Special offer

Rodney the wanderer......

By
Mortgage and Lending with Bank of Oregon a division of Willamette Valley Bank

Hello fellow pooch loving ARers.......

I'm very new to AR and love the idea of a doggie lovers group!  I've only posted here once, but wanted to share a story with you all. 

Our family loved the companion of our Maxwell, our dear Jack Russell Terrier for 13 years.  Back in September of 2008 he died very unexpectedly.  <sniff>  A few months before Maxwell left us, we ended up with a surprise visitor at our house.  A sweet miniature Australian shepherd kept showing up at our place.  We'd call the owner (a young gal), and she'd come and retrieve him again.  He showed up at our place 5 times.  On the fifth time, he actually stayed with us for several days, as he didn't have his collar on and I couldn't remember the young gal's phone number.  Well, after those few days, we were able to locate her and once again, Rodney was on his way.  (That's the Readers Digest Condensed version...lol)  I will admit that I had become quite obsessed with dear Rodney and vowed that if he showed up one more time, I may not be as willing to send him back home.  ;-)

After the passing of Max, dear hubby and I were keeping our eyes open for a new friend to bring into our home.  With an upcoming vacation that was happening in October, we decided to wait until after our trip to continue looking for a new friend.

This is a photo of Max and Rodney...Rodney's last visit before we lost Max.

Fast Forward to November of 2008.  Below is an email I sent out to family and friends on one very special day....

 


 



Monday, November 10th.

I wanted to tell you all a story.  I know most of you know that we lost our dear dog Max at the end of September.  We've missed him very much!  Our son was home this weekend and he had asked us to wait to bury him (we had him creamated) until he was able to come home.  Earlier this afternoon we burried Max down by the creek, where he loved to dig and hunt.  A bit of an emotional day, but the story continues.
 
I'm sure some of you recall of me telling you about Rodney, the sweet Miniature Australian Shepherd that had shown up at our home, several times throughout the summer.  The last time he showed up, he stayed with us for 5 days, until we were able to relocate his owner.  Hubby and I grew very attached to Rodney.  Rodney last left our home on September 19th, just days before we lost Max. 
 
Ok, for the past several weeks I've found myself somewhat obsessed with thinking about Rodney.  We've also noticed on occassion his owners boyfriend's truck, heading up in the direction of where Rodney was escaping from.  I felt certain that Rodney was probably back up at the house on the hill, and was probably being left by himself, with just folks to "check" on him from time to time.  I've driven by the property a number of times to see if I could spot Rodney, however it's a rather large piece of acreage.  Hubby and I were (yes, here is the evil side of me coming out) contemplating on how we could break Rodney lose from his current surroundings!  In no was was he being abused or anything, I just don't think he is getting the attention he needs.
 
Some things are just meant to be.  Earlier this morning, hubby happened to log on to Craigs list again.  We had been looking on that site, to see if perhaps we found a good new friend to bring home.  Craigs list is also how I was able to locate Rodney's mom the last time he ended up at our place, as after several days, she ended up posting a lost notice.   Yup, an ad for Rodney was now in the pet's section!  His mom had posted him, needing to re-home him as she could no longer take care of him and wanted to find him a good home.  Unfortunately, she hadn't posted her phone number, just an email address. (we had emailed her previously when he showed up the last time too, letting her know he was here safe with us. )  I couldn't type my response to her quickly enough!  YES, WE WILL TAKE RODNEY!!!  In our note, we asked she contact us asap, and we gave her our cell numbers.
 
 OK, here's where it gets even weirder.  Right after we sent the email, we started to head into town to take kiddo to breakfast.  I kid you not.  JUST as we turned off of our street, a red pickup, yes, THE Red Pickup that Rodney's mom's boyfriend drives, was coming down the street!  "oh my gosh...that's him again!", then immediately following his pickup I noticed the car that Rodney's MOM drives!  We immediately make a U-turn and follow them!  I just knew they had to be heading back up to the parents house on the hill to check on him!  (Since I had been stalking the property, we knew right where to go!).  We head up the hill, the security gate was open, so we drive in.  We jump out of the car and reintroduce ourselves!  I immediately told her that we had JUST replied via email to her Craigs list posting.  We asked if they had found him a home yet. "no, not yet", she replied.  I said, "well you have found one now!"  She went on to tell us that she had emailed us to see if perhaps we wanted Rodney, since she knew he seemed drawn to our house, but we had never received any of her emails, and since we hadn't responded, hence, her listing on Craigs list. 
 
So tomorrow, Rodney will be joining our home....again...albeit this time on a permanent basis.  We told the young gal she is welcome over anytime, to see him. 
Here's his picture that was posted on Craigs List.   
Some things are just truly meant to be........ :D
 
 
......Update....Tuesday morning. 
Rodney arrived safely at our home this morning.  He's enjoying a plethora of new toys from Pet Country and is busy laying right beside me as I type this.

 Now a permanent part of the family!

 

 

 

Comments (0)