Diving for Puppies

"DOG!!!"
We screamed it simultaneously as a red streak dashed across the highway in front of us and darted through the grass on the side of the road. I hit the brakes, pulled onto the shoulder, puched the hazard lights button and grabbed a leash. Pam was already running.

It turned out to be a puppy, and a very scared one at that. He was determined to get away from us and led us on a run neither of us is in shape for down the side of Highway 29 rural Virginia. He zigged and zagged through tall grass and then-dangerously- headed back towards the highway. Pam followed at a crawl, not wanting to spook him into an oncoming car. She got close. He made a run for it, but she got him by the tail and hung on. He screamed like he was being dismembered and made a very sincere puppy attempt at a menacing bite or two, but she didn't let go. In a few seconds she had him cradled in her arms and, out-of-breath, we headed back to our car.

There was no sign of human life (other than speeding cars) for quite a distance around us- no homes, no businesses, nothing. After looking around a bit and remarking on the amazing amount of ticks on him- in his eyes, between his toes, on his nether regions, completely covering the inside of his ears-we tossed our new friend into a crate in the back of the minivan and resumed our journey north.

"Matty" was a good little passenger apart from vomiting green peas (?) and roundworms, and he has already warmed up to humans quite a bit. He spent the night at our vet's office where he was de-ticked (better them than me!), de-wormed, checked out and vaccinated. Neuter surgery is next.

We're glad we caught him and glad he will not be road kill, but sad at the reality of this kind of life for so many puppies. Barely three months old, Matty was out to fend for himself and wouldn't have lasted much longer. He is a living reminder of the consequences of our society's failure to responsibly spay/neuter our companion animals.

Matty will be on the website soon, so look for the little runaway next week. We'll still be catching our breath...