I was stunned to get a call from the Cambridge Police last week, informing me my itchy homebody of a dog was loose on a city street about three miles from my house.
For the past several months my dog, Eddie, has been hunkered down under our dining room table, afraid to venture out into the maws of the Huron Village Big Dig. I have to bribe him to leave the house, and half the time he drags me back inside once we get to the end of the driveway, and he hears, smells, and sees all the construction activity. You’ve heard the expression, “That dog won’t hunt.”? Well, mine won’t walk. On top of his construction phobia, Eddie has been suffering from severe dermatological problems since last fall, so he wears a Thundershirt 24/7 to control his nervous scratching. Sadly, my hypoallergenic cockapoo is, himself, plagued with allergies.
So, I was stunned to get a call from the Cambridge Police last week, informing me that my itchy homebody of a dog was loose on a city street about three miles from my house. Continue reading “Eddie’s Excellent Adventure”
With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the Northeast today, most of us are hunkered down safe and dry at home. But not Snappy. The 4-year-old Weimaraner from Cambridge went missing in September while on a walk at the reservoir in Burlington.
The good news is that Snappy is apparently still alive after seven weeks on the lam. The bad news is that she has, so far, eluded a sophisticated search effort mounted by her distraught family. And now the hurricane’s approach has heightened everyone’s anxiety.
A renown K9 detective from Nebraska (Karin TarQwyn) has deployed a tracking dog to follow Snappy’s scent and has installed feeding stations with cameras (and yes, a trap) along her known route.
At last report, Snappy’s path loops through West Woburn, Winchester, Lexington and Arlington, taking her along utility line corridors, across conservation areas and golf courses and through residential neighborhoods (especially on garbage days). She appears to be circling and is likely trying to find her way home to Cambridge, where the gate to her family’s yard stands open.
To spread awareness and share updates, the family has created a Find Snappy Facebook page that has garnered 1,345 likes in just two weeks. The large, laminated flyers with her photo are ubiquitous and hard to miss. No stone has been left unturned, and yet Snappy has managed to stay one step ahead of her trackers.
Snappy is understandably frightened and skittish, so if you spot her do NOT chase her on foot or try to catch her. Instead, call her owner Anne at 617-256-8772. Also, do NOT post the locations of sightings on the Facebook page, as this may encourage well-meaning people to pursue Snappy and scare her into deeper hiding.
Snappy and family: we are all pulling for you to be reunited soon!
Last Friday morning I was outside my house, saying good-bye to a friend who had visited, when a small white dog ran by on the sidewalk across the street, without an owner following or even a leash trailing behind. The little dog was trotting at a good clip and heading right for busy Fresh Pond Parkway, a perilous four-lane artery less than a hundred yards away.
Apologizing to my friend, I took off in hot pursuit but, clearly frightened, the poor dog sped up when it saw me. Continue reading “Lost & Found”