puppy love: August 2006 Archives

On my way home from the drug store tonight I drove down the road where I found Doper yesterday and noticed there were a lot of people out in their yards, so I decided to go get the dogs and walk them down the street and see if anyone knew anything about Doper.

The search for the dog's parents was entirely unfruitful, but man was it fun.

As anyone knows, if you want to know about the pets and kids and comings and goings of a neighborhood, the best people to ask are the kids. A kid in a red shirt on a skateboard came by and I asked him if he had seen the dog, he thought for a minute and said "Yeah ... he lives in the cul-de-sac behind 1234 Whatever Street ... he's a police dog!". I was skeptical but decided this little tidbit was better than nothing. So the kid gave me directions to the house where he thought the dog lived and I was on my way.

When I got to the cul-de-sac in qusetion I found another group of kids out front playing. I asked if they knew anything about the dog. One said he thought maybe he had seen it somewhere sometime, he others didn't know anything about it. I pointed to the house the skateboarder kid sent me to and asked about it, one of the kids said that they used to have a dog that looked sort of like Doper, but that he died a year ago. I never got a clear answer on the police dog part, oh well. The kids were super helpful and I could see them racking their brains trying to place the dog. It was pretty sweet really.

Onward to the next person I saw. This woman was dragging a hose through her yard and I asked if she had ever seen the dog, she came over and loved all over Maddie and Doper and said no she hadn't. Then she told me all about her Boston Terrior and all the other Boston Terriors in the neighborhood. She tried to yell across the street to a guy sitting in a lawnchair in the front yard, but he was on the phone. Then she remembered that he hates dogs so he probably wouldn't know whose dog it was. She whispered "Its a good thing the sidewalk's on MY side of the street" as she scratched Maddie beind the ears.

Next up was a guy on the corner in a yellow shirt. Again he had no idea who owned the dog but he loved all over him. The general consensus is that this stray is an absolute sweetheart. The guy told me about his Airedale and how if anyone ever loses anything in the neighborhood they post a sign on this certain light post on the corner. He told me that if he heard anything about someone missing a dog he would post a sign for me on the post. Then he told me that I could let my dog poop in his yard any time, and not to worry about picking it up. Thanks dude.

I was on my way back towards home when I crossed a couple out for an evening stroll they told me thy had two dogs and three cats that were strays. They asked if I had named him yet. I said "No!" but I think they knew I was lieing.

Finally I passed a house on the corner back in my neighborhood where a guy I see pretty regularly walking his dog lives. I asked about the dog and he didn't know anything but said "Hang on! Let me go get my wife! She might know something!!!" His wife came out a few minutes later and announced that the dog is a shepherd/collie mix and probably about two years old. They were both stunned at how sweet and well cared for and chill the dog was, but they had no idea where he came from either. Then they told me how they were going to buy a house in the country with a lot of land. Cool! You want a sheperd/collie mix??

I must admit, I had a blast canvassing the neighborhood. Its amazing how personable people can be when there is a lost dog involved. I shoud do that more often ... wonder if Maddie would mind playing the part of the poor lost dog ...