Doggy Dundee

Timing Is Everything When Dogs Rule

Doggy Dundee knows that sometimes an Invisible Hand is literally pushing us to cross paths with stray dogs – but sometimes it takes me awhile to “get it.” 

Chase lazing

Those particular fated days usually start when I awaken and I’m completely organized and ready to get going: “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” Then life falls to tatters, and I’m suddenly not able to get out of the house on time in the morning because absolutely nothing is going right: Coffee grinds spill all over the kitchen counter, my keys are missing, the shoe I just put down has evaporated, a button pops off — and this is all in one single morning!

So, I’m exasperated, wiping off counters, tearing up and down the stairs, strings of holy vows choking the air, tossing clothes, magazines, pillows around like a wild women before all finally seems settled and the counter, the keys, shoes and new shirt are arranged nicely. Chase knows better, of course, and has been waiting patiently for me to remember that goodness is ours today. By now, though, I’m definitely l-a-t-e  and tellin’ Chase we gotta hustle so I can get to work on time and we run down the street.

It never fails that there’s a lost dog to be found somewhere along our route on those fateful mornings, and Chase hops with joy, the pooch comes rushing over to us as if we’re right on schedule, and that always takes my breath away. The other magnificent aspect of those particularly crazed ”found stray dog” kinda days is that no matter how late we started out of the house, no matter how out of our way we have to walk or drive to return the dog (“Oh, thank you, my son must have left the gate open when he ran out to school”), no matter the need to still bring Chase home and get her settled – miraculously my drive to work is quick, smooth, peaceful and my arrival on time as if the laws of time/space have been rearranged – as, indeed, I’m sure they have been – because dogs rule!

Good Dog Gone…Uh, Gone — Repeatedly!

Let’s call this stray dog Rufus. Huge Black Lab X. Looks like some of those dudes at Gold’s Gym – big, burly, dopey but fun loving (in a “nice talkin’ to ya, but I don’t wanna hang out with ya so stay away” kinda way)

It's Spring?

It’s 6:00 a.m., wintry storm dark, cold and icy. Chase and I are on our early morning “Chase you have got to poop pretty fast now” walk and just crossing over from the Talent, Oregon skateboard park toward the Whistle Stop Coffee House and City Hall. I’m desperately efforting to stay vertical and concentrating on trying to keep Chase calm and close to me.  The last thing I wanna see and have to manage is a lost dog, but (ta da) here comes Rufus. 

He’s nose down and meandering along Main Street by the railroad tracks – till he spots us then it’s free-for-all time. You haven’t experienced “fun” till you’ve been plowed into by a leaping 120  lb Lab while clinging with one hand to the leash of an exuberant Chase  and to a lamp post with the other while slipping on ice. 

Down we go, up we go, down we go…etc. Finally I snap my spare leash on Rufus. Command “sit.” Both dogs do, but Rufus can’t contain himself, and I’m slathered in tongue kisses. Equally happy, Chase starts competing for ‘who can kiss me faster.’

Long story short I’m now a “drover”, somehow managing to get Chase to poop (more…)

Doltish Dog Owner, Story #2

A Walkabout

Some “Doltish Dog Owners” carry on for years.

Case in point: Months after adopting Chase in 2004, she and I met a “having-a-good-time-scampering-loose” pup near our post office. She and Chase were instant best pals, running rings around me. I got dizzy trying to maintain long leash control. Checked the pooch. No ID. The market workers nearby pointed out the house where they thought this long-haired brown/black pooch lived. The yard was fenced all around – except for the lack of a few boards here, there and everywhere. Without a leash on hand (in the days before we were “Doggy Dundee”), it had only been the fun of the race that enabled us to run the pup home.

I knocked. A woman opened her door and spoke through a screen: “Yes.”  I pointed to the dog. “Uh, I found your dog running loose.” She opened the screen and called the pup in. “Thanks, we just got him. He must have jumped the fence.” I looked around and started a mental count of the missing boards. “Looks like you need some boards repaired.”  Before closing the door on me, she commented, “Wouldn’t matter. He’d just jump over.” Grrrr…bad dog owners.

The pup, let’s call him “Cool,” became a daily find. He’d run over out of (more…)

Doggy Dundee Looses A Friend

This site, as some know, has been dedicated to “Never Another Lost Dog” and was inspired by the numerous stray dogs Chase & I found on our walks; the dogs who wandered lost, were hurt or killed by cars, abused by people; also, the thousands of stray dogs we’ve personally seen in shelters who are never claimed.

Sadly, just days after posting the article about Alibi on the Shelter Dog page of this site, Alibi was euthanized.

"I AM smiling"

He’d been in the adoption area for approximate 7 weeks. During that time I and many other volunteers and staff fell in love with this big, rambunctious, wiggly Pit with that awesome “stare” that could freak some people out.  But after about 1-1/2 months, all in the space of about a week, Alibi would growl at some people, including at an off-site adoption presentation.  Labelled as “showing signs of aggression” (aka “Unadoptable”), he was removed from the adoption kennels and put down.

Owner & Public Responsibility

Before you start blaming the animal shelter though, consider this: Alibi was over a year old, was trained and had been found running loose in Central Point, Oregon and the owners never came looking for him. Owners are responsibility for keeping the dogs safe and confined. When owners screw up, dogs suffer. Alibi was a cast away!

The kennels can be hard psychologically for lost dogs after awhile. They’re tired of being stared at, they’re tired of being taken for walks but left behind when potential owners decide “no, not that one.” They don’t understand why they’re not cared about, they get scared and protective and put off by some people.  Once “in the system,” they may get a chance or two to make up for some behavioral concerns, but “the system” has legal/county regulations to abide by, and a county animal shelter isn’t a kennel.

I’m keeping Alibi’s story on the Shelter Dog page (find toward bottom of page) as a memorial to a beautiful spirit who was looking for someone to play with, someone he could trust. Read it there – and I offer this tip to those visiting animal shelters looking for a pet:  Don’t judge a dog by it’s face.

I love you, Alibi. Thanks for romping with me.

Doggy Dundee Honors Slim Jim

 On a recent visit to the Jackson County Animal Shelter, Doggy Dundee stopped to spend some time at Slim Jim memorial lane.

Chase honors Slim Jim

Slim Jim was a brutally starved and abused dog, a young Pit-X, with a lopsided head and rear legs so badly mangled (probably due to the abuse) he couldn’t even stand. Typically, he’d have been putdown immediately and compassionately, but the staff saw something in Slim Jim’s eyes, and raised a medical fund for him. 

He rallied, then began running, and everyone at the animal shelter was daily touched by his bountiful Spirit. Four months later, though, a sudden, massive seizure resulted in Slim Jim’s being euthanized.

His Legacy of Freedom

To honor Slim Jim and the other abused and neglected dogs who’ve passed through the Shelter, private fundraising cleared and constructed a new tree-lined walking path for use by the shelter’s dogs. Dedicated on Feb. 14, 2009, Slim Jim’s memorial stone – and stones bearing the names of other “lost” dogs - give pause.  Now and forever, Slim Jim’s legacy provides an open  space for romping and enjoyment by other lost dogs brought to the shelter.

Doltish Doggy Owner Story – #1 of Several

Accidents happen and dogs get out/lost. Also, some dogs are escape artists. Lots of times, though, the owners of lost dogs are simply dolts – Take it from Doggy Dundee. Here’s one, short and sweet:

Before Doggy Dundee had taken on the mantle of “Dundee,” we were just two shaggy beings out walking (albeit, one human and one canine). In that guise, we first met Chucky (name changed to protect the innocent dog – and ‘guilty’ owner) on a “dark and stormy night” in Autumn 2007. Chase and I walked along a grassy park bordered on one side by a wooded patch and stream, and on the other by a new housing development. The racing-like-a-maniac brindle pug-kinda-pooch leaped out of the forested darkness at us, shocking the s-_-_-_ outa me. Fortunately, it was just a small pooch having a fine time teasing Chase and spinning me in circles. “What a great, fun dog,” I thought.

Fortunately, I carried a spare leash, and the pooch’s tag allowed me to tease it homeward several blocks beyong the woods.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the address; finally, ferreted out the structure beyond a locked fence, hidden beneath overpowering trees. Dripping wet, cold and a bit agitated, we brought Chucky back to our house for a few hours,then walked back later to return Chucky. “Oh, thank you. We just got him a few weeks ago,” the woman explained. Okay!

A Thanksgiving weekend car accident whacked me off-kilter a couple weeks later, and I lacked even the strength to handle Chase comfortably for long stretches. Unfortunately, Chucky tore out from the trees and at us one weekend afternoon. Fortunately, the Chief of Police was driving by as I snagged the pug. My prostrate pose brought the Chief’s car to a screeching stop. I gasped the dog’s address and the Chief drove Chucky to his owner’s while I limped homeward with Chase. The Chief passed me on the way back and stopped. “They were relieved,” he said. “The dog’s never gotten out before, and they’d just gotten home and found him missing. Good job, mame.”  Hmmmm…

Repetitious Lost Dog Pattern (more…)

Welcome to the official launch of the Doggy Dundee blog. Here you’ll read tales of daring deeds – the (almost) daily doggy adventures of the intrepid and ceaselessly walking duo of Chase & Claire (a.k.a. Doggy Dundee).

The universe seems to have woven a magnetized shroud ’round about us – a magnetized spiritual homing beacon, as it were. So frequently have lost dogs crossed our path and allowed us to stretch out a helpful paw to them, usually during that hectic and always last minute “Jeez, Chase, I’m late, gotta get to work – Hurry up and poop, P-L-E-A-S-E” stage of the frantic pre-dawn walk (which, of course, means that once caught, we also have to track down the owner, or failing that, find a place to leave the pooch so Claire can hustle to work) that a work pal commented as I crashed through the office door one morning with a new doggy tale to tell, “You’re some kind of Doggy Dundee!”  

Well, Doggy Dundee is dedicated to “Never Another Lost Dog.”  So, click on the Add RSS feed button under “Subscriptions” to automatically receive a fresh bone (story) tossed your way.

Plus, since this is a “neutral territory” place to play, you’re safe to explore and check things out right now. Paw the tabs on the site (www.doggydundee.com) to learn more “About Us” (including Daisy Mae, the stray dog who first inspired this blog); share our “Shelter Dog” stories; open the “Subscribe” tab to sign up for our quarterly newsletter of extra ‘treats’;  Nose around the “Amazon Store” for doggy fun and comfort by pawing through the doggy books, doggy videos, doggy grooming supplies and Gentle Leader collars. PLUS, Doggy Dundee has tracked down “Dog Product” distributors/manufacturers who offer something of special quality when you need that special something.

Mostly what we offer you is doggy love and wonderings, wet noses, and doggy lickin’ kisses. Wanna come walking with us?