His Name Is Diamond

"That Boxer is loose on 30th St again," Sue from dispatch advised me as I walked in the door that morning. "Damn," I muttered under my breath. If there ever was a dog that I wanted to just disappear, it was this one. Three weeks of reports on the "ghost dog" and we had never seen him. I swore that when I found the owner, I was going to throw the book at them.

"Alright", I said "Do we have an officer in the area?" "Peg's out there, and she can't get close to him" Sue responded. So I was on my way to 30th St. to chase the uncatchable hound. As I rounded the corner in front of the reporting party's address, I saw our road officer Peg talking with the complainant. I had the live trap for dogs in the back of my truck. I was determined to catch this hound TODAY and I was through playing games with him. "Stupid dog keeps coming in my garden and tearing everything up" the gentleman was screaming at Peg as I got out of the truck. "Why can't you people just do your damn job and shoot that nuisance?" Peg calmed the guy down and I explained that I had the trap with me. After he indicated where the dog was hanging around, I set the trap and baited it with canned food. As I stood up, I looked across his immense back yard and lo and behold! Boxer brat was about 75 yards away looking at me!

Cautiously I reached into my pocket to check for a leash. Yes, I had one. "Hey handsome" I called to him, "How are ya do….". Mr. Brindle butt didn't even let me finish. He took off like a rocket, jumped the fence like a gazelle and let me see the greatest hind view of a Boxer in action that I could ever wish for! Peg saw him shoot out onto the next street and then he disappeared into an overgrown lot. "Great!" I exclaimed, "I really needed to be on weed patrol today!" I crossed the huge back yard and jumped the fence (not nearly as gracefully as HE had) and proceeded to shove my way through the small forest of underbrush until I came out on the other side to meet Peg. Ghost dog was gone.

Two days the trap went untouched and the calls kept coming in. One lady said the dog slept in the field behind her, and maybe we could sneak up on him while he was dozing. Hah! Officer Johnson moved the trap to another location on the third day and finally, the amazing disappearing Boxer got caught! I was so looking forward to meeting the rascal face to face. I couldn't wait for the owner to call on him. I was going to enjoy this to the max!

I jaunted up to the kennels, eager to see the newest jailbird. As I stood in front of his kennel, I began to melt and all the hostility I had felt for this dog made me feel ashamed of myself. He was a pretty good-looking guy, reverse brindle with flashy chrome. Ears cropped and oh-my-gosh NEUTERED! He was young, maybe 10-12 months and scared to death. As he shivered in the corner of his kennel, I felt about 2 inches tall. Surely this was not the same arrogant beast that had avoided my attempts to capture him for so long? I opened the gate and went inside. As I sat on his bench and talked to him, he slid closer and closer. He eventually slid right into my lap and gave me sloppy Boxer kisses. He quickly won the hearts of all my kennel attendants and a suitable adopter. His owners never called and he went to his new home as a happy and confident dog. We suggested his name should be "Diamond" as he truly was a "diamond in the rough".

I often wonder why a normally social and friendly dog can be like this. Since they cannot tell us their story, I can only theorize. When he first started showing up on people's property, they probably took matters in their own hands and chased him off. Yelling, throwing things, and even shooting are the greetings many stray dogs get from property owners. These people's intentions are to drive the dog back home. In the case of Diamond, he had no home to return to, but still remained in the area he had grown used to. Was he dumped? Was he stolen and then lost? Was he frightened away from his home and couldn't find his way back? Why weren't his owners looking for him? I dunno, but he deserved the benefit of the doubt as all stray animals do. Don't try to drive them back home, because that place may not exist.