A Three-Legged Dog Day Afternoon

While hustling around my usual neighbourhood loop yesterday - tunes cranked, the sun warming my white legs, enjoying the early "everybody's still asleep" kind of Saturday morning - I came upon a three-legged Shepherd sniffing grass at the end of a driveway. He was so cute and I had a sudden notion to pick him up, toss him over my shoulders, gallop back to the house where we would be good friends and live happily ever after. Of course, I realized the error of my thinking ...1) I don't have the space for a dog right now, 2) my cat would probably tear his other three legs off and 3) he probably lives there and is taken care of by really nice people. So I carried on and that was that.

Later that afternoon, I noticed a post on a page that said to keep an eye out for a three-legged Shepherd that was spooked by guns at a firing range and went missing 2 weeks ago in Chemainus - which is about 35km from where I was contemplating the dognapping. 35km? A long shot, especially for a dog missing it's front leg. But 2 weeks ago? He could have made it up here, hobbling along. I mean, it's far, but not that far.

With this thought in mind, I was on the phone in a flash...however, after a few moments of trying to verbalize my excitement and the man on the other end trying to contain his own, we came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't the right dog. One was missing the back left leg, and the other, the front left leg. We discussed the absurdity of the situation...two very similar dogs, black, Shepherd, with brown legs, in the same vicinity and both of which who were missing a leg. I mean, what are the chances?! I told him I'd have another look and we hung up, hopeful yet disappointed.

Driving around the neighbourhood was futile. I considered soliciting houses of random strangers in hopes of finding this three-legged dog, but I was already running late for dinner. After asking everyone there if they knew of any such dogs in the neighbourhood, I found out that there was indeed a three-legged dog living at the very house I passed that morning.

Such is life.

I hope they find their dog.