kangahop's Journal

If you're an animal lover, this is a story for you!

The neighborhood that I live in is full of pet lovers, and almost everyone has pets. Plus, most of the neighbors know everyone's pets by name. It's a great situation for us animal lovers.

Last Wednesday, one of the neighbors was greeted by a dog that appeared from nowhere. No one knew him. He seemed to be friendly, and his fur around his neck was indented. like he had been wearing a collar and it had somehow come off. One of the neighbors, who has earned the title 'The Dog Magnet', of course was the first to become his friend. Since she has indoor pets and no basement, she called and asked if he could hang out in my basement during her work hours until we could try to locate his family. So, since I'm in the animal lover's 'club', this was no big deal to me, and he came up with her when she left for work. We found out rather quickly how smart this fella is....very gentle, housetrained, and a great manicure and pedicure. Loves to ride. Has a good vocabulary...words like 'ride' 'treat', and 'ball' were all recognized. We knew somebody was missing a family pet or a service dog! He got along great with other animals, and with kids, too. Hm.....  Since he showed up on a cold day when the aches and pains were at high levels, I called him Arthur!

So, Arthur had an interesting couple of days. The neighbor walked and drove him for hours, trying to find his owners, knocking on doors, making phone calls to local vet offices, SPCA, dog pound, wherever we could think of to call. We were all checking the local newspaper, and they got a phone call, too. Everyone around here was passing the word as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we were all becoming attached to Arthur. He seemed to be the perfect house guest, except for being afraid of the dark. Easy fix....cut on a light for him! Even the other pets in the neighborhood became friends with him. Very easy-going fella.

Okay, on with the story. While the neighbor was working yesterday, she made a few more calls here and there. Lo and behold, the SPCA had a missing dog report for a fella that fit the description! She called from work, and asked me to see if I could get him to respond to the name 'Bosox'. He responded with one of those head turns and licking his mouth, like he knew what I was talking about. The neighbor had found this sweet doggie's family!!

After learning his name, I took him for a stroll in the yard, and kept talking to him and calling him Bosox. He was becoming happier and happier, and even played with my dog's football for awhile. Obviously, somebody had played football with him before!

When the neighbor got home from work, she called the owner. He lives about 4 miles from the neighborhood, and is a police officer. He came over with his 2 kids. As soon as Bosox saw their vehicle, and then saw them, he was barking and wagging his tail! The two kids ran straight to their dog, and so did their dad! Bosox had been a bit nervous and obviously lost for a few days, but that disappeared as soon as he saw his family! He had been with them since he was a puppy, and is an indoor/outdoor dog. When he was outdoors, he managed to get out of his collar and away from his tieout and apparently had been traveling thru the woods for a few hours, and ended up here. He plays alot of football and tennis with his family, and we knew there was something about a school bus with him. Apparently, when the kids get home from school, they hang out with him before they do anything else. His 'dad' said he had him since he was a puppy, and had played with him alot, too. They were all glad to see one another again! Happy kids and dad; happy dog. Lotsa smiles in the neighborhood, and lotsa smiles in a neighborhood 4 miles from here. Happy ending for everyone!