Marley-ish & me.
It’s winter-cold in North Carolina & while it feels like a heat-wave to our northern neighbors, we’re wearing wool coats & gloves & watching for black ice on the bridges. The constant drizzle of rain makes it feel even more cold, the damp that gets down under my skin until all I can think about is a pile of blankets & a pair of Doug’s old sweatpants.
Walking out to my car this morning, I balanced my laptop bag & cup of coffee & my lunch, consisting of leftovers that Harrison refused to eat. Monday, my constant nemesis. So we meet again.
Two minutes from the office with Christmas carols through the speakers, I saw a dog with a collar loping along the side of the busy road, mud up to his elbows, headed towards the 8-lane highway. I dismissed him at first & within moments, found myself spinning a tight U-turn. No dog should be out in this cold, in this rain, on the side of a busy commuter road. I pulled up beside him & propped open the passenger door, whistled & he hopped in.
I don’t know what got into me, either. I didn’t have a plan & I didn’t know what I was doing. I just knew this dog belonged to someone.
A collar but no tags.
I found the closest vet office & grabbing his collar, took him into warmth. They put a leash on him, wiped him down, & scanned him for a microchip & he wagged his tail & try to put his big paws on the chest of the vet tech. I asked if they could keep him while I located his owner, but they couldn’t. So I sat beside him in my cold garage, working with my laptop on the lid of a trashcan while he cried & rested on a blanket.
I knew it wasn’t a long-term solution. I spoke to friends that work with rescues & foster & they all advised the same – take him to the County shelter. It’s where owners look first. Put out something on Facebook, call the lab rescues & SPCA in case nobody claims him. He seemed to be a young purebred – his chances of adoption are fantastic.
It was a sucker-punch to walk into the County shelter, even with a dog I only knew for a few hours. I don’t know how owners give up their pets willingly; my own hand shook as I signed over this boy & gave them my information. “How long do we have?” I asked.
Friday, December 13th.
Three full days to find his owner, or find a rescue that can take him, or to go back & get him myself.
Maybe I did the right thing. Maybe I did the wrong thing.
But he deserves to belong to somebody.
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p.s. I found him on Chapel Hill Road in Morrisville, NC near 540. If you know who his owner is, please let me know. [email protected]
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