I shouldn’t say this dog was abandoned. I really don’t know for certain, although I have my suspicions. Maybe she jumped out of the back of a truck, or wandered off and got lost. Whatever way she came to be in no-where-land, she needed to be rescued.

Dog Abandoned

Last Sunday I was driving to a neighboring town to pick up a piece of furniture to add to my Trash to Treasure collection. The town is about 45 minutes away, and there is about a 10-mile stretch that is a 2-way road through ranchland. You can drive that entire 10 miles without seeing a house, a person, or another vehicle.

But this day, in the middle of that 10-mile stretch, I saw a dog, running in the opposite direction from which I was driving. I noticed that it looked dirty, skinny, and distressed. By the time I stopped my car and got out, the dog was about 2 football fields away from me. But it stopped, turned around, and when it saw I was out of the car, started walking toward me. I just stood still and waited for it to approach.  When it got within 6 feet of me I could smell it; wow, it was potent. Besides being dirty, the dog had bloody patches on its back, and there were a few areas where the fur was gone and you could see raw skin.

The dog wasn’t afraid of me. When I reached out my hand, it came right up to me.  I could see she was a girl.  She looked at me with her big brown eyes, and I saw nothing but exhaustion. She seemed to be saying, “Have you come to help me?”

Dog Rescued

I couldn’t leave this sweet dog in the middle of nowhere, with no help on the horizon. So I opened my car door, patted the seat, and she jumped right in.

I sat at the side of the road and called all of the animal shelters in the county. Since it was Sunday, they were all closed. I eventually called the Madera Police Department (by accident, really, but they were so helpful!).  The officer advised me to take the dog to the animal shelter, and they would meet me there. They had a key to the shelter, would take the animal in, and get medical help for her.

Before I left the shelter, I made sure that it was a no-kill shelter. They would check to see if the dog was chipped, and if not they would place a Hold on her for 3 days (in case the owners were looking for her), then she would be placed for adoption.

The Fallout

I had a really strong emotional reaction to this dog. I think it was because I rescued her and felt my part of her story wasn’t over until she was in her Forever Home. Or maybe it was because she reminded me so much of another dog that I loved, who passed away a year ago. I don’t know, but to be honest… my thoughts of her were consuming, and I wasn’t able to fully focus on much of anything else knowing she was in such need, with no one to really comfort her.

As soon as I got home, I posted her picture on all of the Lost Dog Facebooks Groups in my area and neighboring counties. I reached out to anyone I knew who might like to own another dog. Over the next few days, I checked the Animal Shelter page multiple times a day to check for updated information on her.

The Happy Ending

I’m super happy to say that this dog, whom the shelter had named “Kind,” was adopted on Wednesday morning.  I was so happy for her, and felt that I could finally let her go.  Right now, I still have the picture in my mind of how broken she was, and I wish I could replace it with a picture of her happy and safe, but just knowing that she is will have to be enough.

Resource: 12 Things to Do When You Find an Abandoned Dog