Cisco

My husband & I dropped off our truck for NY state inspection and walked a couple blocks to the nearby grocery. On our way home, on the bridge, we saw a distraught woman standing there next to a tiny shivery dog. The poor dog looked emaciated and so scared that I was stricken by his appearance. She started walking away and I spoke to her... "Is that your dog?"

"No." she said. "I don't know where he came from he was following me. I don't know what to do for him. I called the police and they won't do anything."

I reached down to pet him carefully but when my hand neared his face he growled and bared his teeth. We stood on the bridge with the woman talking and wondering what to do. She was from Brooklyn and her boyfriend Jewish. She lived on our same street now at the opposite end.

I used my cellphone to call the dog warden as well as the number on his tags but since we were unable to get close enough to his face to read his tag number, the vet couldn't do much. The dog warden had voice mail.

She covered him with her coat while my husband tried to feed him turkey. He wouldn't eat but appreciated the warmth her coat provided. Unable to pick him up and unwilling to leave him we came up with an idea. The woman had a long shoestring she had tied from her wallet to her purse. She explained that she had lost her old wallet and had wanted to avoid having that happen again. Using my mascara to lift the collar, she tied the string to his collar.

"What are the odds?" she said... "a couple of Jewish animal lovers, a lost dog, and a lady with a long string in her purse come together!"

B"H I knew the odds are great with HaShem around and mentioned so. We walked the little guy to our house and placed him on the enclosed porch. We fed him soft food (he had lots of gray hair on his face) with cheese and my husband got the numbers from his tag. We called the vet with the info and voila! They said his name was Cisco and he did live nearby. He was something between 12 & 14 years old and was mostly deaf. No wonder he was so frightened!!!

They gave us the name, number, and address to his owner. She answered the phone and said poor Cisco had been missing all night. He wasn't emaciated he was just old and skinny in the rear. She had just had 3 knee surgeries... she went to take him outside and the leash broke away from his collar. He ran off and with her unable to chase and him unable to hear, became lost. She came to pick him up within minutes. She was middle aged... pretty and clean with wavy blond hair. She leaned on a cane at the bottom of our stairs apprehensively. I explained that he had been growling... was it safe to pick him up? "Oh yes" she said. I scooped him up from behind and carried him down to her arms. He immediately relaxed and sank his little head into her shoulder and neck. Little Cisco back with Mommy!! She was so grateful!! And so were we. I imagine he had been cold all night and she searched but never found him.

There's a lesson, don't forget to make sure your dog's tags are current.

We'll miss you Cisco!

B"H