It
was a cold morning back in November. I had lifted the shades in our bedroom to
let more light in, and saw what looked like a silhouette of a very thin dog
running around our backyard. I actually had to stare for a while to make sure I
wasn't seeing things. I put on my warm boots and robe and braved the cold to
try and get a closer glimpse of our new visitor. As soon as she spotted
me coming near, she gave me a little growl and ran with her tail between her
legs underneath our shed. I have no idea of how long she has lived underneath
our shed, or how she got there. All we knew is that she was super skinny and needed some food
and water, which we gladly provided.
1st photo
After a month of feeding her.
For
the last couple of months we have been feeding this mystery dog and trying to
convince her to come out of her home underneath the shed. We used treats
and other things to try and get her to come out, but she wouldn't budge. We had
decided early on that we didn't want to call animal control on her because we
thought that since she was so skittish and didn't like human contact that she
might get put down right way. I was able to get some sneak photo shots of
her wondering around our backyard and I listed a found dog notice on Craigslist
and the local paper, but nobody responded to the notices. We figured
until we got a response, or decided what to do with her. We thought it was
better to just let her live under the shed and see if she would come around on
her own time.
It
was interesting and frustrating to watch her from the back windows running
around our backyard. It was interesting to see how she would bark at neighbors
walking by with their dogs as if she was protecting our yard, but frustrating
because she wouldn't let me get near her to hold her. She seemed like a sweet
dog, but we wondered if she would ever be able to handle human contact.
This
frustration got the best of me this past Tuesday. The Señor had a freezer
burned steak taking up room in our fridge, so we decided to cook it up and
tempt the dog out with it. We organized a mission and called it Operation Get Shed Dog. We went out to
our backyard and I tempted her with the steak while the Señor hid behind the
shed. I put a trail of steak coming away from the shed and then went inside and
closed the door. I watched with anticipation as the dog came out of the shed to
eat yummy steak. This is when we made our move. The Señor quickly moved
and blocked the shed entrance with a cinder block. We were able to corner her
and held her till she loved us! She was shaking terribly, but eventually calmed
down and ate the rest of the steak. Operation
Get Shed Dog was a huge success. We have had some dodgy moments with the
pup as she was still really cautious around us, but she has quickly adapted and is very loving and friendly.
Today
we took the pup to get scanned for a microchip at an animal clinic near
by. I'll admit I was very nervous to find out if she had a microchip or
not. Over the course of a week I have grown to love this dog so much, it would
be hard on my heart to give her up. I did know however, that it would be the
right thing to do. So with high hopes I brought her in and the tech asked me "What’s
your dog's name?" I responded quickly, saying Shed. The tech waved what looked a huge wand over her scanning for a microchip, and didn't find one. At this moment I gave Shed the biggest hug and tears immediately started streaming down my
face. I couldn't control myself, but I was elated to have Shed as part of our
family.
So
without further adieu,
I
introduce you to our new four-legged friend.
