[Mac'N'Roe]

So, I was playing tennis this afternoon at a friend's neighborhood courts...Two courts adjacent to a large field (perfect for bringing the dog to play). Towards the end of the first set, a beautiful golden retriever (probably 1-2 years old) came RUNNING across the field right up to the courts. I didn't see an owner ANYWHERE around. The dog was trying to get to the tennis balls on the court. We played a couple of points...with the dog running a long the fence chasing the balls we hit.

I HAD to stop and check the tags (he had a collar and tag) and called the number. The dog was REAL sweet and obviously was very transfixed on the tennis ball. I said sit (he sat) and I knew this dog was lost. I finally got the number (he was very wiggly) and called...

him: "hello"
me: um, do you have a dog?
Him: um,
me: a dog named blue?
HIm: he got off of his chain?
Me: yeah, he's at the tennis courts
Him: okay, be right there.

I got the dog into the fence so he wouldn't run off and played a little fetch with the dog while we waited for the owner. HE LOVED the tennis ball. He was obviously VERY ENERGETIC. He was pretty hot and worn out...so I had him in a sit. The owner came out of the trail and waved. She had to cross the ENTIRE field to get to us. I had her dog in a sit, watching me patiently for the whole two minutes while she crossed the field (with another dog playing in the field). When she got closer, she looked very confused and was like "is THAT BLUE?" I could tell she was surprised that her dog was behaving so well, for a STRANGER even. I got a chuckle out of that.

Apparently, he broke the chain and went for a joy run. too bad, he's a gorgeous dog and will probably get out again. I wish I had gotten a picture

 

[MissMutt]

Hopefully they're more responsible next time. Kudos to you for getting him back home

 

[Mac'N'Roe]

Hopefully they're more responsible next time. Kudos to you for getting him back home

Thanks MissMutt. They were lucky the dog ran straight to someone like me, who would stop in the middle of an important event (Friday afternoon tennis ) to make sure he got home safe. It could have gone WAY different. We weren't a block from two VERY BUSY streets in the middle of Friday afternoon traffic...which could have easily been deadly.

I was glad to do it though, if it had been Mac or Roe....I would hope that someone would do the same

 

[MissMutt]

Yep.. I'd want someone to do it for me, too.

There's been a large black stray roaming around here. The only two times I've seen him, I've had Marge with me and it's been at a significant distance. I didn't want to jeopardize Marge's safety, especially since the dog is large. I hope someone's looking for him, though. I felt so bad leaving him. I posted a message on my local forum to say that I saw him. Poor guy. Strays are unusual in my neighborhood, too.