Personal Post: Lost Dog - Found Dog

Driving down a busy street on Wednesday, I almost hit a puppy who was stuck mid-lanes, scared and not sure which way to run. In a bad decision, the pup darted to its right, and almost got hit by a big, white delivery truck. Thankfully, the truck screeched to a stop as I had done, and together, we blocked traffic on the road until the dog safety manuevered itself out of the street.

Pulling to the side of the road, the pup came right to me: a chocolate lab mix, with pretty green eyes, very friendly. Obviously someone's pet who had no street-smarts. This was a baby who was cared for: nails freshly clipped, clean, knows all about riding in a car. No tags, no collar. The dog knew some commands: sit, come.

So, I put the puppy in the back seat and took her to the nearby vet: no microchip. Brought the baby home, segregated the poor thing in a side courtyard (yes, I've done rescues before) and did the following:

1. Printed out signs "Found - Puppy" with my cellphone number and placed them at intersections near where I'd found the dog. (I learned in surfing the web that most dogs are found within a 2 mile radius of their home.) No personal info - the cellphone number, so far, isn't identifiable in some web listing. (Policeman-friend insisted on this anonimity.)

2. Called all vets in the surrounding area. There were four. (Lots of people, I learned, call vets to see if their dog has been brought in for care.)

3. Called the Animal Defense League and the Humane Society. Both are no-kill facilities.I never heard back from the ADL, but I spoke with the Humane Society.

At the Humane Society, you call at 8:30 each morning, to see if they have space. Sooner or later, you get in. Puppies and kittens get taken first - they have the biggest turnaround. (I would have to take the pup to the Humane Society, there was simply no way that our family -- especially my oldest dog, male and a Border Collie mix -- would be able to keep this adorable mutt.)

4. Placed an ad in the San Antonio Express-News -- they will run lost and found pet ads for three days, for free. Great community service.

5. Called several friends and found someone on stand-by to take the pup if the owner didn't appear.

And, voila! The next afternoon (after a noisy night of dogs barking and puppy crying - you know the scenario) the owner called.

What worked? The signs on the telephone poles at the street intersections. One of the owner's friends saw the sign, and called him.

Lesson I learned: Microchipping dogs can be a very good thing. The border collie I mentioned earlier doesn't have a chip, and I'm taking him in -- the Humane Society can do this for $25 and it takes less than a minute.

Sure, it may be painful for him: but that chip could get him back to me, if he ever got lost. I vote yes for microchipping your pet.

Anna Quindlen's Words for Simplifiers

Back in 2002, or maybe 2000, Anna Quindlen allegedly gave a commencement address at Villanova University, and what she purportedly said that day (and if she didn't, I wish she had) encouraged me, and I thought it might do the same for others who are out there, simplifying their lives today -- here's an excerpt:

"...So here is what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.

"Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

"Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Each time you look at your diploma, remember that you are still a student, still learning how to best treasure your connection to others.

"Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. Kiss your Mom. Hug your Dad. Get a life in which you are generous. Look around at the azaleas in the suburban neighborhood where you grew up; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black, black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.

"Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want ...."

The entire speech is too long for this little blog post, but I really encourage you to take the time and read it, word for word (click here).

I hope her words give you what they gave me: a reminder of how far I've come on this road to a simple, happy, peaceful and joy-filled life. Hurray!!!

Freecycle

Have you heard of Freecycle? Here's how Freecycle describes itself:

""The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,231 groups with 4,403,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!"

Freecycle involves signing up to a Yahoo Group, and receiving emails with lists of items people are searching for -- you add your wish list to the emails, too, of course.

When you see something on the list that you have and don't want, then you give it away. See something on the list that you want? Connect with the owner and get it for free ....

PCMag gives it a glowing review, although over at Yahoo's Frugal Living group, there have been some comments about posts seeking HDTVs and diamond rings. (I'm assuming that those posters are under the 'don't ask, don't get' banner.)

Personally, I haven't joined yet -- but it's on my to-do list. Sounds like a good way to recycle things, as well as meeting other folk who are interested in simplifying ....