| ABC Dog School |
| HELP THESE DOGS |
| copyright 2009 Carole J Sulser |
| Stormy Weather |
| On June 29, 2008, we have thunder storms and ominous skies all day. During one of the storms, I check to see how the dogs next door are faring, since they can't always get into their boxes. I see Chloe, the boarder, outside her pen, trying to get back in. She had been put in one of the small pens the Mrs. built recently, with the Ruff Hauz dog house, and has apparently climbed out. She is tethered and stuck. Not only is she getting soaked, but she seems to be afraid of the thunder. The tan pup seems to be tied outside of the pens with no shelter. Later I hear a ruckus and see the neighbors in the yard. It's an hour before the Mrs. tries to get Chloe into the pen. First she pulls the fence up and tries to shove her through the hole. Then she unhooks the cable and tries to hoist her over the fence. Failing that, she takes her around to the back of the pen, opens up the fence there, and puts her in. There's a blue collar on the dog, but the cable is hooked onto a choker chain! The plastic over the pens is full of water and hanging down into them. There are puppies in a pen with only a small plastic crate for shelter, which has to be pretty wet inside, and probably too small for everyone to get into anyway. While the Mrs. is at the back of the pens dumping water out of the plastic and putting it back up, Chloe crawls back out the front. She spends the rest of the afternoon there. It isn't long before I notice a pup in another pen that looks like it's hanging, I can't see much, but it's front leg is making slow circular movements as though it's getting weak. I'm trembling, thinking I'm watching a dog die. Then it goes down on all fours and it's okay. Then I see another tan pup, standing on it's hind feet with the front ones on the fence, facing me. He looks a little strange just standing there, so I watch him for awhile. Then I see him try to get down and he can't because he's caught on the fence. Each time I look, he's still there, not saying a word. He appears to be getting very tired, but when he takes his front feet off the fence, he swings in his collar, or whatever is caught on the fence. After an hour of this, I'm really worried. We have not been on speaking terms since the big blowup, so I'm not about to call her. It's Sunday, so a call to the dog pound won't help. I'll just get an answering machine. I end up calling the sheriff's department, and they notifiy the owner of the dog's predicument. The Mrs. comes out of the tailer, looks at the dogs, not knowing which one is in trouble, looks over at my house, and then she spots the pup standing there. Since there is no gate, she has to lean over the fence to get to him, but is unable to get him free. After struggling with it awhile, she gets her husband to help. He has no success either, so she goes around to the other side of the pen, opens up the fence, and goes inside. It takes the two of them a little longer to finally get that poor dog loose. I don't see him in the pen after that, and don't know where she has put him. I go away for a couple of hours. When I get home, Chloe is still outside the pen, but now the dog house is outside, too. We have another storm, and she's able to get in. |
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| ABC Dog School |
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