Stray Dogs, Rural Life, and all that Fun

If you have never lived in a rural setting, you may find the following post shocking. If you have, then you may find the following post all too familiar.

The ferrier came this weekend. We were all getting ready to have breakfast when he pulled into the yard. Unusually, he pulled up to the house instead of driving up to the barn. We heard a honk, went out, and he rolled down his window and asked if that was our dog. Oh, boy.

Then, Fred Flintstone and Dino style, the dog headed straight for Jay! I thought for sure she was going to knock him over and they would both go tumbling. What Jack had inadvertently brought us, since it followed his truck in, was what appeared to be a pure bred, German Shorthaired Pointer.

I don't think this is a good gift to receive at all! For those who don't know the breed, it is a sporting dog of course. My family knows I have a general disdain for sporting dogs because, first, I'm not a sportsman in that sense. Second, I don't like the hyperactive energy which if not focussed on hunting or fishing ends up focussed on destruction! Not at all. I think the sporting dogs are some of the prettiest dogs, and yes they are specifically smart to their breeding, but as a house guest they are absolutely not bright at all and very unwelcome.

Another reason they may be unwelcome is pictured below.


By now, you all know that we have chickens. Well, I don't want to endanger our free range chickens with one of these sporting dogs. They are often trained on things like chicken wings. So, I'm sure a whole bird would be more than an exciting catch, especially if the dog is lost and hungry. So, we quickly put the dog on a chain, which of course it hated and let us know continually.

Now, I had a stray dog, barking in the yard, and jumping at all who would get near it. This is not the first time this has happened. There was the mastiff pup, who was already bigger than this dog when he showed up. He got tied to a tree where he persisted in emptying out his intestines on to the ground for us to inspect - old socks, balloons, you name it, everything but food. We did find his owners. Then there was the border collie who showed up. These dogs always look healthy enough. We rehomed the border collie, as we have done many times to many dogs.

The final straw for this pointer was when we let her loose after the chickens went to bed, presumably to see if she would leave and find her way home. Well, she didn't. Instead, she just chased Gypsy, our least bright cat, up a tree.
We got the cat down from the tree. Jay chased the dog off as best he could, and then we went to bed. There she was, on Ruby's couch, in the morning. The morning was also rainy, pouring actually, and very miserable and wet. I assume, even if she did know where home was, she had seen the covered patio as a much better place to spend the night.

We covered our for sale signs with pictures of the dog and a phone number so people could find her if they were trying. We put the dog back in the pen, on a chain, and she jumped over the fence with the chain on. Jay canvassed the neighborhood to make sure no one locally knew her. Fun stuff.

Well, today, I am off to the vet - remember, long drive - to have her scanned for a microchip. Hopefully, since she is an expensive dog, she will be microchipped and we will find the owner. If not, then I have already contacted the national German Shorthaired Pointer rescue. She needs to go, and I will be spending every waking hour trying to get her gone.

What many don't realize is that responsible people live in the country. We don't just shoot stray dogs, we try to find their owners. Sometimes we are successful, sometimes we are not, but either way we find them homes. NOT OURS EITHER! We already have 3 dogs that were dropped off here and we kept. We don't need other people's dogs. We don't need hunters losing their dogs, we don't need families dropping their unwanted grown puppies, we don't need neighbors who can't keep their dogs home (I've probably given a few of those away too.) The time we put into caring for these dogs and finding them homes is something I wish the owners would put in, instead of me.

Permit a short rant: if we have 3 dogs when we wanted none, that is a sign that there is a problem. Yes, there is good reason to spay and neuter your animal. Back yard breeder, even the supposedly reputable breeders, are adding to a growing population of animals that end up on my doorstep. At the very least, if you can't spay or neuter the thing, then at least microchip the babies and keep track of who you sold them to so we can find you and let you know when they end up on our doorstep instead of at the feet of the loving family you thought you placed them with!

So, for Easter weekend, we are giving, loving and sharing and trying to find this dog her way home or to a new home. Lots of fun. Lots of adventure.

FYI - Many people in rural Oklahoma just shoot dogs who walk into their yard. We only shoot foxes and possums, and maybe a stray dog we catch with a chicken in its mouth. Otherwise, someone has willingly or unwillingly taken up several days of my time.

Now, to my oatmeal, then to the vet!! Wish me luck.