A street-smart Yorkie mix is on its way to finding a permanent home thanks to a group of dog lovers who helped rescue it from a construction site.
The female dog, believed to be about 3 years old, was first noticed in late October in a housing subdivision under construction at SW 134 and May Avenue. As the days went by, the weather got colder, and the concern of Kelly Tanner and her father, Jack Birge, continued to grow.
“It started getting colder and colder, and we got more and more desperate,” Tanner said. “My dad, who could see her from his house in the neighborhood, built a doghouse and put it in a place where it would be protected from the wind. We could tell she was staying there because he would take food over and then it would be gone the next day.”
The list of people concerned about the dog, now known as Lucy, grew. Some days, as many as 30 people would drop off food or try to coax the dog out of the cold weather. Birge attempted to trap the dog but was unsuccessful. Somehow the dog managed to get the food inside the trap without getting trapped herself.
“We put food in a crate and put a 20-foot rope on it, but when she got inside, I pulled it too hard, and the door swung back open and she got out,” Tanner said.
Under the supervision of a volunteer veterinary technician, Lucy was given tranquilizers in an attempt to sedate her, but that didn't work either.
“She would get really relaxed, but not to the point where we could get her,” Tanner said. “That took a lot of effort, because her blood pressure could have gone way down because of the drugs. We had to keep an eye on her at all times.”
Even when a group of people surrounded Lucy's encampment in an effort to corral her, she managed to slip between the gaps and get away.
Finally, Brenda Myers, who runs Dogs as Family, a rescue group, was able to slip a leash around Lucy's neck as she munched on food. But even that required Myers to spend up to six hours a day at the site attempting to make Lucy more comfortable with her.
What's next
Despite her ordeal, Lucy is in good health overall. Her coat was matted down to the skin, which Myers said helped provide her with insulation during her stay in the cold weather.
“She has some issues to work through,” Myers said. “She needs to learn how to be a companion animal again. We give her lots of kisses — and she still shies away — but she's getting more comfortable. There are also some house-training issues we're working on. She's been outside for a while, so she hasn't had to practice those habits.”
Myers said Lucy has been checked by a veterinarian and had her teeth cleaned. She will be available to be adopted once she spends a little more time adjusting to being out of the wild.
None of that would have been possible without the interest from those who were concerned enough to care.
“The community really embraced her,” Tanner said. “She had a lot of people looking out for her and worried about her.”
12/13/2013
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