Friends and Neighbors

One of the lovely things about living in a small town is the frequent opportunity to make new friends.  Here is the distinguished gentleman we met last night:

As I sat in my parlor I could see this fellow meandering down the sidewalk of Main Street.  He looked perfectly content to be out for a summer evening's stroll but I looked and looked and didn't see anyone with him.  My heart sank.  I couldn't ignore a loose dog.  St. Francis would be disappointed.

Michael ran to get our dog's leash and Grace called the pup to her.  Fortunately he was very docile and mostly cooperative.  Caroline helped me to get a bowl and some water, which this guy drank and drank and drank.  He must have been out on some adventure!

Then we all stood there, wondering what to do next.

Once again, we were grateful to be living in a small town.  I suggested that the children walk him around the village and ask everyone they encountered if this dog looked familiar to them.  Some people said no, but some people gave suggestions as to where he might live.  Our neighbor came over and said that he might know the owners, so he hopped into his van and drove to their house to ask them.

Meanwhile I made some phone calls, trying to find him a place to spend the night.  It was after 8:00pm, extremely humid and this dear dog was very old, stiff in the joints and blind in one eye.  He needed a cool, cushy place to sleep.  I tried the local veterinarian, surrounding veterinarians, distant veterinarians, animal hospitals and labrador rescue groups.  I just needed somebody local to take him inside overnight and then in the morning we'd resume the search for his family.  We sure would have but we didn't know how our dog would react.  (Although, come on, they're both labs, they'd probably just circle each other to death.)

All of my calls were fruitless.  The children returned home with the dog in tow.  There were still some streets left to try but I couldn't have this tired ol' guy go out anymore.  As soon as Pete had seen me with a new dog he had said, "We can't keep him!" but it looked like we were about to.  Just then a minivan turned onto our street.  I said a silent prayer, "Please, oh, please be the owners!"... and yay, they were.  Thank you, St. Francis.