The Dog Days of Summer

For us this has new meaning since the day about a week ago when a dog we called Homer started hanging around our yard. Always a sucker for an animal- we fed him. We noticed he didh't have a collar and were concerned that someone was missing a pet. He shyly accepted the meal and trotted off. We checked with all our neighbors and found out that he had been around for a while and was thought to be a "dumped" dog. We fed him a few more times but I couldn't get the idea out of my mind that he was a gray muzzled dog and, if picked up, wouldn't be adoptable. We could continue to feed him and just let him stay outside - but winter comes and I spent a sleepless winter last year worrying about the dog tied outside up the street. Our dogs (Adam and Faust) are not getting along and are kept separately so I just didn't know how that was going to go. Happily, the dog we were calling Homer got along with Adam and Violet and could stay in the kitchen. We booked a vet appointment for a few days later and Homer settled in. Yesterday, I took him to the vet and he was the hit of the waiting room. He was showered with cookies and compliments! They decided to check for a chip and --- he was chipped! Turns out he belonged to a lady in a town about 10 minutes away. Upon contacting her, the vet learned that he was named Brody had been given to "Joe" about a year ago. Well Joe hadn't had a dog for at least six months and he gave the other dog to a guy - but he couldn't remember the guys name and didn't know anything about him - we're thinking good old Joe is the dumper. So we now know much more about Brody and he is vaccinated and sleeping on his bed in the kitchen eating area. We also found out the our "old" dog is only in fact 4 or 5 but has had a hard life. So we learned a lot from a vet visit and now are a 4 dog family! Welcome Brody!