January 13, 2005
DOG FOUND AND RESCUED IN INDIANAPOLIS
Yesterday morning, while on my drive into the office, I found myself stopped at the intersection of Fall Creek and Delaware, where a dog's yelping peaked my interest. I looked to see if any of the cars surrounding mine had a dog, and when I noticed that none of them did, I began to wonder where the barking was coming from. From where my car was situated, the yelping was so immediate and forceful that it sounded as if it was coming from underneath *my* car.
As the light at the intersection turned green, again I heard the same sound, but this time it was sustained for a good five seconds. With all of the cars around mine proceeding forward and on thru the intersection, it became alarmingly clear that the dog's bark was coming from the side of the road. One good turn of my neck to the right, and thru the passenger-side window I saw it... a dog's tail sticking up in the air, waving back and forth, but in a stationary position. I turned on my car's emergency blinker, opened the driver's side door, and went around the car to see what was up with Mr. Barking Tail.
On the other side of the guard rail was a dog that appeared to be stuck in an awkward position just off to the side of the Parkway. Below it was the roaring Fall Creek--which is running high and fast right now because of all the rain we've been getting here in central Indiana--and above the dog was me, the guard rail, and a moderately busy Fall Creek Parkway. From what I could see, it looked like the dog was injured. He was barking, whining and yelping, but not moving any further than a few inches from where he was standing--which was ten feet from the road, and halfway down a 20-foot embankment leading towards Fall Creek. Here's a picture of what I saw (because of the high brush between me and the dog, it's not all that obvious that there's a dog in there, but trust me... there's a dog in there):
As soon as I attempted to move down the embankment, the dog growled and showed his teeth. Clearly, Mr. Barking Tail was in no mood for visitors, but he also wasn't moving on his own. The only thing I could think to do was to call 911, which I did. The friendly 911 operator told me that there was nothing she could do; that I needed to call Animal Control. I asked her if she could connect me with that agency, which resulted in a response of, "Sorry, I can't do that, but I can give you the number." As luck would have it, the moment I hung up with 911, my cell phone went dead (I neglected to plug it in before bed on Tuesday night, so I had only enough juice to make the one call to 911.)
So, there I am, standing on the side of Fall Creek Parkway, holding my phone up in the air, gesturing to passing cars, as if to say, does anyone have a phone I can use? Eventually, a nice woman named Cindy decided to stop and ask what was gong on (again, you have to picture this... I'm standing on the side of the road waving a cell phone in the air, and my car is blocking one of two lanes of traffic headed in the eastern direction... not too many people where interested in stopping... not when they were most likely already late for work themselves). Cindy let me use her cell phone to call Animal Control, and while we waited together for someone to show up, she attempted to feed the dog part of her lunch. Mind you, we couldn't get all that close to the pooch for fear of scaring him off the log or of him attacking, and the brush was so think that it seemed impossible to get down to where he was situated. Cindy was determined though, and she wouldn't give up. She tossed pieces of her sandwich closer and closer to the dog until he was finally able to reach out for a few bites. MmmmÖ sandwichÖ Mr. Barking Tail happier now!
After 20 minutes and another call to Animal Control, a police officer drove by and asked me what was going on. When I told her that there was an injured dog off to the side of the road, she said that she couldn't stop to help because --and I'm quoting her on this one... "I can't help you right now; I'm my way to a crime."
Cindy was having so much luck with getting the dog to eat her lunch, that I decided that it was safe enough to go all the way down to the where the dog was standing to see exactly what was keeping him from moving from the exact same position for some 45 minutes or so. As soon as I got closer, it became very obvious why he wasn't moving. Here's a close up shot, with the Creek behind me (Iím the photographer), and Fall Creek Parkway behind and up the embankment from the dog:
See that red thing hanging from the dog's neck? That's a 25-foot cord that's attached to his collar (a collar which had no dog tags, by the way). The cord was wrapped around a bunch of branches and over and under at least three different fallen trees. There was no way on earth that the dog was going to get free on his own, and lucky for me he was happy by this point to have me come closer and set him free.
Five minutes later, after freeing him from the brush, fido was in the backseat of my rental car--muddy paws and all--and we were on our way to the Indianapolis Humane Society, where "Delaware the Dog" now resides (that's what I named him, on account of finding him near the corner of Fall Creek and Delaware). He and I both are hoping that his owner comes to the Humane Society looking for him, or that he passes the Humane Society's aggression test so he can be put up for adoption into a loving and caring home. Here's a shot of Delaware and me just before saying goodbye:
If I were allowed to have dogs where I live, I'd adopt this one in a jiffy. He was so nice after being set free. I spent a good hour-and-a-half with him in the car and at the Indianapolis Humane Society. If you know this dog, or if you think you'd be interested in adopting him, here's a link to his record on the Humane Society website.
Posted by Mikal at January 13, 2005 7:45 AM
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Hi Mikal...
Great to meet you yesterday! How gratifying to meet someone who appreciates the value in ALL life (Remember all the people who stopped and asked what was going on, only to express disappointment when they discovered that it was "only a dog" - their words, not ours. Geez!)
I must say though, I'm NOT in favor of returning this sweet little guy to his former home. Considering his overly-tight collar and that nasty apparatus attached to him (which obviously was used to tether him in a back yard) I can only surmise that he was indeed neglected to some degree. He deserves better, and it's clear why he opted to make a run for it.
So all in all, I think Delaware is a pretty lucky guy. He took a chance, and I'm sure that as a result, he will have a better life ahead of him.
I have to admit that I'm one of those people who believes that there are no accidents in life. If we take the time to reflect upon this, I'm sure there are many lessons to be gleaned from this experience.
And to the compassionate person who opens their heart and brings Delaware into their life: You will be rewarded with undying gratitude from this wonderful little guy. Believe me, dogs never forget!
Best wishes...
Cindy
