Cleveland, OH
We are sharing this story as a lesson, in hopes it will help even one dog owner to put a name tag on their dog or better yet a microchip. Our precious Twiggy left for her foster-to-adopt home on Saturday with a wonderful family. Transitions are always hard for dogs in rescue and Twiggy is no exception to this. Once a stray, she gained the trust of all of the wonderful employees and The Mutt Hutt, our many volunteers, and most importantly her former foster mom Sheena. Twiggy and Sheena lived together for nearly six months, she bonded to her foster mama and her pack mates. When Twiggy first came to daycare she was scared, a flight risk, a fearful dog with some insecurities. Over time she felt more comfortable, warmed up to the staff and always found comfort in the pack of dogs she was surrounded with.
Luckily for Twiggy a wonderful family met her and instantly fell in love with her. She rode home with them to a great house, a big back yard with a pool, kids to play with, neighbors with dogs, and a warm bed to sleep in. She hit the doggy lottery! It only took two days and the foster-to-adopt family called us with the great news they wanted to adopt her. The paperwork for her adoption was being prepared this week to finalize her adoption.
This afternoon we received a frantic call from Twiggy’s new Dad….she had bolted out the door to the garage and the garage door was open! He just missed catching her collar as she ran, he hit the garage door button to close it but her quick Italian Greyhound-ish legs made it to the sensor opening the door and she was gone! She took off on the regular walking route, her dad in tow behind her running in his socks calling his wife, the police, and then the animal warden. We got word quickly and Becca and Stephen headed in their vehicle from Tremont to Brunswick knowing the animal warden had her spotted but could not catch her. Twiggy loves women, especially Becca, so we thought it was the best decision to send someone she knows to coax her back to safety.
Twiggy ran off, her Dad behind her, some kids that just got off the school bus helped too. They all watched as she was running and running, and watched her jump into someones pond in their backyard. She got out, another stranger tried to get her, and she darted again. A woman pulled up and opened her car door and Twiggy jumped in!!! Thanks to the Good Samaritan who stopped, and we believe because she was a female Twiggy jumped into her car. Within minutes of Becca and Stephen being on the freeway headed south, Secondhand Mutts received a call from a local vet in Valley City…..they had Twiggy and it was her microchip that led her back to us. She was wearing a collar with rescue tags, the microchip verified she stilled belonged to us, and she was reunited with her Dad a short time later. The woman who picked her up knew exactly what to do and took her to the closest vet to get medical care and get scanned for a chip.
We are so glad for this happy ending. Twiggy is tired. She has blisters on her feet, and her legs are sore, but she will be just fine. It’s important to consider the transition time for rescue dogs while they make many adjustments to their new life. It’s hard for humans to transition, so we know its hard for dogs. New surroundings, new people, a new life – sometimes it takes up to a month or two for a dog to really feel “at home”. We are so very thankful to Twiggy’s family for doing EVERYTHING RIGHT. They contacted the local police, the dog warden, and then us to get help immediately.
If you don’t already, please consider microchipping your pet, and always be sure to have a collar with tags on your dog. Remember this story so you know what to do because you never know if your dog may run away too. Be safe Twiggy! Welcome home.
PS – We will be sharing Twiggy’s adoptive family’s picture in the coming weeks.
