Max and Harold

 

It was a late afternoon, and my daughter and I were returning from the dentist. Tired and hungry, we traveled through one of my favorite scenic routes in the High Desert area. We came to a stop sign, but before we stopped, my daughter saw a dog sniffing around some brush directly below the stop sign. As we slowly stopped, the handsome boy walked right in front of the car, wagging his tail as if to greet a stranger. I jumped out to greet him. He was so friendly and HUGE for a pit bull.

At that point, I was thinking, "What am I going to do with this guy!" So I made a quick decision to have him go into the back seat of my car. We pulled into a nearby dirt lot. I looked at his tag, and it indicated that he was a California Assistant dog. Okay, so easy, right? No. It was a Monday at 4:00 in the afternoon. The shelter was closed. 😲 After posting on our neighborhood app sites for "Found" dogs, we waited. I walked him up the street with the only thing I had, a cell charger cord. "Hey, it worked!" I was hoping that someone would be driving frantically looking for their lost boy. In the meantime, we really didn't get any solid leads. An abundance of support but nothing to go on. Daylight was fading, and I knew that I couldn't keep him at our home. We have dogs! "What would he do?" "How would they react?" The only place that I could keep him is in the garage dog crate. "How would he do?" I pictured him tearing through that crate in the middle of the night, and me having to sleep next to him. Ugh.

I was able to find an emergency vet hospital where they were able to scan him for a chip. Success! Well, so I thought. It just led me to have to call Animal Control Services. I had to wait until the next day when they would be open for service. So, now it's nighttime, my daughter is home, and I am out with this lost doggy TRYING to figure out what to do with him for the night. I do remember the vet's office recommending a boarding facility. But it was after hours and closed. I called them anyway. I left a message of urgency in hopes of reaching some possible miracle. It started getting later, and this boy was so patient. I could see in his eyes that he was so thankful to be safe but at the same time searching outside the window for his family. I said to him, "Don't worry, Mr. Handsome, I'm going to find your owner." "But it won't be until tomorrow."

I said a prayer as I began the drive home. A few minutes passed by, and I received a phone call from the boarding facility. The lady there was nice enough to keep Mr. Handsome for the night. "Wow, there are some nice people in the world. And she was one of them!" He had a bowl of food, water, and a large dog bed to sleep on. He was set up! So the very next day, with the help of animal services, I was able to find his owner. The owner, Harold, had left a message with animal services, and sure enough, his ID # matched the address. Yay, success! Harold was so very happy to be reunited with "Max." Life was just not going well for Harold. He suffered a stroke recently, and his wife passed away a few months back. You see, around 6 years ago, Harold and his wife adopted "Max." She told Harold that she saw kindness in "Max's" eyes. Max was the only tie that Harold had to remember from his wife's passing. After hearing that story, I honestly believe that Harold's late wife helped me that day. She helped bring Max home.(Photo below) 

Credit: Annmarie Holbrook

 

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