This fall on garbage day my neighbor knocked on my door.
Since I bike around the neighborhood, she wanted to know if I knew this dog.
I am pretty sure I would remember this face! I did not. My
neighbor is a big walker and she didn’t recognize her either. The dog then
plopped down on my front walk. I got her some water and our afternoon together
began.
I am friendly with many neighbors so it wasn’t hard to
solicit a leash, collar and kibble for the pooch. We are a cat family.
Since it was a beautiful day and it appeared to be a school
free day, the neighborhood was buzzing. My office is in the back of my home so
I don’t see the street. We have a corner lot but it is all treed and private
which is great except when you want to do some neighborhood sleuthing and get
work done at the same time!
I gave up on the work and set out to find this girl’s home.
She wasn’t a pup and I didn’t think she could have wandered far. I put up
posters around the neighborhood, notified the appropriate agencies and placed 2
listings on Craig’s list. I stopped everyone who walked or rode their bike past
my house to take a look at the dog and rack their brain if they recognized her.
I named her Wanda and hoped closer to the dinner hour her
owners would come home and get her. She was happy to hang out with me and nap
on the front porch.
Around 5, her owners claimed her. Her real name is Betsy and
she is almost 8. She has been acting irritable lately, eating and sleeping
more. They don’t know how she got out of the house and yard but this is the
second time she has taken off.
The young family was thrilled she wandered just 2 blocks to
my house and was safe. They were very grateful. She has been moved to this new
house and yard and neighborhood. That’s a lot of change for what I think is a
menopausal dog. No wonder Betsy felt
comfortable with me, 2 menopausal gals hanging out on a lovely day!


