The first time I saw this dog in my yard last summer, I thought someone’s pony had gotten loose. He was huge! Mostly white with large black patches, and wearing a collar. I was afraid to approach him, so I didn’t.
He started hanging out at the park, and a lady who lives near the park put food out for him. He’d eat the food but run when she tried to get close to him.
We worried when the weather started getting cold, but Pony Dog found himself a place to sleep out of the wind, in a pile of leaves in the park bathrooms. The nice lady who fed him even raked up more leaves for him when they’d blow away.
Several people (“dog” people) tried to get close so they could check his collar, see if there was a tag. No dice.
Last week the mayor got together with a local Dog Man (a veterinary assistant), and they devised a plan. Put a tranquilizer in his food! First dose, dog no sleep. They tried again, dog still no sleep.
Then the Dog Man brought his two little dogs over to visit Pony Dog. They played together, and when Dog Man called his little dogs to come to him, Pony Dog came too. How smart was that? I would never have thought of that.
He was suddenly friendly and unafraid, and he’s now living at the vet’s. He’s part Mastiff, part something else – Great Dane, maybe – and about two years old. The collar had no ID tags and there’s no chip.
Someone adopted him briefly, but Pony Dog didn’t like her fence, so he’s back at the vets.
I’m so glad Pony Dog is safe. Some of us were worried that someone would poison him or shoot him, or that he’d starve or freeze.
Happy ending! The vet will keep him until a home is found.
