Little Dog Lost

The weather here in the Northeast turned cold with the coming of the new year. Before the tick of the calendar it  was more April like than December like.  This morning the mercury was topping out at 18 when I took off on my morning walk in tow by my pup.

We had overslept by one third of an hour. My wife has been ill with pneumonia. I wish she would sleep a little longer each morning to hasten her recovery.  She won't hear of it, she still charges ahead full steam. I worry about that , will she make herself worse by not resting.  My suggestion that she take a few days off was a puff of smoke in the wind. Ok so she took one day as if that was going to make the difference.

  So it was that I thought it best that the storm of the century is working its way up the coast, for that means that we will sleep in tomorrow. We will move at a lazy , luxuriously slow snow day pace, read a book, listen to music, watch television, go outside and play with the dog , shovel and return to the warmth.  I paint this fanciful picture, while my wife probably thinks Oh, we can clean the house, cook dinners for the week, iron my clothes for the week.  So you see how she runs.

But I was late getting out the door with my pal.  I was plugged into my I Pod and covered head to foot so we were ready. I placed my headlamp on my crown, the one that the kid next door says makes me look like a Minion.  A what say I ?.  Off we go, it is still quiet, dark and  cold.   We make our turn and head home after about a mile. 

You encounter few living things this time of year at that hour, today is different. On our way home I spot a dog coming toward us, but I spot no human companion.   This little old gray muzzled Cocker Spaniel emerges out of the shadows and approaches us cautiously. My dog approaches and says hello. My dog is very calm about most inter species encounters, save for the ones where the other dog growls at him, then he is dropping gloves and ready to show who is boss. Todays meeting is growless, so the two  do their thing, as I lean in to see if there is a collar.

This is a cute old Cocker Spaniel, the soulful eyes and the gray muzzle concern me. The fact that this older dog is shivering in the cold really concerns me.This is a pampered pup of somewhat advanced age, someone's companion with the look of a well treated animal.  This dog is not used to being in the outdoors.  I check the collar and there is a license tag, but no phone number. I decide to take him home , so I can call the license bureau .  I hook him up to the leash and off we go, five steps and he stops and pulls back, his collar slips from his head and he moves off, I am standing there with a leash and collar. Now I have a real sinking feeling working, for I have  his means of being reconnected with his owner sitting slack in my hand.  What have I done.  .My stomach immediately knots, for I feel responsible for this debacle. The Cocker moves off down the street and I try to coax him back, but he keeps going.  I hope for his home.  But I know he is lost just by the way he is searching the neighborhood.  I do  not know this dog and I know them all.  Walking my dog for l almost seven years  time allows me to meet every dog , know them and pet them. I have heard that elderly dogs sometimes wander as they become forgetful and when they get lost they will hide under a deck or some place they think safe and in the cold they die.  .

I quickly headed home, got in the car and went off to search for the dog.  There is a storm coming and this dog, who probably has never been on a leash is now out in the cold, he will surely die if not picked up .I drive about the neighborhood and I do not see him. I spot a person walking her dog, I stop to ask if she has seen a loose dog, she starts yelling at me , that she has to carry her dog outside she has no concern for anyone else's dog.  I take that as a no and move on.

Unable to find the dog, I return home and decide to call the police to alert them to the lost pup. My wife says they won't do anything. I think in my Pollyanna view of the world that perhaps they will alert their patrol cars to be on the lookout.  So I call and get McGovern, a stern sounding desk officer, and I explain the situation, he asked what kind of dog was it did you say ?  A cocker Spaniel I reply, at that a sound of joy comes into Mc Govern's voice.  He says someone found the dog and took it in and the animal control officer is on his way to pick it up.  I give him the license number, he says he will look it up and they will get ahold of the owner, the dog and owner  will be reunited.  He sincerely thanks me, he must be a dog person.

I love the idea of their reunion, it will make my day.  Were it not for the news I would have worried all day abut the fate of the old companion.  Old gray muzzle and soft weary soulful eyes alone in the cold with the storm coming.

Say a prayer tonight for all those old gray muzzles with the weary eyes who will be out in the storm tonight. Let's hope they find shelter.