Good morning everyone!
Maggie looks so pretty now that she's had a bath and a haircut! My friend trimmed her up all around and brushed her out really smooth. She thinks Maggie is a cross between a Havanese and Llasa Apso, and perhaps something else since she's a bit larger. She's got that kind of hair!
I struggled with what to do last night. The neighbors got home at their usual times and no one came looking for Maggie. We waited a couple of hours, then went to dinner with our friends. When we came home at around 8 p.m. there was no note waiting for us asking about her. Nothing.
Finally, after much group discussion about it, I decided I needed to take her home and explain where she'd been all day. I felt like if it were my dog, and I found out she'd been right next door the whole time, I'd be mad they didn't bring her home to me.
So the young mom (Denise) answers the door with her cute little baby, and immediately she gives me that knowing look and says, "You've got Maggie again. I'm so sorry. We got home and looked out back for her and didn't see her, so I told Dorinda (Maggie's owner) she was gone, and she just went up to her room and forgot about it."
Dorinda is 14 years old. Apparently, her parents let her get Maggie 3 years ago, and she's supposed to take care of her. But she doesn't. She puts her outside to go potty, then forgets about her and goes to school. When Maggie is missing, she can't be bothered to go looking for her either, I guess.
I told Denise that I was worried about Maggie. When she escapes her yard, she is in danger of getting hit by a car or abducted by someone else. And there are critters around here sometimes too. I also told Denise that if Dorinda was feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities of dog ownership, that we'd be happy to take Maggie in. She obviously knows and likes us, and we'd give her a really good, safe home. Denise said that she thought that was a great idea, and that she was going to talk to her fiance (Dorinda's brother) and the rest of the family, and tell them. Then we wished her goodnight and went home.
Our friends (the groomer and her dh) stayed a while and we started a dart tournament. We were having a bit of wine and having some fun, when we heard a knock on the front door. It was Denise. She came in and told us that she'd been thinking about it even more, and had a conversation with her fiance and he is in complete agreement and they're going to have something of an "intervention" and try to convince Dorinda to give Maggie to us. She thinks our home is the best place for Maggie, and this is obviously where Maggie wants to be. She stayed about 20 minutes sort of filling us in on the family dynamic and it became apparent that Denise is a very thoughtful, well spoken young lady who actually does care about Maggie. Unfortunately, she is the only one who ever does anything for the dog and with a new baby in the house, Maggie's care has taken a backseat and she feels terrible about it. But she also placed most of the blame squarely on Dorinda's shoulders, because the girl doesn't take her responsibility to Maggie seriously at all.
So we're waiting to hear whether or not Dorinda will surrender Maggie to us. I have a feeling her parents might push her to give her to us, but a 14 year old can be a stubborn and emotional creature. She may not want to give away her dog, especially now that the dog is all clean and shiny and smells pretty.
I will definitely keep you all posted! Today I'm going to nail a few boards in place along the side of our fence in the backyard to block any potential escape routes for Maggie in the event they do let us have her. Gotta be prepared!
