Lost Dogs

I love animals. I love to adopt animals. I am a recovering animal adoption addict. I am down to one old adopted love pillow dog and two ferrets. Life is simple, the house is clean, and our vet bills are reasonable. But... two nights ago I was coming home from the prison with my friend, another AAA member and we spotted a large white dog wandering along the side of the road. Our hearts started to flutter, we saw a golden opportunity to get our fix. We pulled over to the side of the road and immediately started to dig through my car for the leash I always keep in the car...just in case.
The dog was a Great Pyrenees. Clearly lost, clearly someone's sweet heart, covered from head to tail in burrs and mud. He was tired, in fact he could barely walk to the next house. We thought about loading him into the car. Unfortunately I not only keep an extra leash, I have wipes-in case I get dirty or freaked out about germs, food to snack on or keep the kids quiet, a change of clothes for those mornings where I dribble coffee, a set of running clothes-just in case I actually decide to run (they have been unused for at least 3 months) swim noodles because I a too lazy to put them away, boxes of books from the school to home and back to school circuit, and at least two tool boxes of art supplies-for the kids at Tate, the prison and other folks that are my students, and more than 10 used coffee/tea cups (shameless). Needless to say, there was no room. Not to mention the dog weighed over two hundred pounds. We decided to walk house to house to find the owner. Surely someone was desperately searching for this mammoth sweetheart. We finally ended up at Tom Dooley's the local ferrier. He had no idea who the dog belonged to. His son, Joe, the nicest kid ever, helped me hoist the dog into the back of a pick up and we brought him home. My husband looked at me when I walked up with the giant dog with eyes that said, "Honey, you have fallen off the wagon, I am so dissappointed." But he is a softy so we kept the dog overnight. I dutifully brought it to the vet the next day to see if he had a chip. Quickly the office filled with a buzz. The excitement built as they scanned him and indeed he was chipped. We called, the other end of the phone would surely connect with an owner who was crazy with worry. It was better than any reality television show. Everyone hoping for a tearful reunion. We waited and then the receptionist's face fell--the number was disconnected. Suddenly a new story emerged. Perhaps, I thought, this poor dog was abandoned. Maybe his owner was lying dead on a bike trail near our house and the dog was trying to find help for her. [Funny, in my mind it was a her]. Maybe he jumped out a car headed to Nevada and was trying to find his way back home to a victorian cottage in New Hampshire. The possibilities and drama would continue. I got a name and address from the receptionist and left the dog at the vet's office so if the owner was found she could claim the dog immediately. Obviously, there would still be a tearful reunion and I would be named a good samaritan. I took the name and address and googled them. Evidently the the owner had moved many times since adopting this gentle giant from the animal shelter. Currently she was living in Arkansas. A plot twist--This dog was clearly meant to be mine. To live at my house and be part of our family. The stars were crossed we were destined to be a couple. Dog and guardian. Side by side forever. My husband consented to "fostering" the dog. In my little AAA heart I knew that no one would ever want the dog as much as I did. Also he was old with no teeth, he seemed to have mild dementia, and a bad habit of peeing on things--perfect. I called this morning to arrange to have him groomed and begin our deep dog and gaurdian love affair. The receptionist told me the wonderful news, they found his owner. I honestly was crushed. Ahh, the roller coaster of Animal Adoption Addiction- a vicious cyle.