I Rescued a Poodle and Barely Got Thanked

This episode is mainly me being weird and maybe unreasonable. What is life if it isn’t a bit confusing and complicated, and aren't we all a little bit conflicted, if we're being honest with ourselves? Anyway, that's very deep for this story about a lost dog. 

Adventures From A Dog Mom's Night Off

I love dogs. I had two dogs. Unfortunately, I had to put them down in the last few years, and it was particularly difficult. Excuse me as I go wipe a tear.

This story happened when I first got my dog in Toronto. I loved my first dog, Charlie, a little jack russell terrier. The cutest thing ever! When she was just a puppy, she had to stay at the vet overnight for some reason, possibly because they spayed her earlier. 

After leaving my dog at the vet, I had my first night off as a dog owner, which sounds silly. It is even more intensive to be a dog owner when you live in a condo or an apartment building because you have to take them out multiple times daily — unless you let your pet shit and pee in the apartment.

At one point, I calculated that a condo or apartment owner spends several days of the year walking their dog down the hall, waiting for the elevator, and then leaving the elevator to go outside. This is all in comparison to having a home where you let your dog out to potty in the backyard. So, I was getting burnt out as a new dog owner, but I loved it so much. 

Anyway, on my first night off, I was driving back to my place in Toronto. And what do I randomly see on the street crossing the road? A large fucking dog. It was a poodle, which was up to my chest area (I might be exaggerating). There was a large dog just walking around, with no one else or cars in sight. Nonetheless, I feared that cars would hit the dog. The dog wasn't moving towards a home, it was just walking randomly. So I took the dog. I took the dog and put it in my two-seater car. I didn't know what the hell I was gonna do.

Pooch on the Loose

When I got hold of the dog, I checked for a tag, which was there, but it didn't have a phone number on it. It just had some numbers, except it wasn't data I could work with. So, I took the dog. I took it back to my home on my first dog-free night, where I could have just chilled, but that's a lie. I would have been studying, doing something, or making myself busy to feel significant and validate my existence, because that's how I have been. I don't really do that as much anymore, especially after having a kid. 

So I spent a big part of that night trying to find this dog's owner. I called the SPCA and other shelters to find out whose dog this was. I left my info for anyone enquiry about this dog at multiple places. Nobody responded or called. By the end of the night, nobody in Toronto had reported a lost or missing dog. By the end of the night, it was clear that the dog was sleeping over. I had to take the dog out, feed it, and take it to the dog store, where I asked, "What does this kind eat?" I fed it, gave it cookies and stuff, and then it slept in my place. 

What the dog looked like (not the actual dog).

I would love to say that we had a beautiful little bond. But we did not. This was a giant, brown poodle. Someone once told me that poodles are the smartest dogs. And I was like, then why do they look so stupid? (COME FOR ME, POODLE LOVERS). They're not my favourite kind of dog, especially when their bodies, or parts of their heads or ears, are shaved. I think it looks stupid. I'm sorry, and I don't mean that as a judgment on the dog overall, because honestly, it's a reflection of the owners.

I had no contempt for this dog. I felt bad for the missing dog, but we didn't bond at all. The dog just sat there and looked at me, and I was like, "Yeah, I'm trying." I kept it safe and warm, and for 12 hours, I owned that dog. 

Poodle Pick Up

The next morning, I received a phone call from someone saying that the owner had noticed the dog was missing four hours after I picked it up. The owner was someone who lived in Midtown Toronto and had one or more small kids. There was a nanny, and the dog must have gotten out at some point in some standard family commotion. I don't know, but either way, they didn't notice the dog was fucking gone. 

So another woman called me, sounding very frazzled. Her name was Jackie Kennedy, which is just funny to me. Like a fancy lady in a fancy area with a nanny who lost her dog and didn't realize it was missing for four fucking hours. Even when she noticed it was missing, she didn't take all measures to find the dog. Instead, she just waited until the morning. Anything could have happened to the dog. That dog could have been run over or kidnapped. Thank God I found that dog. 

Jackie Kennedy goes, "Thanks for keeping my dog. Where do you live?" And I responded accordingly, adding, "Yes, this was my only night off." 

Now, I wasn't doing this for thanks, but I just thought she might be interested in the fact that I had sacrificed my only night off from being my own dog's mother for her dog. But no, she just came over, met me in the lobby, and said, "Thanks so much." She gave me some standard dog biscuits for my dog. They were not boutique dog cookies. They were not handmade or nicely decorated. They were just whatever biscuits from the dog store. 

She barely looked at her dog. The dog was ambivalent about being "found."

I would have liked cookies for myself. That was also a very small gift. And I'm just thinking like, if anybody saved my dog, I would have, oh my god, I can't even imagine what I would give them. I would be so grateful. I would go overboard. That may be my issue. I overcompensate sometimes. 

Was I doing this just for thanks? No, but if you were going to thank me for something, cookies for me, or $500 cash would have been nice, but no, just a little bag of basic dog cookies.

Finder's Remorse: A Pet Parent's Reflection

What's my problem? Overall, I was bothered by the fact that she didn't notice her dog was missing for four hours. Although it's not entirely on her, she has a family, a nanny, and probably a husband who could have done something about it. Now with the perspective of being a wife and mother, I retroactively blame her husband.

She also didn't stay a second to chat, not that I'm into that. I never even found out the dog's name. She never told me, and  I didn't ask because it was a poodle and I hate those guys (mostly kidding!). Regardless, I think it was the basic sort of air of entitlement that rubbed me the wrong way. I don't fucking work for you, lady, and I'm not an employee of the city. You know what I mean? I didn't have to do any of this, yet all she did was give me cookies, didn't even seem relieved or truly grateful, and then she was gone. 

I'm also a little bit annoyed at myself. I shouldn't be doing things for thanks or $500 cash, which I maintain is the appropriate reward for this, but I was expecting at least something. And that is my problem, and I have stopped doing this, expecting others to act commensurate with how I would've or I project how they should feel. 

If my dog were lost, what it would mean to me and the cost to me in dollars, it would be $500 Canadian dollarscash. Nevertheless, I shouldn't do that. I did a good deed, and that should be enough. I'm glad the dog is alive. 

If it were a different kind of dog, I would have loved it if it were a cute husky or another jack russell terrier, although that would have felt like cheating. There are lots of dogs I would like to get to know. I also love golden retrievers and labs, and one day we might get one of those. 

What Would You Do?

Anyway, I did a nice thing, but I wanted a little bit more remorse from that woman, and a less entitled response, all of which bothers me. If it happened again, I would act differently next time.  I would not pick up a stray dog. 

I really want to hear from all of you about this, because this is one where I'm particularly conflicted about my feelings. Is it enough that I did a good thing? Would you have taken it to a shelter? Or would you even take the dog home? Does it matter that this woman acted kind of like an uptight cunt who wasn't really grateful, or that she lost her dog? 

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