Sparkle

This is a months' long story about a stray dog, a beautiful German Shepherd pup that has wandered the neighborhood for at least 6 months. She looked so lonely and emaciated that I finally got her to trust me and come with me to my yard, where I fed her and gave her water. I called the pound 3 times and had them pick her up, but she'd be back out wandering around within a day. I couldn't put any pieces together, so I just kept feeding her and watering her and being friendly.

Fast forward to learning that the next-door neighbors "own" the dog. Their idea of taking care of an animal is to leave her in the yard with a pail 1/4 filled with filthy water -- and no food. The dog kept getting out of her yard and coming over to my home, where she received good, clean water and fresh food. One weekend, the neighbors took off for Mexico and left the dog tied to a post with a dog leash, which is probably 3 feet long.  She quickly wound the leash around the pole and was well and truly stuck: she couldn't get to the pail of filthy water, much less any food.  I tried to look the other way, but that's not who I am, so I went and freed the dog and brought her to my house.

I called the pound and asked them to take the dog away from the neighbors, but when the pound worker came to the house, the neighbors were back from their trip and promised to be better dog owners, so the worker left the dog with them. Sure enough, the next day the dog had escaped from the yard and was at my house for food and water. That was the beginning of what would become several months of me caring for the dog at my house, then returning her to the next-door neighbors when they came to get her. It wasn't ideal, but I didn't know what to do when the pound kept returning Sparkle to her "home."

A woman who works for an animal rescue became involved as she, too, was appalled at the abuse. I told her I had called the pound 3 separate times, but they kept returning the dog to the neighbors and I didn't know what else to do. She said she would take care of the situation, so I thought we were done with watching this beautiful, smart dog be abused.

Nope, she took the dog to the local shelter, where a call was made to the owners to come pick up their dog.

I spent weeks with the dog at my house, and we were working on potty training, but I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks, so I had to "do something" other than keep the dog here while I was gone.  I talked to the animal rescue lady again, and we decided to find her a foster family.  Meanwhile, the dog has been injured by the 2 boys living with her, as they like to pile onto her and wrestle, and they injured her leg in one of their play sessions. I asked the woman owner if she was going to take the dog to the vet to see what happened to the dog's leg and she said yes, but since then all I've heard is that her husband is gone, she has 3 children, and she can't drive.  I offered to take the dog to the vet, but Y had a fit and told me no, this is not my dog and I need to let go of it.

Last night, the dog rescue lady and I were sitting outside with the dog, talking about what to do and how to go about it. When I reached the point of not knowing what to do, I told Nancy that I just had to give this to God and let Him do what's right. About 10 minutes later, the lady from next door came over to us and said that if we wanted to find the dog another home, she was willing to let the dog go.  She realized that her children pose a danger to the dog, and that she isn't taking very good care of her. Nancy said that I must have a direct line to the Big Guy in the Sky to get a response that quickly after putting it in His hands!

There is no end yet, but I'm hoping that Nancy can come through and get the dog a foster family before anything else happens to her.  I've been going next-door and getting Sparkle each day and keeping her with me, but my trip starts next week, so I have to wean her off being at my house.  I thought that Animal Control would at least keep her away from the family, but I guess that's not the way they operate the shelter. I'll be sad to see her leave, but I know she has to find a family to love her and take proper care of her, especially in t he 120-degree heat we've been having in the desert.

Addendum:  I was sitting in the livingroom this morning, watching one of the early talk shows, when I heard barking at the back gate.  I went outside to see what was going on, and there was Sparkle.  I opened the gate, she came into the house, went directly to her bed I made up for her, and hasn't moved in 2 hours. I'm not going to go over to the house and tell them she's here -- and I doubt that they will even wonder where she is.  I just hope that Nancy and I can find her a new home soon.