New Year's Eve Guest

On December 31st I was headed to the grocery store around 10:30am. When I opened the garage door I discovered a Boxer Mix in our front yard. I grabbed some treats and a leash. This guy wanted the treats but it took a little while before he warmed up to me.

On my way to the store, I stopped by Helping Hands Humane Society to report the dog as lost. They did not have any calls on a Boxer Mix and let me know they closed at 1pm and would reopen Thursday morning, Jan. 2nd. 

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We did not want to leave him at HHHS and decided to give him our garage. We didn't know his name so while he stayed with us we called him 'Buster'. He really wanted to come inside but it was easier to keep him calm and safe in our garage. A neighbor brought over a space heater to help keep the garage warm. We made a 'fort' for him with a couple ladders and tarps to keep the heat from rising.  I wrapped several old towels in a sheet then covered them in a comforter a friend gave us to use for his bedding. When my husband went to check on him that evening, he could tell 'Buster' really wanted to come inside so he brought him in and they slept downstairs together by the fire. This is when he figured out 'Buster' really likes to cuddle.

We ended up ringing in 2014 with 'Buster' and on New Year's Day, we loaded him up and went over to Stone House Hospital to have them scan him for a microchip since they were open. By now, we could tell he was an indoor dog and knew someone had to be searching for him. He did not have a chip and they told us they would keep him and HHHS would pick him up in the morning. He was healthy and was not aggressive so we decided we could make his time away from home less stressful by keeping him one more night in hopes his owner would call HHHS on Thursday. After we left Stone House, we drove around in our area and looked for 'Lost Dog' posters up on poles while we let 'Buster' stick his head out the window. He seemed to enjoy the ride. We hoped that someone would see him or be driving around searching for him and chase us down but we knew that was wishful thinking. We headed back home and got him settled in for his second evening with us.

I called the HHHS back on Thursday and they had a call for a 2yr. old neutered male Boxer/Lab Mix reported as lost in our same area. I was thrilled and knew this was his owner but I wanted to make sure I was returning him back to his family. When I called, they gave me the description of their dog and described his markings. I knew one question would tell me the answer. I think it caught her a little off guard when I asked: "What does he usually do when you tell him to sit?" Right away she said: "He wants to shake your hand."  I let her know he was ready to go home. We only had one more question, his name. She told me his name is Dexter.