Update on Tramp

Have you ever watched those Animal Cops show on Animal Planet?  Ella is addicted to them and has recently gotten me hooked.  Well, I have to say that Prince William Animal Control Officers are great, and I truly appreciate what they do around here to keep animals safe.

Animal Control Officer Hooper came just after 11:15 this morning and was so nice.  He took Tramp and got my information.  He said that he was going to give the owner(s) a ticket for Animal at Large and tell them that they have to get him groomed and checked out by a vet. (Tramp had numerous patches of severely matted fur and  looked as though he had been roaming the woods for weeks.) Tramp did have his rabies updated (in 2010) but didn't have a county license.    Officer Hooper got the vet information and was going to call them to get an update.  I asked what would happen if the owners relinquish their rights, and he said that Tramp would be taken to the shelter and put up for adoption. 

There is some additional drama related to this experience that I didn't share with you in the previous post, and this is where I feel like it is beyond my own explanations.  Tramp obviously had a tag, because that's how I got his name.  On this tag was a phone number and address.  I looked at the phone number twice and dialed the first 3 numbers thinking that I didn't recognize the exchange as a local one; maybe it was a cell  phone.  Well, a fax machine tone answered my call, and I thought, "That's not very convenient to have a fax machine connected to the number on your dog's tag."  I recognized the address, I just could not in good conscience give this neglected dog back to the owners who left him this way.

Well, I did a little bit more research to find out where this dog lives.  After talking to a friend who knew this dog and the dog's owner (I personally do not know the people, just that they live near us), I have become disheartened to the plight of this sweet, kind, loving animal who is being mistreated.  This is not the first time that Tramp has been viewed as neglected. 

I have been writing this post with several interruptions (you know, because I am a mom of a 5 year-old whose needs are not patient), and during one of those breaks, I called the Animal Shelter to see what the status was on Tramp.  I am sad to say that apparently he was returned to the owner, but no other information was available.

I feel so helpless.  In my heart, I know I did the right thing and hope that the owners will also do the right thing and start to take care of Tramp. I know that if Kate wanted to walk today that I wouldn't have seen Tramp.  I know that somehow I wasn't able to contact the owner, which led me to call someone who could try to help Tramp.  God gives me a purpose; this I know.  I pray that Tramp will be alright and have a happy life.  I hope that you will do the same. 

I promise to give you a more uplifting post in the near future.  Thanks so much for reading and peering under the cover of my life.