- November 14, 2024
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Many years ago a bride in her 20s stood at the front door saying goodbye to her mother. She knew Buttons the Fox Terrier was behind her and she wanted to close the door. But mother had more to say and kept a firm grip on the open door.
Then the inevitable happened. Buttons darted into the night.
“He’ll come back,” my mom said.
But he didn’t – not for several days.
My husband and I searched for Buttons. I took the next day off from work, searched, called his vet, other vets, visited and called the local humane society and animal control.
He was an escape artist and too smart for his own good. Usually when he got out he would go a few blocks and then wait on a corner for me to come and pick him up. Once, while visiting relatives in Iowa farm country he watched as people came in and out of the front door and upon figuring out the mechanics, dashed to the door, leapt up, hit the door lever and took off.
But this time he wasn’t so easy to find. I was frantic. I went back to work, still calling the humane society a couple of times a day. There were no microchips but he had tags and the inside of his leg was tattooed.
Finally the call came from a local veterinarian who had called the humane society. Apparently the vet’s receptionist only read the first few numbers from the tag when the person at the humane society said, “Please tell us you’ve found Mrs. Estes’ dog.”’ Yes, I had been a regular caller.
Two ladies took my dog to the vet. He had been attacked by some pack dogs that had killed other dogs in the neighborhood. He was in bad shape. They shouldn’t have picked up such an injured dog. They could have been hurt. The vet told them this. He also told them they had saved my pup’s life.
I tell this story because there are many of you who are just as wonderful as these women. You don’t think twice about helping an animal that is lost or in distress. What you do next is what is important. While not all dogs and cats are being looked for by their owners, there are many that are. I can tell you first-hand these owners will be forever grateful to you.
There’s a lot of confusion as to what shelters do with lost animals. I cringe when I hear someone say, “Don’t take it to the shelter they will kill it.” This is not true. They want to find the animal’s owner if possible and if not, find him a new home. Shelters are a first stop for anyone who has lost a dog, but if they don’ t know you’ve found the animal they can’t help.
