Stray Savvy the Sequel

Charlie Has a Home

By Camp Bow Wow

 

Last month Camp Bow Wow staff offered some ways to help a stray, should an un-homed dog cross your path. One group of determined Good Samaritans took the tips to heart.

 

Several ladies on the Far Northside noticed a loose medium-sized dog roaming the neighborhood as they took their daily walks – no collar or tags. As Pet Tips suggested, they posted his description on the neighborhood group text to try to reunite the pup with his owner, to no avail. For several days the ladies watched as the pup hung around a group of workers framing a house. The young male was skittish but friendly. Hungry, he seemed to be attracted to the scraps of food the men fed him.

One of the women was able to get close enough to take a few pictures, and she and a few others on the text stream started posting them to every lost-and-found pet site they knew. No one seemed to be looking for him, and it was becoming obvious that the pup had not just slipped away from a nearby home.

 

Finally, the dog lovers had had enough. One was able to coax the pup into her car and to safety. When the frisky interloper didn’t mix well with her own dog, Rani took great pains to keep the two apart (another Pet Tips suggestion). She noticed the pup was covered with fleas, dirty and matted, and had some injuries to his front legs. Once again, the neighborhood ladies jumped into action. Discussed via a flurry of text messages, someone found a vet to prescribe a fast-acting flea treatment, another sent a mobile grooming service. In short order, the pup was clean, vermin free, and on the mend. He looked so handsome and was losing his shyness. But what to do with him?

 

Heather jumped in. Her elderly mother’s dog had recently passed, and she hoped the pup might be a good companion for her. Unfortunately, the energetic spaniel mix proved to be too taxing for the woman to keep, but she agreed to house “Charlie,” as he was now being called, on a temporary basis. Heather began walking him several times a day to support her mom and help him learn leash manners. Although better, his situation still seemed desperate. The neighborhood group continued to rally to the cause. Who knew someone who needed a young energetic male dog eager to return a family’s love?

 

Arrangements were made with another vet to neuter Charlie at a low cost (funded by the group). Shortly before Charlie was to be transported to his appointment, there was a glimmer of hope. Jan had a lead! She knew of a father of two young boys who lived on land in the Hill Country who also had suffered a loss of their family’s beloved pet. Could Charlie fill this void?

 

A few days after Charlie’s procedure, he was up and running. The meet-and-greet with the family was all the group had prayed for. Two little boys were able to once again experience the joy of a puppy’s love, and Charlie has a forever home!