Robin was found wandering the streets of downtown San Diego by a young couple who could not keep her because they had a larger dog who was a bit aggressive towards Robin. She had a microchip but, there was no answer at the phone number registered with the microchip. The couple called us and I drove downtown to get the dog.
We attempted to locate the owner and finally found her, after about two weeks, living in a homeless shelter. She said that she adopted Robin from a local Humane Society shelter and had her for about two weeks. She also said that Robin was a “runner” and had run away twice during the two weeks but, that was O.K. because Robin was street wise and knew how to cross streets without getting hit
I wanted to get Robin away from that environment but, legally she was that lady’s dog. Since the owner had no transportation, I made an appointment to meet her outside the homeless shelter. We had fallen in love with this sweet girl. I stopped by an ATM and drew out two hundred dollars to see if I could buy Robin from the owner. However, the owner was a no show.
We phoned our contact person at the Humane Society shelter who stated that Robin was legally the lady’s dog but, that we should bring Robin to the shelter and turn her in as a stray. They would contact the owner who would have four days to pick up Robin. If Robin was not reclaimed by the owner, we could adopt her.
It broke my heart to turn this darling dog back to the shelter but, that was legally the only thing we could do. It was like abandoning a child
Anyway, it was a long four days but, the woman never claimed Robin and, last night, we got an email from the shelter contact saying Robin was ours. The shelter opened at 9:00 AM and I was there at 8:30 waiting for the doors to open. Robin was very excited to see me again and I brought her home.
Judy and I decided that we would personally adopt Robin as our dog. This little girl is extremely happy being back with us and we know that she will have a good life from now on. It was a super warm feeling when I had the tag engraved with Robin's name and our phone number.
BTW: during the time she has been with us, she has never shown an inkling of a desire to run away, She seems very comfortable and glad to be back with us. Tonight we watched a college football game on T.V. while she slept in my lap