Stray

On Monday night, around 1:00-2:00 a.m., I heard the most pitiful wailing somewhere across the street from me. After a couple of trips outside in the cold rain, I tracked it down to my neighbor's porch across the street.

A shivering, whimpering black chihuahua was huddled up against her front door and would have nothing to do with me. Nonetheless, I got a box from my house, put some dry newspaper in the bottom, and placed it at an angle against her house on her porch. I don't know if he slept in it, but he did stay quiet for the rest of the night.

Tuesday I posted on my neighborhood's Yahoo group about the unfortunate creature and a day later a neighbor says that he spotted him on his neighbor's porch and he ran. He finally tracked him down to the house across from me, but couldn't catch him.

Last night I felt I needed to explain the empty box to my neighbor and she was home the first night but slept through the whole thing!

A trap was located and borrowed this evening and I told my neighbor our intentions to try and catch the little guy. Before I could finish my dinner and we could set the trap, she calls to tell me that he was back and had followed her into her house. In fact, he was sitting on her lap.

She couldn't stay because she was off to the airport to pick up family, so I raced across the street with Maisy's musty crate from the basement. She had to put him in the crate though, because he still wasn't sure about me.

I hated to see him so scared. Gave him food and water and he just wailed the whole time he was in the crate. But he growled at Maisy and not knowing about his temperament or health, I couldn't just let him roam the house.

The crate was really musty smelling, so I dog-proofed the bathroom before letting him out of the crate while I cleaned it.
The bathroom is just about the only room in my house with a door that actually closes. This happens in a house built in 1914.

Once out of the crate I could get a better look at him. He's so thin. You can see his backbone. He has no collar, so if he ever was someone's pet it's been quite a while since he was cared for.

He finished eating his food and drank some more water and then decided I wasn't so bad after all. He sniffed the whole room and took advantage of a clean spot on the floor to make a deposit. Easily cleared away.

A scratch behind his ears left him wanting more. He's definitely been around humans before. He certainly knew what was on the other side of my neighbor's door when he scratched on it the other night.

Another neighbor is coming to pick him up tomorrow. He runs a boarding, grooming, shelter business around the corner. I know they will look for a good home for him. I think he will make a nice pet for someone. He just needs to get healthy and gain some confidence.

I had folded a towel up to put in the crate for him, but as I was letting him smell it, he just crawled right onto it and lay down. He even gave a little tail wag after a goodnight head scratch. I turned on the nightlight and shut the door.

He'll be at Head to Tail Animal Care on 1st Avenue North if anyone's interested.

He's found a home and a backup to spare!