Sasha

Sasha (by Karen Briggs)

I began receiving calls about a black stray dog, a possible Sheltie mix, on Sunday, July 9th, around 10:00 a.m. The caller was unable to contain the dog, though she did offer it food and water. The second call came later that evening around 6 o’clock from yet another location. This time the animal was described as a medium-sized, long hair mix, possibly part Labrador, but definitely female, wearing a collar with tags. She was very skittish, not allowing this concerned resident near her. The resident left food out and called Animal Control, fearing the dog might be ill.

On Monday, July 10th, Animal Control had not yet caught this elusive canine, and I received another call from a different resident on still another street. I dutifully wrote the description of a small black mix dog wearing a collar with tags. The resident said the dog was “baying” and must be ill. She also called Animal Control. If only someone could get close to her to see the tags!

Monday night, I took a step further, calling on one of our pet program’s volunteers to help. We were dubbed the “Pet Patrol” by one resident as we asked about the dog and took a walk with lead in hand, hoping to find the distressed stray. Animal Control hadn’t caught up with her, and the dog was still reportedly “baying.” However, when my “animal rescuer/pet foster mom” volunteer helper and I were looking, she was nowhere around, though there was evidence that neighbors had tried to feed her. After traversing the alleys and streets, I finally suspected that the three dog reports were actually the same dog. This was confirmed the next day when our crime watch coordinator called with the next part of the story.

While we were looking on one street, the dog was meeting new friends over on another, where she had spotted much needed water and a young child that no doubt reminded her of her owner’s grandchildren. This family’s dogs actually helped contain Sasha by luring her into their backyard. The resident, with flashlight in hand, coaxed and cajoled for two hours until 11:30 p.m., and finally won her trust enough to get a look at her tags.

Tuesday morning, July 11th, the resident looked up the vet number on the tags and called and found the owner! The lady was overjoyed, as she had given up on locating her beloved pup. Sasha, a Chow/Spitz mix, had been frightened by firecrackers on July 2nd and had run off.

When she didn’t return, the owner put up signs and continually checked with Animal Control. Sasha had been gone for 9 days and had crossed at least three major thoroughfares, ending up in our neighborhood. She was exhausted, yet so happy to see her master that in thanks and relief, this once skittish dog leaped into her rescuer’s arms as well! The neighbor says it was such a special moment that it made all the efforts worthwhile. Sasha’s owner cried with joy to see her pet and is so thankful Sasha was found.

Sasha may have been sideswiped by a car in her travels; she had a sore paw but no broken bones. One thing is for sure, she certainly had an amazing adventure!

What everyone needs to learn from this story is that one never knows when an animal will take off or how far it will go. If Sasha had not been wearing her tags, chances are she would never have returned home.

Animal Control was called twice about her, though they were unsuccessful in catching her. If they had picked her up, they would have been able to locate her owners with the tags. An animal of the City of Dallas Animal Control without tags is euthanized in three days if no one claims or adopts it. Our neighborhood policy is to refer sick and dangerous animals to Animal Control, as we do not want anyone to be hurt or bitten by a stray.