| Late one night, I was out walking Sapphire and Argus and I saw a little Italian Greyhound running along the busy street by my house. I didn't know what to do! He wouldn't let me approach him. I called rescue, animal control, etc. I didn't see him again so I hoped he was OK. 4 weeks later I saw him again. Still out, thinner, and so scared. He wouldn't come near me or the dogs. So I took Sapph and Argus home, filled my pockets with treats, and tried to get him to approach me with those. No luck. Now I was starting to panic. This little guy was still out! I started making calls and didn't stop until I talked to someone this time. |
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| The extremly helpful lady with Italian Greyhound rescue said Iggies are usually crate trained and if I put a crate out he would probably get inside during the night. For many nights I put a crate out and left a treat trail all the way around the block. I put up flyers all around the neighborhood trying to get information about the little guy. I thought maybe an owner was looking for him and I could let them know where I was seeing him. I thought maybe someone else knew where he was "living." Nothing.
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Italian Greyhound rescue started researching, were there any loose Iggies anywhere? Were there any matching this ones description. We thought maybe he had been kidnapped. Across the country, there wasn't an Iggie missing that matched this boy's description. There were no missing Iggies listed in the papers or with any of the lost dog agencies. No one was looking for this boy. |
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| I finally got two calls in one week from women in my neighborhood. They had seen him and it looked like he was living in a house that was empty right now as it was being renovated. One woman said she saw him hauling a Del Taco bag down the street. I was getting so worried about this baby. But now I had a location. I had suspected this house but I didn't get in there and look around too hard because I didn't want to scare him away from it. It was a safe place for him to be. |
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| I rented a humane trap from a pet store. Skunks come down from the hills and wander around this neighborhood and I was sure I was going to catch one! I got great advice from my contact with Italian Greyhound rescue. I set the trap next to the house he was supposed to be living in. I had all sorts of fancy plans to get up every couple hours and check the trap, etc. I went back after one hour because I couldn't wait and I had caught him! |
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| His very first reaction was to look up at me and growl, but I can't say as I blame him. After that first little growl, he never did it again. He just looked really scared. I took the whole trap, put it in the backseat of my car and we went home. I talked to him all the way. I told him who I was, why I had trapped him, where we were going and what he could expect there. He was pretty quiet. We went upstairs, I put Sapph and Argus in the other room. I figured the little guy had enough going on he didn't need those two hovering over him. And I honestly didn't know how he was going to behave. Knowing that he had been on his own for at least 4 weeks (and it was likely even longer!) I fully expected him to be completely freaked out for a long time. I was ready to work with him like we had worked with Garbo. I was very nervous to let him out of the trap. I didn't know what he was going to do. Yeah he was a little guy but he might go at me. I'm sure he wasn't crazy about people considering that it looked like someone abandoned him. But I took a chance and just opened the trap and let him come out. He came out of the trap kinda slowly. He sniffed the carpet for a second and then he turned and looked at me. I held my breath. If he went after me I didn't want to hurt him. He came right up to me, planted his front paws on my chest and started licking my face like crazy! I was being thanked. He alternated between sniffing this new place and kissing me for a while. I finally brought out the big dogs who sniffed and sniffed him. He was wagging like crazy. This was good. Obviously he liked other dogs and he wasn't scared of big ones. That was when I dubbed him Odie. Odie came from the fact that he had experienced his own great odyssey. And he had a big white O on his hip. Very cute. He was painfully thin, some sores on the backs of his legs, and his tail had been broken at one time and the last 3 inches healed in a perfect 90 degree angle from the rest of the tail (You can see it in the pictures above). But otherwise he was in pretty good shape. I guess the Del Taco agreed with him! That was Easter weekend so I couldn't take him to the vet until Monday. They gave me some antibiotics and wormer just because he had been living outside for a while. That was it. He put on weight quite fast but he loved eating so much and I loved giving him treats that it wasn't a battle. He was so affectionate and loving from day one. That first night he slept in my bed under the covers. I love him so much. Writing about him now makes me misty (but I cry easily anyway). Why did I let him go to another home? He got along great with my dogs, he and Sapphire were great pals and I was yelling "not in the house!" a lot. But that is a good thing when you have to say that. It means they are having fun. I knew Odie would be happier with another Italian Greyhound. A friend of mine who is active in greyhound rescue had his own 11 year old Iggie who he doted on. I knew Odie would love Stanley and vice versa, I knew Odie would keep Stanley young and I knew Odie would be going to a loving forever home. I miss him still. He is a kook! |
