By Ashley Strehl
Editor-in-chief
“This dog showed up in front of my house today shivering and thirsty … I took him inside cause it is storming today. He does not have a collar or anything. Here is the thing, as much as I love dogs I don’t have the money to care for one. So I need to find the owner(s) of this sweet dog so he can go back home, I do not know what else to do with him. Is there a shelter I could take him to?”
This is the first post I made to Facebook when a lonely, young dog showed up in my front yard last Thursday, September 6. I love animals, but I have my own dog and cat living in my hometown, Freedom. In addition, as I mentioned in my last column, I’m a first time home-renter here in Alva, so in the least amount of words, I am poor.
This sweet dog looked up at me with his black eyes with nothing but love and admiration for the human that gave him as much warmth, food and water as she could. I was heartbroken for this pup, he had no collar and he was in no hurry to go home either. He spent the night on my porch.
“Update on the dog: FINALLY I got a police officer to come and get him. He is being taken to the pound. I am praying his owners try to come find him or someone adopts him. It is heartbreaking to know that careless people exist in this world who let their dogs run loose and don’t even try to find them. It is sickening.
If you can’t make sure your dog is safe at your house with food, water, and love then don’t get a dog!!”
This is the second post I made to Facebook. After two failed attempts at trying to contact a dog catcher, frustrated, I called again, and the police officer came down my street and parked in front of my house. Tears welled up in my eyes as he put the dog in the back of the car and took him to the pound. I felt horrible, but I had to make sure he was somewhere warm and had plenty of food and water.
Today, as I am writing this column, I am happy to say that the dog has been adopted. I found out through a woman who commented on my picture I had put of the dog in the Alva lost and found pets page on Facebook.
An experience that I had accepted had a sad ending, turned out to be a new beginning for a loving, beautiful, pup.