Doggy Dundee

Will Owner of This Stray Dog Ever Learn?

Doggy Dundee sometimes ends up finding stray dogs that have been found before, but Shadow is a “favorite” stray dog – a regular of ours. Matter of fact, he was one of the original dogs that resulted in the creation of this blog. However, Shadow’s owners aren’t favorites, though their lack of due diligence borders on laughable – You see, Shadow is one stray dog Doggy Dundee has found wandering the streets of Talent numerous times; We’ve even decided to write Shadow up on at least a couple posts before.

So, just for the record, Shadow was (again) wandering the streets near  Talent Ave and Wagner Creek the other day. I rushed from the coffeehouse – and left my lunch cooling - to nab the sweetie. Uh-oh, no extra leash, no car, and food on the table! Fortunately, Matt, a coffee and doggie lover who was enjoying his brew outside, used his cell phone to call the numbers listed on Shadow’s tag. As usual no answers, but one number would lead to cues to call other family member numbers,  and eventually a girl answered. Sigh…she was busy in Ashland. Couldn’t we “just take the dog home?  I’ll give you the address.” Meanwhile, another customer had loaned me twine from his car so Shadow could be more easily contained, and Dan, the coffee house owner, was feeding Shadow some chicken salad. Matt told the girl he’d wait so she or someone else she might call could come and pick up their dog. (Are you noticing how many strangers it was taking to take more care of Shadow than the owner was doing in those moments?).

After 40 more minutes, Matt finally gave up (Grrrrr…) and drove the rain-soaked stray dog - in his beautifully emaculate car – back to the “no one at home” house. He managed to enclose Shadow on a porch, hoping Shadow didn’t stand up, knock the knob, and rush away again. Shadow is an expert at leaving – especially when doltish doggy owners don’t lock gates or doors. So, dear readers, who represents the smarter species?

Older Stray Shephard Eludes Doggy Dundee

G’day Mates! Alas, not all Doggy Dundee tales end happily. In the dark of this evening I thought I spied a shadow move down a side street of Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland (Was walking back to my car where Chase was waiting for me to be done at the chiropractor’s).  Sure enough, it was an older German Shephard showing signs of some rear leg difficulties and with plenty of tuffed fur that needed grooming.

Finding stray dogs is never a problem, and catching them is usually not much of a problem for Doggy Dundee; Tonight, though, this particular stray dog was too elusive even for me. After tailing this stray German Shephard for awhile, he slowed and showed himself under a street lamp where he’d started munching something delectable that had been tossed aside by some littering person. I tried enticing the stray, but, unfortunately, he was too spooked, and I couldn’t get a hand close to him, much less a leash on him. He’d come close, but not close enough before scooting back into the darkness. Too bad, coz I could see he had an ID tag, so returning this pooch to his owner might have been easy. Hope he’s safe and someone can get this stray dog back to his owner, or he finds his way home. A dark stray dog walking across dark streets (and so near a main street) isn’t a good thing.

Chase’s Doggy Birthday – Gift to FOTAS?

G’day Mates! What can you do for a birthday dog who gets everything (and does lots of good, too)? How about donating to the organization that helps the doggies (and kitties) at the Jackson County Animal Shelter where Doggy Dundee spends lots of time?

The Doggy Dundee birthday DATE is January 28th (Both Chase and I share a birth date – How’s that for a great “coincidence” – Not often doggies and owners share a birthday!). That ORGANIZATION would be the Friends of the Animal Shelter , which is celebrating its 20th “birthday” year in 2010. FOTAS is a 501(c)3 non-profit that has been helping pay for animal medical care, defray some lower-cost adoption fees, building walking and agility areas, and has a lot of volunteers who are out daily – in all kinds of weather – walking, playing with, and loving on the animals at the Jackson County Animal Shelter. All that work is very necessary, because the animal shelter doesn’t receive any money from the state’s General Fund; ergo, the work FOTAS does is essential to maintaining quality care for the shelter dogs, cats, and other animals.

So, anyone wanting to say “Happy Birthday, Chase,” can send a donation check made out to “FOTAS” to this address: FOTAS, P.O. Box 92, Ashland, Oregon 97520. (Donations are tax deductable).

Boyfriend “Forgets” Dog

That Heads Down Highway

The tiny, vanilla-colored stray dog was a chihuahua, happily following his nose along Hwy. 99 in Talent, Oregon, sniffing delightful grass scents along the curb. Fifteen inches or more to the left and he’d be smushed mustard. Finding stray dogs is par for Doggy Dundee so we sacked plans, and pulled our car into a driveway, mindful that if this stray dog spooked and ran into traffic it wouldn’t be pretty. Thankfully, this chihuahua hadn’t been a lost dog long, coz he was curious and friendly rather than fearful or defensive, and ran into my arms and gave Chase a “licking.”

Oscar was his name (thank you ID tag), and since the Anjou Apartments were right there, we headed into their office and the manager called the number on the tag – Yikes! The woman owner was pretty “pissed” that her “pea”-brained boyfriend had let the dog out and “forgot him” (apparently again). Grrrrr…Guys, what’s with you?

Assured the woman would immediately call the doltish boyfriend to pick up Oscar, the manager suggested I let Oscar down to play with her dog in the office. Nice — until Oscar peed all over their carpet. Hmmm…Seems “p” runs in the family.

Isn’t Ginny A Sweet Pit Bull?

G’day Mates! Click on this Ginny Video for a moment of cuteness (thanks to another FOTAS volunteer , Gaila, who took the video awhile prior to Ginny’s adoption). I sure appreciated Gaila passing along this video, since I miss hugging my doggy pal Ginny so much).

New readers of Doggy Dundee may not be familiar with the story of Ginny (see Shelter Dog page), a female pit bull mama dog who had a long (more than one year) stay at the Jackson County Animal Shelter – where everyone loved Ginny, but, alas, it took “forever” to find someone to adopt her.

Ginny’s a beautiful “counter argument” to those folks seeking to outlaw pit bulls (i.e. pass Breed Specific Legislation – BSL). Chase played with Ginny a couple times, and is glad that Ginny’s got a new owner who’s loving on her.

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks?

G’day mates! Offering a change of pace from usual Doggy Dundee fare today coz I want to share some doggy obedience fun with all my Doggy Dundee pals. If you’ve been frustrated when trying to teach your own doggy how to master a set of new dog tricks, the link below enables you to experience the joy of playing with a “virtual dog” that knows how to do practically everything!

After opening the link, type in the command you’d like the furry fella to do. This little tyke is a real sport and will do dog tricks such as:

Sit, jump, beg, roll over, down, stand, play dead, walk, fetch, shake, dance, sing – And remember to type in KISS, too– but do that dog trick last!

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html 

And, don’t try to get dopey with this doggy! Our furry pal will put you in your place. 

Have fun, mates!

Search & Rescue Dogs and Earthquake in Haiti

G’day Mates! Search and rescue dog teams were rushed from California to Haiti to locate earthquake victims trapped under rubble. As of the last report Doggy Dundee checked on January 16, 2010, three girls were located alive under four feet of concrete rubble by the search dogs. Check this Haiti dog search link for updates.

Chase is very proud of these search and rescue dogs and their handlers, and very happy people are being helped – Chase loves kids, so the story of the rescue of these girls really set her tail wagging.

Doggy Dundee urges everyone to contribute what they can to the Haitian rescue and relief effort. According to official sources, the best contribution is money coz it can be easily converted into the particular supplies needed to keep things moving.

Expired Dog Tag Luckily Gets Stray Dog Home

G’day Mates! Next to not having any identification tag or dog license on your dog, having outdated tags is another aggravating factor that helps prohibit prompt reunion of dog with owners. Even if the average person ends up finding stray dogs and is curious and checks for tags, a dog without contact info is easily overlooked (“Sorry, pal. Don’t know where you live.”).

Not Doggy Dundee, though. I was getting out of my car at the local market when I noticed a large, furry beast of a stray dog wandering towards the outdoor grill area, his snout sniffing the air happily (“Yum…I smell chicken and ribs!”). Store employees didn’t know who the owner of the lost dog might be (though said it had been a rare visitor – meaning stray on prior occasion). The ID was useless – meaning NO ID tag and the county dog license had expired two years before. So much for my shopping! I easily enticed the stray sweetheart into my car and headed off to the Jackson County Animal Shelter in Phoenix, Oregon, arriving five minutes after closing time.

However, staff passed along the expired contact info that was still stored in their database (Dog named “Mako”), and I crossed my fingers that the expired contact address was still good; Meaning, I hauled the stray dog and myself back to Talent and began driving around town, asking passersby if they’d heard of the street. We arrived at the house just the owner arrived from work and was pulling into her driveway . I opened the car, the no-longer stray dog leaped out, and the owner tossed me that all too familiar sheepish grin and line Doggy Dundee has come to get-and not believe-from dog owners far too often: “Gee, he’s never gotten out before. It must have been the kids.”) Yeah, right, mate!

“Paw Thru Window” Treats Chase

Nothing deters Chase from see (or finding) the good wherever she goes, and here’s one more example of that. While health regulations prohibit dogs from lounging in food-selling stores and coffee shops with their human owners, Chase shakes off such concerns. When officials told Marina, the owner of Talent, Oregon’s Whistle Stop Coffee Shop, that her “dog friendly” policy was prohibited, Marina was disappointed. But, when Doggy Dundee got turned away from the shop’s door one fine day, Chase just shrugged, jumped

"Treats please!"

up onto the coffee shop’s outdoor bench, and pawed at the closed window. “Why grump,” says Chase, “just pass the treats.”   These two photos show Chase making Whistle Stop owner Marina Piacentini very happy! (“Yum,” says Chase.)

And, so that’s how Doggy Dundee created the world’s first “Dog Treat Paw-Thru Window” (a.k.a. “Paw Up” window).

Doggy Christmas Wish - Santa Meets Chase

(Note: Reposting after deletion due to technical problems Jan. 2010)

G’day Mates and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Chase and I wish you all the very best of joy with furry beings and warm, wet noses, and love all through the year.

Doggy Dundee enjoys bringing happiness to animals and people, and Santa Claus enjoys bringing happiness to children, adults, and animals, so it seemed destined for Santa and Doggie Dundee to meet and spend time chatting! So, in December of 2009 a “Doggy Christmas” wish fulfillment occured. As this photo shows, Doggy Dundee’s Claire

Santa & Doggy Dundee

was decked out for “outback styling” (in a manner of speaking), and Chase was all groomed and fluffy for the happy occasion – and doesn’t Chase look pleased to be sitting near this jolly, happy fellow? (Thanks to Ed Taylor for arranging Doggy Dundee’s visit with Santa, and to photographer Graham Lewis of Ashland, Oregon for immortalizing this moment.)

Christmas Eve Visit to Animal Shelter

Doggy Dundee will be visiting the Jackson County Animal Shelter (JCAS) in Phoenix, Oregon this Christmas Eve morning to walk some of the 18+ dogs and several puppies still awaiting adoption (and visiting with the cats and kitties, too). We’re pleased this shelter doesn’t release animals to homes on Christmas Eve, though, as the jumble of family holiday-ing is very stressful for new pets who get confused and often forgotten or yelled out in the midst of human celebrations! Also, remember that if you see a stray dog this chilly season, do what you can to care for the dog and find its owner. Santa assured Chase that all Doggy Good Deed-Doers are placed on his “Nice List” immediately.

Merry Christmas from Chase and Claire!