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| Luke the Pee Machine |
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| Buddy, Merci & Sam narrate post. |
Jan looked for an owner and then got him accepted into a rescue/foster home, except before transport could be arranged, his owners walked by the dog pen and claimed him.
Luke grew into a great big handsome Bassett mix. Jan kept wanting to go take a photo of him but she was too busy with other things, such as finding Marcus' owner. She waited too long.
We would have loved to have seen Luke almost grown up. But Tuesday something happened and we have a bad / good update on him.
Our mail carrier is a nice lady. She likes animals. Tuesday Jan went out to tell her Marcus is ready for a new home in case she comes across anyone looking for a nice pup. The carrier asked Jan if she knows the people who live nearby. Their front door was open and there were two dogs sitting on the front steps.
Jan said her heart sank. That is the family that claimed Luke. She got a coat and went right over. Sure enough 2 of their young dogs were outside and the door was ajar. She walked around to knock on the back door and found that door was ajar too and the windows were broken out. She came right home and called the police, then went back to wait for an officer.
When he arrived, he pushed aside the curtains on the back door (windows were broken, remember) to look inside and said the cupboards were empty and the doors were open - looked like a move out. He called city Animal Control. He told Jan AC was at lunch and would probably be along in about 20 minutes. So Jan hot-footed it home, grabbed what little food was left in our container, filled a bowl with water and went back. At that time the front door was wide open and she could see furniture inside. The dogs were shaking, their ribs were showing, and they scarfed the food after a long drink of water. One dog tried to eat the bricks when the food was gone.
Jan started talking to neighbors and passersby. No one had seen lights or anyone for several days. Everyone was upset at the idea the dogs had been left alone in that cold house with no food or water. Their next door neighbor came out and brought more food and water for the dogs. Twenty minutes stretched into 2 hours. It was COLD and WINDY. Jan froze but she would not leave those dogs and she wouldn't go near the door. Finally she asked the neighbor if he'd call and ask if AC was coming.
A while later 2 police investigators arrived in separate cars. They said it was an eviction, the property owner had been notified and AC would be coming later. Finally the dogs were closed safely in the house. Jan came home and immediately emailed a couple of people in rescue asking for help for the 2 pit bull mix puppies that would be taken to the shelter that day. We don't know what will happen to those pups but at least people are working toward rescue. The pups deserve a much better life than they've had so far.
So what happened to Luke? Originally, the people who owned Luke put the very young pup outside to "do his business" the day after getting him, despite a strict leash law in the city. Luke ended up playing in the street next to a main road and spent 6 weeks here. A very kind friend in rescue paid to have him vetted. Luke cost Jan a lot of money she couldn't afford - feeding him and misc.(for example, 3 extension cords). The family made a big fuss about how happy they were to have the grandmother's dog back. They promised to never put him outside on his own again, to take good care, and to have him neutered when he was of age.
A week or so later Jan saw Luke across the street following a stranger. As she walked him home, someone told her the dog had been running loose in the neighborhood. She had a long talk with the grandmother and was told the dog was either being tied in the back yard or locked in a shed because he peed and pooped in the house. Jan was dumbfounded! He never once pooped in this house and was almost housebroken when he went home. And although the guy had told her he took Luke outside on a leash and waited with him, Luke wasn't being kept in the house and they didn't even own a leash. Jan came home, patched one of our old ones together and took it to them to use until they bought their own.
Their neighbor got tired of seeing Luke spending all his time alone, so he brought him into his fenced yard so he could run loose and made him a shelter. When he put his dogs outside, he'd tie Luke up in Luke's yard and bring Luke back when his dogs went inside. So when Jan saw the puppies on the porch Tuesday, she looked next door for Luke. He was gone.
But when the neighbor brought over food and water, Jan learned the family sold Luke to the neighbor's sister for $100 and they then tried to move him from the yard into the house but they are older than Jan (is that possible?) and he was too strong for them to walk and he tore up absolutely everything he came across. They couldn't handle him. So just the day before these older folks on a fixed income had taken him to a vet and paid for a rabies shot (Luke's rabies shot didn't expire until next August but the people had taken off his tag and didn't tell the new owner) so they could board him. They are working on getting him in some group they know that could help him find a home with someone who can work with him.
We have kept quiet about Luke's circumstances until now because once the owners claimed Luke, Jan did what she could to help the people take better care of him but had no say and didn't want to talk about the bad situation..
After Luke they took in several more dogs, which lived inside and often ran loose outside. One was recently picked up by AC. And now the other two are in the local shelter. We don't know if there will be charges for abandoning the dogs in the house, but don't imagine the people will get off scot-free because of the damage to the rental house..
We are hopeful Luke will get a good home with someone who can help him get past the bad life he's had and that the pups will be rescued from the shelter. On the other paw, we are sad for the children in Luke's ex-family. One of their sons is a nice young A student teenager who has a heart for animals. He was one of the two boys who found 5-week-old Marcus wandering the alley and after knocking on some doors looking for an owner, brought Marcus to our house during that bad freezing and rainy weather in December. We are all thankful to him for helping save Marcus' life.
