A Neighborhood to the Rescue

 (Photo by Diana Mendes, a dog-lover from an adjacent neighborhood who helped set the trap and check it.  She has visited the dog twice today that I know of.)

I started noticing the email thread on our neighborhood Yahoo Group on Sunday, May 6.  My neighbor down the block, who has raised four German Shepherd dogs, had spotted for the second time a clearly distressed female German Shepherd running through the neighborhood.

Soon sightings popped up every couple of hours on the listserv.  Attempts to lure the dog into capture were unsuccessful because she was frightened and completely unwilling to respond.  One such attempt, over the ensuing two days, ended with the dog running into traffic and into a moving taxicab. She bolted again, limping, and disappeared into the surrounding yards.

Concern for this desperate animal escalated among those of us who are active members of the listserv.  When someone who spotted her suggested the dog would most definitely need veterinary attention if we were lucky enough to catch her, offers of monetary help began pouring in, starting with one for $100! 
Determined not to spook the canine any more than she was, plans developed to procure a humane animal trap and bait it with food.  Our local vet – the one who has cared for Ms. Coqui Bishop, my 10 year-old Bichon Frise since she was 3 months old – agreed to allow the trap to be placed outside the animal hospital.  Although experts warned it was a long shot that the dog would take the bait, the trap was set up on Tuesday night.  That way, if the dog was captured, the vet would be able to sedate the dog, remove it from the trap and take it inside the hospital for evaluation.

One of the organizers of this effort went back to check the trap at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.  She was absolutely gobsmacked to discover the dog inside the trap.  They said it was not likely to happen.  They said the chances were very slim.  But there she was, growling and snarling in fear at the delighted volunteer.

This Wednesday morning, the vet moved the dog into the hospital where she was given a preliminary examination.  He reported the dog to be in “pretty good shape, considering.”  There were no tags and no microchip.  She appears to have been spayed, based on what the vet described as scar tissue in the area.

Of course we had to select a name for her.  We didn’t want to continue calling her “The German Shepherd.”  Wonderful names poured in:

Heidi
Grolsch (inside joke)
Inman (our neighborhood is Inman Park)
Miracle (for obvious reasons)
Butterfly (our neighborhood logo is a butterfly)
Beatrix (means voyager or traveler)
Ebba (means strong)
Grizelda,or Zelda for short (means Maiden of Iron or Grey Warrior)
Orlantha (means from the land.)
Euclid (for one of our main arterial streets)

Of course we will put her picture on Facebook with the hope her owner will spot it and claim her.  But I have a feeling she was meant to serve as a K-9 partner for the Inman Park Security Patrol, if she is still young enough to be trained.

Much has been written and broadcast about the evils and dangers of social media, and I know there are many.  But this is a sterling example of how the tools of the 21st Century can be used for the greater good.  This dog was rescued from a certain death by caring neighbors who were connected with technology.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Mr. Rogers.