HOLIDAY (Almost) RESCUE
by Robin

On our way to stand in line at the Post Office today, we came across a chocolate lab standing in the middle of 5-lanes. He was so confused. I called to him but he ran away. We made a U-turn and parked at the next lot.

I did my best to make friends but he wasn't going to be an easy sell. He barked & darted. He had gone into a vacant lot by the river and I didn't want him to dart back into traffic. Ok. I pulled out every happy, dog-friendly sound I could make. "Yeah, Here boy, Good boy, C'mon, Let's go, Ride, Cookie", not to forget clicks, whistles and kissy noises. Nothing worked. I crouched down, I stood up, I eased in from the side. Nothing.

Finally, ten minutes later with kids yelling encouragements from my SUV, I realized he would acknowledge sit & down. This allowed me to get a step closer and closer. I could tell he was tired. He wanted to lay down but he sure didn't like me. About 15 minutes into the attempt to rescue, I got my hands on him. He let me pet him, scratch his hiney, touch his face. He even did a tail wag & bowed down for play. How I wish I had a tennis ball & a leash on hand. He did have an old yellow collar that had some mud on it but no tags.

I did grab the collar and we were headed back to the SUV when Andrew popped out to greet us and scared my new lab friend away from my grip. He turned as if he thought about biting but never did show teeth. I shouldn't have let go. I sent Andrew back to the SUV and tried to regain some ground. My furry friend no longer let me get close to him again. He was not heading into a car or anywhere with strangers.

I'm sure it was after 20-25 minutes, I gave up. I wanted so desperately to help this boy yet not get bit. My kids have been with me on successful road rescue attempts. They were upset with me for leaving this boy behind in the field, lying down and resting now. I searched my entire SUV for anything that would make into a leash. Not even my purse strap was handy.

I felt like a failure that I couldn't help him, yet I know I tried very hard. We went on to the Post Office. We agreed that if he was in the same area on the drive home, we'd try again. As it turned out, he was gone. I do not know where he went but I pray that he managed to safely find his way back home to his family.