That Was Complicated
Jan. 8th, 2008 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desoto_hia873The neighbours two doors to our left have two of the biggest huskies I've ever seen. I'm not sure if they're purebred or not, but they're huge and very furry. They look like not-so-small bears. Oddly, they are also quite timid--I've never gotten close enough to touch them.
Which is unfortunate, because one of them got out of its backyard this morning. They tend to make a lot of noise at the best of times, but I noticed when I was outside with Bella that the howling had an unusal note of anguish. Then I glanced towards the yard of our neighbour on the right and saw one of them standing there, trailing its broken chain behind him. The howling was coming from the one left behind. I put Bella in the house and went to see if I could catch the escapee, but he wasn't going to let me come anywhere near him. And given the loud, defensive barks he was directing towards me and the fact that he weighs more than I do, I gave up trying pretty quickly.
What to do? Leaving him there wasn't an option--we live on a very quiet dead-end street, but we're only two blocks away from a busy one, and I didn't want him wandering off and getting hurt. OTOH, I wasn't interested in getting bitten by an intimidated dog. Nor did I want to spook him into running, and huskies do like to run.
It was clear that there was no one home at the dog's house, else they would have heard the racket. I knocked on our next-door neighbours' door to see if they were home, but they weren't. I tried calling the previous owners of our house to see if they knew the contact information for the husky-owners, but no one was home. I tried calling one of them at the hospital where Jim thought he worked, but the switchboard didn't know who he was, and the human resources person I talked to said she couldn't give me any information unless it was a family emergency. The neighbour on our right is a teacher, so I knew he'd be at school. One of the neighbours across the street from us is retired, but I couldn't get to her door because by this time the escapee had moved closer to home and was guarding her driveway as well as its own.
I was starting to think that calling the Humane Society was my only option when Jim mentioned that our next-door neighbour Cindy is a pediatrician. Neither of us knew her last name. So I went to the yellow pages and started scanning for doctors with the name Cindy. There weren't any, but there was a Lucinda, so I took a chance, called, and told her receptionist about the escaped husky.
"Oh yes," chirped the receptionist, "That's so-and-so's dog. Hang on, I'll get Cindy." And so she did, and Cindy called the retired neighbour, whom the huskies know well, the escapee was successfully returned to his yard, and there was happiness in huskyville.
Living in a small town occasionally has its advantages.
Which is unfortunate, because one of them got out of its backyard this morning. They tend to make a lot of noise at the best of times, but I noticed when I was outside with Bella that the howling had an unusal note of anguish. Then I glanced towards the yard of our neighbour on the right and saw one of them standing there, trailing its broken chain behind him. The howling was coming from the one left behind. I put Bella in the house and went to see if I could catch the escapee, but he wasn't going to let me come anywhere near him. And given the loud, defensive barks he was directing towards me and the fact that he weighs more than I do, I gave up trying pretty quickly.
What to do? Leaving him there wasn't an option--we live on a very quiet dead-end street, but we're only two blocks away from a busy one, and I didn't want him wandering off and getting hurt. OTOH, I wasn't interested in getting bitten by an intimidated dog. Nor did I want to spook him into running, and huskies do like to run.
It was clear that there was no one home at the dog's house, else they would have heard the racket. I knocked on our next-door neighbours' door to see if they were home, but they weren't. I tried calling the previous owners of our house to see if they knew the contact information for the husky-owners, but no one was home. I tried calling one of them at the hospital where Jim thought he worked, but the switchboard didn't know who he was, and the human resources person I talked to said she couldn't give me any information unless it was a family emergency. The neighbour on our right is a teacher, so I knew he'd be at school. One of the neighbours across the street from us is retired, but I couldn't get to her door because by this time the escapee had moved closer to home and was guarding her driveway as well as its own.
I was starting to think that calling the Humane Society was my only option when Jim mentioned that our next-door neighbour Cindy is a pediatrician. Neither of us knew her last name. So I went to the yellow pages and started scanning for doctors with the name Cindy. There weren't any, but there was a Lucinda, so I took a chance, called, and told her receptionist about the escaped husky.
"Oh yes," chirped the receptionist, "That's so-and-so's dog. Hang on, I'll get Cindy." And so she did, and Cindy called the retired neighbour, whom the huskies know well, the escapee was successfully returned to his yard, and there was happiness in huskyville.
Living in a small town occasionally has its advantages.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 07:13 pm (UTC)I know. The world isn't perfect. But people like you help to make it a much nicer place!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 07:51 pm (UTC)Aww, thanks. :-)
It's always risky leaving a dog chained up outside when no one's home--there are so many ways they can get into trouble. Linus--who was beagle-sized--once scaled a six-foot wooden fence and then discovered that his rope wasn't quite long enough for him to touch the ground with all four feet on the other side. My dog-loving neighbour rescued him before he strangled himself, thank God, and I learned my lesson.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 07:19 pm (UTC)