Dogs

I decided, as it was looking to be a pleasant day today to head off for a walk. On the way, I'd do a bit of geocaching too. A great thing Spot and I have found with geocaching is it will take you places you may not have thought of going for a walk, but which turn out very pleasant anyway.

About an hour into the walk (with one cache already picked up), I notice a car swerving for something at the side of the road. From the distance, I couldn't really make out what it was, but I suspected it was a dog. As I drew closer, it was a gorgeous, scared lurcher. As I approached, I saw she was terrified and was lame on one leg. Initially, she moved off as I approached, but I just let her calm down and settle.

In the meantime, I called the local dog warden to report her. As I was walking and she was lame, I couldn't bring her home. I couldn't speak to the warden direct at the time, but gave a 6-figure grid reference for my location. Well, that's where my trouble started. Shortly after that phone call, a warden called me back. "Err, where are you? We didn't use grid references, just our sat-navs which need postcodes" [At this point, I am on a rural road which, funnily enough does not have a postcode. Grrr]. I explained where I was and that I was happy to wait with the dog.

As I waited, the dog calmed down and I managed to clap her. I just don't understand why someone would have abandoned her. Okay, she was injured, but taking her to the vet is part of the responsibility of pet ownership. She was such a good natured wee dog. Even when terrified out of her wits, she never once showed the slightest bit of aggression towards me (or the warden for that matter).

I didn't have to wait too long. The warden explained that, unfortunately, lurchers are often abandoned. He was taking her to the vets for treatment of her lameness. Fingers crossed she makes a full recovery and, if not calmed by her owners, finds a good home.