Friday, August 01, 2008

Willa, a pit bull, and I go to the County jail

I was late for work today. But I had a really good excuse.

Willa and I got in the car this morning and turned from our street to a fairly busy road. Traffic was acting weird, and after a truck moved on, it was obvious why. There was a dog walking down the right lane. I nervously watched it as I prepared to make my turn. The dog left the street for the sidewalk, and I sighed with relief. But then there was this stray dog, walking around kind of aimlessly and looking confused...

I had to stop.

Okay, I know my mom is reading this and is about to worry a bit. This ends well (I hope) for everyone. Onward.

So. I turned onto another side street, rolled down my window and whistled. I am a good whistler, so the dog - 4 houses away on a busy street - heard and stopped to turn around. I put the car in park, got out and called for the dog. He perked up and clumsily loped over to me. He was a young (probably not yet a year), beautiful, and very sweet pit bull.

I, of course, put the strange stray dog in my car. I made him stay in the front seat because I didn't want him to get anywhere near Willa. See? I have some sense. Willa was in the backseat smiling and saying "brown doggie" over and over.

And we drove to the animal shelter which, lucky for all 3 of us, happens to be on our route anyhow.

The shelter and the jail share adjacent land, so we wound up there first and I kind of felt all bad ass with my temporary pit bull next to me. The 2 year old in the back seat singing her ABC's kind of ruined the vibe though.

We got to the shelter and they were not open until 10. Luckily, an overworked and burnt out employee was walking in while I was on the phone with the sheriff ("um... I have this stray dog and I have to get to work"). The worker sent someone else out to get the dog. After rolling her eyes at me when I asked for her help.

The kind shelter guy promised me that they give this misunderstood breed as much of a chance for adoption as any other dog. That made me glad, he was a sweet buddy for the 8 minutes he was in my care. I hope his owner thinks to call the shelter. He had a collar but no tags. I signed a paper and the guy took the happy and willing dog from my car.

At which point Willa lost it because she thought her new doggie was gone.

It was not a usual morning.

6 comments:

Keri said...

Wow, that's an eventful morning! I really wish there were more kind-hearted people like you in the world.

PS - I don't know how to whistle.

Kerri said...

First, you are a wonderful writer, and it's always a delight to read your entries. Very witty stuff.

Second, poor puppers! Come on, owners! No tags? GL getting that guy back w/o some nice fines. I hope the guy finds a home. However, you miight see fliers posted in your neighborhood for the dog, and if so, you can tell them he's at the shelter for them to get him.

Third, I would probably pick the dog up too. Tell your mom there's at least two people who are "crazy". :)

Maribeth said...

What a great story. Poor Willa, it must have been such an exciting and heartbreaking morning. All in five minutes.

Mandy said...

So glad you took the time to take care of the pit bull. I own one and she is the best dog I have ever had - Evie lays on her, pulls her tail and ears, and she has never EVER been aggressive. They are a great breed if they are brought up with love and respect.

Thanks for taking care of him!!

Em said...

I think you have a heart much bigger than most. Pit bulls are a scary breed to so many, but they really are sweet dogs when they are trained appropriately.

Good for you for saving a pup!!

Christina said...

Aww.. You are a nice lady!