One of my nightmares
How Cato landed in a shelter and what it's taking to get him out
Yes. He’s one of ours. Yes. He’s currently in an animal control facility. Yes. I’ve been working overtime to get him out. Yes. My stomach is in knots over this.
Cato was adopted by a wonderful man who was so lonely when his 16 year old poodle, Harry, passed away. Cato reminded him so much of Harry and made him smile. They headed back to Virginia together, just the two of them. Sometime during the trip, Cato was renamed to Harry Jr. It fit. Harry Jr was the spitting image of Harry Sr. Name notwithstanding, I was simply happy for both.
That was in 2012. June 20, 2012, to be exact. Harry Jr had just turned four years old.
Fast forward to yesterday. I got a text that puts me into action. Harry Jr had been picked up as a stray. The finder was reaching out via Harry’s microchip information. The finder was listed as “County of Roanoke VA DBA Regional Center for Animal Control.”
That’s not good. What in the world?
What happened next is my standard operating procedure.
Carolina Poodle Rescue dogs are microchipped. Those chips are co-listed with CPR as a contact and owner listed as additional contact. There is a reason for this, and this scenario is the exact reason.
My first call was to the owner of record. His name is Robert. That first number, listed as the home number, was disconnected. That is not unusual. In 2012, we all had land lines. Now we don’t. Second call was to the cell phone listed. It rang several times and then went to generic voice mail. That was no help.
There was a note in the database that the owner no longer checked email. Email would not be a help either.
I located the application (yes, we can still find applications from 2012) and my next two calls were to the personal references.
Both numbers were disconnected.
According to the application, my adopter was retired at the time of adoption. Had he not been my next call would have been to the listed place of employment. Instead, I went to my last chance - the last contact number I had for this adopter. I called his veterinarian.
Thankfully, this veterinarian office is still in business. Better yet, they had a file on Harry and had a note that Robert’s son was now in charge of Harry’s care. They would not release the son’s number (very wise) but committed to calling him for me. I appreciated it.
This all took less than 5 minutes.
Query of you my reader - microchip companies have billions of numbers listed. They keep one phone number and one back up number on file for each pet as well as an email address.
It took me five calls to find concrete information that finally led me to Harry’s current guardian. Would a microchip company have done that deep of a dive into reuniting owner and animal? I don’t think so. This is why we keep our name on the chip. We’re going to go that far.
We are going to go even farther. Had I not been able to reach an owner or family member, I would have called the shelter anyway and let them know we were happy to take over care and responsibility for a 16-year-old dog. Shelters love that. People are not clamoring to adopt 16-year-old dogs.
So far, I did not have anything concrete, but I at least had some ideas of what was happening. My next call was to the shelter. When I explained the full story (adopted in 2012, Harry Jr is almost 17 years old, and my suspicion the owner is deceased or for whatever reason no longer able to care for Harry Jr since son is now on file as the veterinarian’s contact), they were sympathetic and happy that Harry Jr had someone ready to speak for him. However, this is a large municipal facility, and they have processes, processed designed to protect the animals. I am glad those processes are in place, but it was going to slow things down. Before we could pull Harry Jr, and right now with no family member stepping forward, CPR needed to be approved as a rescue. We had to go through their due diligence.
I’ve spent the last 48 hours going through due diligence.
At this point, besides the shelter, I was also in touch with the family. The owner is alive but is in assisted living, in an area where he can’t have pets. The owner’s son has been caring for the dog but it’s not a sustainable situation. They were trying to make their dad happy, but they have lives, too. The son was very grateful to find out that CPR is here for Harry Jr. He did not know. His father had never shared his adoption contract with the family. The son will happily turn Harry Jr over to us.
The shelter has sent the family owner release records to release directly to us. We are also now vetted and approved as a rescue partner for this shelter. Once the release records get to the shelter (and I just texted the son so hoping that is happening today), then our volunteer who is on standby will be picking Harry Jr up. I’ve got a loving hospice home waiting with open arms for Harry Jr.
Two nights. Three days. If we can pick up tomorrow, Harry will have been in lock up two nights and three days. I know shelter staff are kind. The shelter itself is state of the art. But he is a house pet, accustomed to couches and laps. Not concrete runs, with barking and growling and whining all around him.
This could have all been avoided. I wish my owner had shared with his family when he first adopted Harry that the rescue he adopted his dog from will take that dog back at any time. We explain this in every adoption. We are here. All you have to do is call. Always.
I also wish the family, who tried hard, had recognized that it’s okay to say, “he’s not my kind of dog.” Or “my life won’t allow this type of commitment.” Or “I love this dog, but he does not like my life.” It is okay to say, “no because this is not fair to this dog.”
I am very much hoping we can pick Harry up tomorrow and start him on the rest of his life. He will turn 17 years old in June. He has had a rich, full life and we are going to do all in our power to insure he has a rich, full rest of his life.
For you my readers, take a look at the dog by your side. Then start planning for him or her in case the worst happens, and you can’t do what you have always done for your dog. Make a plan. Set up a trust. Don’t leave it to fate.
If your adopted dog is from Carolina Poodle Rescue, put a note on your refrigerator right now that says “in case of emergency, call (864) 441-9075 (that is our google voice number) and I give these people permission to care for my pet. Once we get the call or text that there is one of our own that needs to pull the safety parachute - we are on the way.
There will be a lot more on this subject in the future. It is so important. None of us want to think about our ultimate demise. I would much rather outlive all my pets but the fact remains that none of us knows what the future holds. It’s up to us, as guardians, to make sure those who depend on us for everything are not left with nothing.
Sustainability - to be here for your pet if you can’t be - we can’t do it without your help. Please consider becoming a patron today by setting up a monthly donation to CPR. Just $1 per day ensures that when your pet needs a safe place to land, we are here.
Carolina Poodle Rescue - donations gratefully accepted
Post Script - original story published Friday 4/11/25 -
It is now Saturday 4/12/25 at 2 pm and Harry Jr is on the way to the poodle farm!
This one has a happy ending.
Perhaps we need to do a refrigerator magnet fundraiser. They could then be given out with every adoption.