Our farm is located in the country, a good-long distance from any cities of noteworthy size. There is a freeway access point near the end of our county road which unfortunately is a frequent dumping spot for pets by irresponsible owners. It's quite sad, as these abandoned animals have no way of fending for themselves in the wild; no food, no water (especially now, during the drought!). And they're being dropped in a highly populated raccoon, snake, and coyote area, not to mention the other wild animals, like hog, fox, and bobcat, as well as the ever-dangerous nearby freeway.
Three weeks ago, on a Friday night... Alan and I were driving back from the city. It was evening, after dark. We rounded the corner of our county road and in the beams of our headlights, a little pale colored dog popped up out of the ditch. I stopped the car, but the dog was gone as quickly as it had appeared. We called and called for it, but it never came out of hiding. We told the neighbors about it, so we could all keep an eye out for it. The ditch is quite deep, full of brush (and a snake-haven), and not anywhere I would want to wander into.
Fast forward three weeks, to Saturday... I was an hour away in the city, and Alan was working. Alan's mother, Sue, stopped by the farm mid-day. As she was headed home, she saw the little dog pop out of the ditch and then disappear back into the thicket. She stopped the car and called to the dog again and again. Finally, the pup came out of the ditch and allowed herself to be picked up. Thin as can be, and clearly in need of care, Sue took the pup home and gave it food and clean water. Alan stopped by and helped Sue give the little dog a bath, and together they assembled a warm bed. It wasn't too long before she was sound asleep.
Meet Frosty, the newest member of our extended family.
When we first saw Frosty that night in the ditch, we thought by the dog's coloring that it may have been an older dog. But turns out Frosty is just a young thing -- I'm guessing no more than a year old. She weighs not quite 5.5 pounds...thin as can be. She has bug bites on her tender ears, and the pads of her feet have a few sores, likely from bug bites or thorns.
I am fairly certain that she is a Portuguese Podengo Pequeno. Her ears are as long as her legs, and she has the wiry coat and exact coloring to match the breed.
We cannot believe she survived as long as she did, three weeks, in the thicket of the ditch.
Alan's mother and father are keeping Frosty, but since they work away from the home all day during the week Frosty will come out to the farm during the day for 'doggy daycare'. Alan and I work from home, so Frosty can hang out with us during the day, and at the end of the day will go home again with John and Sue. Hopefully as a family we can work her through any abandonment issues she may have, and she will come to love her new BIG family.
She's not too keen on Daisy and Farley yet, though... she thinks they're awfully big. They really just want to play with her, and be her friend. Hopefully she warms up to them, and learns they're her family, too.
Shame, shame, on the people who left this little dog at the side of the road. Now, I suppose it is entirely possible that someone could have stopped for a "potty break", and the little dog got away from them. But if so, why weren't local authorities or neighbors contacted? Why wasn't a note posted on any one of the several street signs at the end of the road? There is one house within clear sight of the corner, within easy walking distance. If the owner simply "lost" the dog, I would think they would ask for assistance or leave their name and number if the dog was found. We will never know what truly happened. But given the frequency of dropped animals at the corner, we can assume Frosty wasn't just "lost".
Now, she's found.
