A furry friend in need

This week we've experienced a bit of aptly texted, pandemonium at the Hupp household. Tuesday on our usual walk Jackson and I were greeted by an exceptionally friendly stray. She had no collar, is likely under two years old, appears to have been owned and loved by someone but was now wandering the streets. I consider it fortunate that she was so interested in Jackson and myself that I was able to guide her to our house for safe keeping/temporary fostering. 

Just to be very clear, we did not intend on keeping this adorable bundle of energy, but we were going to fight hard to find either her rightful owner or a good, safe home. This surely 40+ pound American Staffordshire Terrier/Pit mix is not only one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, but she is a stunning little specimen. She has a beautiful healthy brindle patterned coat, very healthy teeth and an exceptionally expressive face. She loves, loves, loves to play whether its with Jackson, who, much to his distaste, she inadvertently clobbers with her clumsy puppy paws or a tennis ball which can be thrown or just laying about to be knocked around, or, either Jonathan or I. She is happy to see people, very affectionate, and has shown absolutely no signs of aggression, even with food and toys. Often she is better than Jackson on a leash but could certainly use some training and will test your strength when she is interested in something other than her path.

We posted Found Dog signs and blasted all kinds of emails to rescue organizations, neighbors, office friends, and not until Wednesday afternoon did we start to get some sort of response from a few rescue organizations. Seeing that Pits or, as affectionately referred to, "bullies", still carry with them the stereotype of just being fighting dogs their adoption and placement into good homes can be quite a challenge. This dog wouldn't hurt a fly intentionally and deserved a good home/family. Had we not had our wonderful Mr. Jackson I'm pretty sure we would keep her, but we cannot. It would not be a financially responsible decision, nor would it be fair to our two kitties and Jackson. Its taken little Ms. Sydney until yesterday to eat a full meal and start roaming about the house again, even with the dog outside. Our other kitty, Mr. Toby, is in constant "I'll kick you’re a$$" mode, which is no doubt exhausting. Jackson is very interested in her, as here, but with her strength and lack of coordination he is quickly overwhelmed and almost freezes in shock when she approaches to play with him.

As of Thursday afternoon we had plans to meet with an adoptive family on Saturday with what seemed like great potential. We spoke over the phone for a good 20+ minutes discussing his past with bullies, and his recent loss of a bullie after battling an awful bout of cancer. Then on Thursday night around 9:00 PM I discovered I had three messages about the Found Dog sign. The first two sounded a little sketchy, but the third, who actually took the effort to contact both numbers on the found dog poster sounded reasonable. We discussed how to approach the situation and came up with a few questions to ask as well as what appropriate response behavior to expect. By the time Jonathan contacted the caller in the morning I had two more voice mails regarding the dog, one even provided her name.

Moments later I received a text with a photo of one of the callers sitting with our sweet not so little stray in his lap. It was indeed her. During Jonathan's over the phone investigation we felt that all of the owner's answers made logical sense (location, date lost etc.) And, it turned out that two of the other callers from this morning were, 1 the friend who found the Found Dog sign, and 2, his longtime foreman, who confirmed that she was his dog and is treated very well. Apparently she often joins them at work as the shop dog. No dates or locations were put on the sign and the photo was black and white, and again, all of his answers were quick and logical. I was not keen on his response to why she didn't have a tag/collar, but when I texted him to let him know I would get her a proper tag I received a grateful call back with all the info I needed.

It turns out "Lola", which was one of the answers that made sense since the only name we could get her to remotely respond to was "Lady", is only about 7 months old which certainly accounts for her high energy, curiosity and clumsy play. Despite a little disruption to routine, we were happy to provide her with a safe foster home and reunite her with her proper owner. We will miss her, but are confident our fury family members will be delighted to return to their usual routines.