Caroline the Wandering Dog Finds a Her Happy Home
One summer evening several of my staff members and myself were leaving our office to head home when we saw a medium sized, yellow dog plodding down the side of the busy highway where we were located. The dog didn’t seem to be in any hurry, but she did seem like she had some purpose in mind. We might not have given her another thought (unfortunately lots of people let their dogs roam in our area) except for the fact that we are on a busy four lane highway and the pup looked hot and kind of thin. So we called her over to us, and she was wary but she came. We took her back inside, set her up in a cage for the night, and gave her food, water and a soft bed.
The next morning we did a full physical exam on her and found that aside from being a little thin and needing her teeth cleaned that she was healthy. She also had a scar, so it was pretty likely that she was spayed. We also scanned her for a microchip, and wow, she had one! The chip led us to a shelter in North Carolina (we’re in Florida!), who was able to tell us that she was indeed fixed, that they had estimated her to be about seven years old, and that she had been adopted from them four years earlier. They gave us the adopter’s information, and we were able to contact them. The adopters told us that they had only had her a few months before she managed to escape the yard and never came back. They had long since gotten another dog, and weren’t really interested in taking her back.
Our office had always done rescue work, so we got her teeth cleaned and treated her heartworms (she had turned out to be heartworm positive, but wasn’t symptomatic) and put her up for adoption. By Thanksgiving we still had not found her a home, and we needed her cage space for holiday boarders, so I ended up taking her home for what I assumed would be basically “hospice” care, since she was now at least eleven years old. She fit in well with the rest of my crew, so it wasn’t really a problem.
Once she was living with me it became apparent that Caroline, as we had named her, was a quiet, stoic dog who did everything at her own pace. I don’t think I ever saw her run anywhere and she wasn’t one to play. She definitely wasn’t very affectionate with either me or with the other dogs, but she would sometimes cuddle with the dogs when she slept (especially if it was cold), and every afternoon when I got home from work I would get a quick tail wag or two. She also liked to be in the same room as I was, so I know she did have some attachment.
She also had a few other peculiarities for a stray dog. She was not at all food oriented. She was very finicky about treats and even table food. Everything offered her was thoroughly sniffed over and investigated before she decided to eat it or not (and frequently it would be not). During all the time she lived at our office and with me I don’t think she ever gained an ounce. She also HATED the rain. If it was wet outside and I opened the door for her to go out she would sniff the air, look around, and give me the dirtiest look (like it was my fault it rained!) before heading back inside. And she was extremely thunderstorm phobic. She could sense when a storm was coming long before the thunder started, and she would become very clingy and nervous. Once the storm arrived, she would cower and shake uncontrollably and look at me with the most pleading look, hoping I would make it stop.
Caroline actually lived with me for thirteen years (so much for “hospice” care!) before she finally passed away from cancer and old age. I have no idea how old she really was. Obviously the shelter in North Carolina had over estimated her age; I’m sure based on her slow steady personality. My family and I used to joke that she had been Moses’ dog when he parted the Red Sea and crossed the desert, and that she was destined to just continue plodding along slow and steady forever. I wish she could have talked and told me her story. I’m sure she had some adventures in her travels. She’s been gone for several years now, but I still miss her. It makes me happy, though, that after all her wanderings, I was able to give her the home, love, and comfort that every dog deserves.
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