer instead gave me the slip lead and a small can of cat food. With the food in hand, it was very easy to get him out from under the porch stairs (which he barely fit under as it was) and slip the lead on him. We took him out to the officers truck and with the aid of the food and the strength of the officer, he finally was safe in a crate. Mr. Officer said they'd had several reports of this particular Rottie but had been unable to catch him (not sure why, he was no trouble for me). He was being taken to the animal control center in Raleigh where hopefully he will be okay. I notified two of the Rottweiler rescues I know in the area and will call to check on him tomorrow. Once back in the house, I had to hand over all my clothes to be washed before leaving the foyer. With a baby and five animals, we can't have any fleas or other nasties getting in the house! And everyone, even the CAT, had to get an application of flea medicine. The dogs are used to it, but I had one angry cat on my hands!
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