I was traveling west on 40th Street in San Bernardino on my way to Gwen’s grooming to drop off a couple of small rescue dogs when I spotted Redd traveling east. I recognized his ‘aimless’ strut – that of a lost hungry dog, sniffing along the sidewalk. I said to myself, “if I see him on my return, I’ll pull over and try to pick him up.” This was my excuse to not pull over immediately.
I could tell he was young, but not a puppy, so he would not be an easy catch. The rescue would require time and patience. I also thought about the challenge of taking in a larger dog to the current rescue pack. Caring for a smaller dog is so much easier, but I decided it wasn’t right to rescue only small dogs. So sure enough, I pulled over and tried to coax him to my car. He wasn’t about to get close me to or allow me to approach him so I enticed him with a small roll of dry dog sausage. I threw a small piece to him from a distance and it caught his attention as a first step toward rescue. I began tossing the pieces of sausage across the street, shortening the distance until he was just a few feet in front of me. He was wary of the slip leash/rope destined for his neck.
I made the sausage pieces smaller and smaller because it had to last long enough for me to get him eating out of my hand so I could slip the loop of the leash over his head while he focused on the food in my hand. He finally succumbed to his feeding frenzy and did not notice my left hand pulling the tightening loop over his head. Bingo! I said to myself, “you’re mine now”. Knowing I had absolutely no room for him at my home, I took him to my neighbor’s kennel. He would be kenneled outdoors instead of the local Shelter which with a 73% euthanasia rate –was not an option. At least he would have a dog house with a heavy blanket, food, water and access to a back yard with plenty of space to stretch his legs when my neighbor’s 14 cats (yes 14) were inside her home. Redd was a wonderful house guest and found a great home with Adam Lantham, a professional photographer in Los Angeles. He is one very lucky dog!