This story is another marker of my daily observances. Seems that I’m so much more aware than I have ever been. Keeping an eye out for things that are unusual, or just out of place in any scene I happen upon on any given day.
Thursday, I had procrastinated leaving the house for some reason. Just didn’t want to get out right away. Dark clouds and thunder in the distance were a very welcomed indication of much needed rain. I wanted to go to the store before the rain for a couple of items that I would need to make dinner. This is a habit that I probably won’t ever break…going to the store for “just a couple of items”. It gets me out of the house. Finally, at about 10:00 I headed out the driveway, around the corner and down the main drag of our subdivision.
About a block from the light at the entrance to our subdivision, I spied a small white dog running down the very middle of the street. She held her little head high, little pointed ears straight back, and running purposefully in a straight line…a bee line toward the intersection. I could see that the little Chihuahua could be great peril. I’ve never been very fond of the notion of owning a Chihuahua, but someone would be heartbroken. I couldn’t bear the thought of possibly witnessing little Sally getting hit by an oncoming car. Dammit! I’d already named her. Okay, then….already attached, I pursued the little lost Sally. I always get too attached.
I pulled over to the curb, turned on my flashers, hopped out of my truck, and started after the little white Chihuahua. Apparently, she heard footsteps and glanced back at me without losing her pace. We neared the driveway of a small business park, and I noticed a car about to pull out into the street. I caught the young woman’s eye and begged that she stop for the little dog. She stopped. And, as if signaled that there would be a place to hide, little Sally turned to look at me as I neared, then backed under the front wheel well of the young woman’s Toyota. Thankfully, the young woman knew not to move forward and put her car in park and got out to help. Sally backed further underneath the car.
The young woman was on her way to work. Perfectly groomed, neatly dressed in her hostess outfit, and sporting a really cool chili pepper name badge, Sylvia got out of her car and squatted down to have a look at the situation.
“Oh, the poor little thing!” She cried, as she reached towards the little dog. Sally feigned a vicious growl and Sylvia calmly withdrew her hand. I reached out and tried. Sally would have none of it. Sylvia offered that she might have something in her car that might entice the little dog out. I was all for it. She disappeared into her car and produced a few Gummy Bears, and I bit my cheeks to avoid laughing, reminding myself that I didn’t have a solution at all.
Sylvia offered the morsel to Sally, who sniffed at it, stared and back up suspiciously. She tore one of the Gummy Bears in half and tried again. Sally came forward a bit, sniffed and licked the Gummy Bear. She appeared to like it, and moved a bit closer. Sylvia reached in and picked up her new friend gently. What a sweetie that Sylvia was! She handed Sally to me and bid us farewell. She had to be at work at 10:30. Good thing the restaurant was just around the corner.
I took Sally and put her in my truck. She was cute. She had no collar and was white with a black left eye, and had a black spot over her right eye. What a cutie! She was pretty chubby…like a little sausage. No….not like a sausage; a fat burrito with a Chihuahua face. I noticed that she held the tip of her tongue out. I also noticed something very remarkable for a Chihuahua. It was evident that she was frightened, but she did not tremble at all! She stood at the passenger side window to lookout. As soon as I started my truck, she was in my lap and looking out the window on my side. This wasn’t her first car ride.
I turned the truck around, and decided to go down the first street and ask at a couple of residences if they recognized little Sally. At the first house on the corner, a very pleasant woman came to the door. She didn’t recognize little Sally, but offered to take me across the street to another neighbor, who might shed some light on the lost little dog. Her neighbor didn’t recognize the little lost Sally either, so Sally and I took our leave, and headed to the veterinary clinic across the main road.
The woman at the vet clinic window offered to scan Sally to see if she had an I.D. chip. Sadly, no, she did not. I said, “Well, I don’t really know what to do with her, but I’ll….” The woman that had just scanned Sally interrupted to say…”Uhhh….Are you going to take her back to where you found her?” I was outraged! The very idea! I said, “Of course not! I’m taking her back to my house! Here’s my phone number just in case you hear of someone looking for this little dog!” I took Sally and left.
As I drove off, I thought; Now look what you’ve done! You’ve compromised your entire day! And then I felt instantly guilty for thinking such a selfish thought.
I drove home and put Sally down in the back yard and let Hank out to welcome her. He gave her the sniff test, and she passed. They headed out towards the far back yard to check their Pee-Mail. I came in the house and printed up some “FOUND, WHITE CHIHUAHUA” notices to post around the front and back of the subdivision. I let Hank in the house, and took Sally with me to post the signs at the entrances to the subdivision. Again, she hopped in my lap to navigate our drive. I used packing tape to post the signs on the light polls, and we returned home just in time for a torrent of rain to start coming down.
I sat down at the kitchen table (my kitchen office) to mess around on the computer while observing the dogs bonding. Actually, Sally sniffed around a bit and took up her post sitting on my right foot to watch Hank, who had decided he was not getting replaced by a Chihuahua. He laid down in the living room to take another nap. Sally stayed on my right foot and watched Hank intently. Apparently she had been an only dog in her household and was not familiar with hanging out with a big dog.
The rain was really pounding down, and I was grateful. We had not had a decent rain since January. Both dogs disappeared into the bedroom. I followed to see what the attraction was. It was a missed Kodak moment, as they stood at the open window together to watch the rain. It would have been a great picture.
After a while, I fixed myself a P.B. & J. and fixed some lunch for the dogs as well. Hank started in on his bowl, and Sally sniffed at hers and looked up at me as if to say…”No thank you. I just want my family.” I sat down to eat my sandwich, and Sally resumed her post on my right foot. Hank went back to resume his nap.
The rain had let up, and I wondered if the signs had held up. Just in case, I printed up 3 more signs and headed out to check on them. As I suspected, the rain and wind had knocked the signs down. I dried the light post and posted fresh signs and returned home. Someone should be calling about Little Lost Sally.
Royster would be coming home soon, so I sat back down at my “desk”, and Sally again resumed her post on my foot. I noticed a few minutes later, that Sally had crept off my foot and was creeping a little bit at a time towards Hank (still sleeping). Ears pointed forward, she’d creep forward a step or two until finally she was right behind Hank’s head. She turned to look at me, and then turned back around to sniff Hank’s ear. This made his ear twitch, and it startled her. She hurried back to my foot at once, and stared at the otherwise undisturbed sleeping dog. About that time The Royster drove up, and both dogs got up to go greet him at the back door. Royster was not surprised, and Sally recognized that he was part of the family. I find this humorous, as other stray or lost dogs would have growled at a “stranger” at the door.
We all adjourned to the bedroom to watch the evening news. I hoisted Hank up on the bed, and Sally looked at me expectantly, so I lifted her up as well. She immediately snuggled up next to me. This wasn’t her first rodeo! Hank accepted the extra company on the bed.
It wasn’t long after that the phone rang. A woman asked me if I had found a white Chihuahua. I told her I did, and that she was here and safe. The woman was ecstatic in Spanish. She didn’t speak much English, and put her daughter on the phone. She told me that they lived near the park, and that we should meet them in the parking lot there. I asked her what the dog’s name was, and she said Lisa. The Royster and I left, with Sally/Lisa in tow, first going to what we know as the park. No one was there, so I guessed they meant the club pool.
As we drove up, we saw a tan van, a woman and three children waiting anxiously for Sally/Lisa, and I handed her over to the children. The mother was in tears, and I could tell that she would have done anything for those children. The youngest had a fist full of $20’s, and tried to hand it to me. I told them, “NO MONEY! No, No dinaro! No es necesario!” They insisted, and I finally told them that I would take hugs instead and they finally agreed to that. It was very plain that Sally/Lisa belonged to them, or they belonged to Sally/Lisa.
I knew too, that the name (Lisa) that the girl had given me was probably her own name, and not the little Chihuahua’s name, which I will probably not ever know. All was as it should have been…. And,I just love happy endings.
