My dog found a dog. I was with my dog at the time.

[alittlelark]

I was in the Ojito wilderness at the time of the discovery.

She was small, terrified, and VOCAL.

She was clinging to a dog bed. My giant husky mix dude KNEW she needed help - he called me. People from Albuquerque dump dogs here regularly. I have never found one with a DOG BED.


It has been 2 weeks with 'Callista - Cali for short.

She came into my life for a reason. I have a retired vet 4 houses down from me. He told me that she is a pureblood basset hound about 6 mo old. I thought her leg was broken because she couldn't use it - he told me if it had been broken it had already calcified, so it must have happened months ago in her young life, Her leg is fine now, likely just a sprain and she uses it to jump up to inappropriate things.....

She has been thru some serious shit - it culminated in her getting dumped in the middle of nowhere (3 miles to ANYWHERE). I live at the base of Cat Mesa - it is called Cat Mesa for a reason - Mountain Lions are here every night. My cats NEVER go out at night

If she cannot see me she howls. The Basset Rescue 'All Ears' in Albuquerque wants her. I am learning to 'let go'..... or trying to. I KNOW she will be food to the Cat Mesa crowd if she is outdoors alone.

Sometimes our worlds are not describable - but they Mean So Much

She is teaching me to LET GO................IT HURTS.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Thank you for rescuing her.

I absolutely do not understand people who abandon their pets. There really needs to be a special hell for them.

I happen to be a cat person, and all the cats I've had as an adult are some kind of rescue. My current one came to the local shelter as a stray, and I am so glad she is in my life. I really want a second cat, and keep on looking at what they have there.

Again, thank you for rescuing her.

[alittlelark]

2. Learning to 'let go'

is hard.




It hurtz......

[RainCaster]

7. Scent hounds are wonderful creatures

Very different from huskies. Cali will be a non-alpha who wants you as pack leader. No discussion needed. They were bred for one thing - to follow their noses. That means that when she gets on a scent, she will be nose down, tail up & ears off. If you can learn to appreciate that, then you should keep her, as you are her hero right now. If you have misgivings about that difference of temperments, then let the hound rescue take her, because they will understand all those idiosyncrasies.
Good for you, taking her on and keeping her from the kitties.

[slightlv]

3. Rescuing cats and rehoming them through the years,

I had to learn that lesson. After a few months of socializing them, letting them go is heartbreaking. I also had a mixed lab end up in my yard complete with a broken leg. I helped as much as I could, and then spent hours emailing and calling shelters and rescues for help. We were living on one salary, and couldn't afford a vet bill like that, but dang... that dog was so loving and scared and so appreciative for any little thing we'd do for her. I finally got a call from a rescue out in the country who said they'd take her, and it was because of the way I'd described her and my passion for getting her help. They fixed her leg and she found friends to socialize with, both 2-legged and 4-legged, before she found a forever home.

But the best was the day my cocker spaniel "adopted" a dumped border collie puppy for himself. He brought him home, and this one made him home with us. The rescue would have taken him, but that first night, he proved who he was by insisting we get out of our bed and go into the family room -- it was on fire! I named him Einstein. And he lived up to his name. I didn't know if I'd live through his puppyhood at times; we nicknamed him "bouncy dog." But dang, he was a good dog. We lost him just 2 years ago, and we still miss him everyday. Sometimes letting go comes in different tests. This one, I think, hubby and I fail at times.

[japple]

4. Are you positive that she was abandoned? Please post her picture on lost/found

sites in your community. Take her to your vet to see if she has a chip. Contact Basset rescue groups in your state. I can't imagine that Bassets are all that common in your neck of the woods.

[alittlelark]

10. No chip, dumped 3+ miles from any human settlement.......

It happens out here all the time - but this is the first one I had seen with A BED. For some reason that freaks me out.

[japple]

18. Poor baby. Bless you for helping her. I live in a rural redneck area and people

dump cats and puppies all the time. I cringe every time I see a cardboard box by the highway.

[cate94]

5. Thank you for helping her

You are a hero so is your husky mix.

[SheltieLover]

6. Can you keep her?

Ty so much for helping her!

[alittlelark]

13. My Pax wants to keep her

He is an 80 lb husky mix. When he goes outside he is safe. When Cali goes outside she needs Pax or me to be safe. I live in an area that is visited by mountain lions every night. I have arroyos on both the south and north sides of my property - mountain lions are here every night.

They are BEAUTIFUL, Smart, and deadly.

[SheltieLover]

17. Take her out onaleash before cats come around

Pull her water early, if need be.

Pax says "Finders keepers, Mom!"

They have a very special bond.

[raising2moredems]

8. I also live in a high dump area..

With plenty of coyotes (and some very large raccoons). Had a big boy (feline) show up mid-December. The next week, we knew cold weather was coming. Attempt one to get him in the garage failed but attempt two did not. He'd been an inside cat, no doubt about it. He was NOT even a year old and of course, not neutered and not chipped (not that we'd have given him back). Absolutely NO ads for a lost cat fitting his description - kid and I scoured all the websites. He's now neutered, vaccinated, and spoiled. Thankful we have the financial means to do the neuter/vaccinating plus initial blood work (no feline leukemia or kitty aids).
So thank you very much for bringing her in and I feel your pain with the let go. We've had to trap a few "dumps" who we knew were probably all euthanized. All but one were not in good health (visual and behavior), not sure about the one. But yes, better than what would have likely happened. All but one of our fur-babies (canine and feline) were rescues/from the shelter.
I've NEVER understood the thinking of "well if I take to the local shelter, they'll euthanize". You think the animal ACTUALLY has a better chance on the streets/dumped out in the country?
Yes there is a special hell for those who mistreat animals. May they never cross my path.

[niyad]

9. Thank you and your baby for rescuing Cali.

[bluboid]

11. whoa - so beautiful to know people like you & your pooch,

through DU, who care about the welfare of dumped animals. good karma!

[Ziggysmom]

12. I think animals come into our lives for a reason. Possibly to teach us about love and

understanding; then they depart to teach us about loss. They change us forever.

Bless you for rescuing this gentle angel.

[Jilly_in_VA]

14. I HATE people who dump animals!

I used to live near a street/highway that bordered a large open field or series of vacant lots. People dumped animals there all the time, which is how we got our Best Cat Ever. The Best Dog Ever is another story, too long to tell here. After they took up residence, I swear they put our name on the street as a "safe house" because stray cats and dogs would wander in to the yard all the time. We couldn't keep them all and were constantly calling the humane society for pickup or trying to rehome them. It was really frustrating. There was one dog I would like to have kept. She was a middle-sized black female with silky fur who wandered in on a Friday morning of a long weekend. I called her "Bette Noir". She was very sweet, but our Porsche let me know in no uncertain terms that she was the Only Dog and that was how it was. I had to turn her in and I felt awful about it. I couldn't even keep her long enough to try to find her a home myself.

[JoeOtterbein]

15. Thanks for saving her! We found our own little kitty, "Buddy" on...

...our driveway. My wife heard him crying and looked out to see the kitten looking like he wanted to get back home.

She didn't need to tell me more since we live on a PA state highway, so I ran out to retrieve him.

He ran down the block a few houses to hide in bushes and eventually across the highway. Although he kept running away from me he was easy to follow because he was crying the whole time. I was finally able to grab him from under a bush and toss him into a cat crate, with only a few scratches to my arm.

When I let him loose in our house, he made quick friends with our other two cats. Like he always lived with all of us. So we named him "Buddy".

I posted on all the lost pets sites to see if he was some ones' pet.

A nice lady responded and took him to be vaccinated for us. After she visited with her very young daughter to see him, and a few other clues, I realized she may have been the one who "abandoned" Buddy.

She knew from my posts that I would take care of him and felt guilty.

As soon as the nice lady and her little daughter appeared, they were gone.

And all is still good with our little Buddy.

[alittlelark]

16. I am a serious 'cat person' My attic is infested with ferals

Where I live it is what it is.....

I am happy to know that Buddy has a home.

[Bird Lady]

19. I live in Albuquerque

I would love to adopt her. I have been looking for another dog and would like to be introduced to Callista.
DM me if you are still looking for someone to take her. I have a 11 yr old Brussels Griffon who would love to have a sister.

[alittlelark]

20. I sent u a message.

[Bird Lady]

21. got it, thanks. nt