Two Dog Day

Today two lost dogs found their way into my life. The first was brought into my office by a co-worker. I recognized it right away as a dog who has just gone out on a test adoption a couple of weeks ago. He had been surrendered to the shelter by his original owners after escaping numerous times and earning himself numerous tickets. He's a great dog - a young rottie/something mix that's as good natured and friendly as can be. He's just an escape artist. I fashioned a leash for him out of my scarf and tried to call his adopters - no luck. So I called Animal Control to have him hauled out to the shelter. I had to go sit outside with him since he was whining. There are worse ways to spend time at work than sitting outside on a nice day with a dog. He rolled around on the grass and fooled around until Animal Control came and took him to dog jail (Critics please note: the term "dog jail" is used tongue in cheek only since technically this dog was committing the crime of running at large - don't be so serious). I only hope his new owners will give him a second chance and a good sturdy kennel. Dog number two was wandering around the grocery store parking lot. Just by looking at him you knew he was lost. I fumbled arms full of groceries and called him, trying not to time it so he would dash out in front of moving cars. People looked at me like I was crazy. The dog looked old and confused. I lured him closer with some dry dog food that somehow I always seem to have in my trunk even though I don't own a dog. What I really ought to have is a leash. Having given away my scarf earlier in the day I had to use his collar to get him into my car. It was about 90 degrees out so I cracked the windows and went in to call the police for the second time that day. They said it would be a bit so I went back out to wait with the dog. He was an old guy. His teeth were yellow and worn and his very bad dog breath filled the car. He was sort of homely, overweight and beige with gold spots. He had those kind of bulging old dog eyes that had grown a bit cloudy but looked at me with a mixture of trust and hope. Luckily he did have recent rabies tags. While we waited in the hot car it began to rain, hard enough that I had to shut the windows. Now it was just me and him. Me sweating and him panting gust after gust of that awful breath. I scratched him and he shed hair in my car by the fistful. By the time the police car arrived the windows were fogged up. Even though I was glad to open the door and finally get some fresh air, I had enjoyed our short time together. He was a nice dog - a wise, elderly little gentleman. He rode off to the safety of the shelter sitting proud in the back of the squad car. On days like this I'm glad we have a shelter to bring these lost and wandering souls to.