His Name Was D.O.G

The kind lady on the other side of the counter waited patiently with the Shepherd mixed pup draped calmly over her arm. I was right in the middle of returning a stray dog to it's owner, and the phones were being merciless. As I swept up one phone and put it on hold, I clicked to intercom and paged the kennels to bring down the stray Setter that the owner was here for. Now, finally, I could admit the puppy. I started filling in the blanks on the receiving form. Breed: Shepherd mix, Age: 10 weeks, Sex: Male, Color: Black and Tan, Collar: None. The pup had been found running loose, and this good Samaritan had rescued him from the busy street by her house.

As I continued gathering information, the Setter's owner who was waiting for her dog, slid closer. The puppy wriggled in anticipation of this stranger coming closer, straining his head out for a pat and a lick. The lady holding the pup allowed the other woman to pet the pup while I prepared vaccinations for it.

"What a beautiful puppy!" the Setter's owner exclaimed. The good Samaritan explained that it was a stray she had found, and then, to my horror, said, "Would you like to have him?" I quickly intercepted with the vaccine to give the puppy, gently maneuvering the pup into my arms and around to the other side of the counter. The Setter's owner was getting that weepy, tempted look on her face. I explained to the lady that had found the pup that since it was a stray, we would have to try and find the owner first. The owner of the Setter commented on how much she would love to have the pup and good Samaritan shot me a glance that could have wilted a stone.

The Setter came through the back door and I quickly and curtly ushered the owner and her dog out the door. The lady was now staring daggers at me. "I would like to take the pup back home with me," she said in a short, angered voice. I questioned her as to why, she had already stated that she could not keep the pup. Her eyes were piercing as she tried to control her voice. "That pup could have just had a home, and you rudely interrupted, and ran that woman off!" she said. "If that is how you operate, this pup doesn't stand a chance of finding a home with the likes of you!". I took a deep breath, and gave her my explanation.
"I'm sorry if it appeared that I was rude and discouraging an adoption on this pup. That woman was here claiming the Irish Setter that belongs to her mother. What you don't realize is that I have had contact with this woman before. 2 years ago, she boarded a dog with me and never paid for the boarding services. This woman is a truck driver, and goes out of town for a week at a time. Over the next year, she pulled this stunt with every boarding kennel in the area. After she was no longer welcome at the kennels, she decided she could keep her dog in an abandoned car in her back yard while she was out of town. Last summer, we removed her dead dog from that abandoned vehicle. She had gone on a four day trip, and left the dog in this vehicle. The temperature outside was between 80 and 90 degrees on those days."
The good Samaritan's face had softened and there was a disbelief in her eyes. I explained that our goal was not to "just find homes", but rather to find good homes. No amount of desperation would ever convince me to allow this woman to have one of our dogs. "And you," I said, "would have let her walk out the door with this puppy. You must be careful, people are not always what they seem."
The dog that cooked in the car had a name and I will always remember him. I had released him from boarding on the owner's promise to pay. I swallowed nearly $300.00 in boarding charges. The dog would not have been adoptable and had I not returned him to his owner, he would have been put to sleep. I thought I had done him a favor, but realize now that euthanasia would have been preferable, given the death he suffered later at the hands of the same owner that professed to love him so much.

His name was D.O.G. (Diogi)