NoDogNo.com

Christmas stray returns to Brownsville home

Posted on 27. Dec, 2009 by admin in Brownsville, Texas, Rescues & Adoptions, Top Stories

STAFF REPORT
©2009 NoDogNo.com

On Christmas morning, while children opened gifts, a male Basset hound named Bevo slipped through an open gate and took to the streets on an adventure. In no time, following his nose, he had trotted to Ruben Torres Boulevard near Pizza Hut, heading toward Expressway 77/83.

Although traffic was light because of Christmas, the hound was still in risk of getting hit by traffic or getting in some other form of trouble. Locked on a scent, a hound can cover miles before you know it. Bevo’s trip along Ruben Torres ended when we spotted him. Afraid for his safety, we pulled our car into a parking lot and Bevo loped up eagerly to say hello.

Safe with us, Bevo had plenty of fun that day. We didn’t know his name then, and so he became Hushpuppy because of his regular backseat commentary delivered in throaty woofs. He didn’t quite fit on the backseat of the car, which was loaded with Christmas presents and other passengers, some human and some pets. But with his nose still busy as we traveled, he could tell the car was going a long way from home. We didn’t know if Bevo’s family was in Brownsville searching for him, panicking on Christmas, or whether they were out-of-town and unaware of his disappearance.

Nothing is open on major holidays. There’s no chance of consulting the animal shelter or a vet’s office to check for microchips, and Bevo had no tags on his collar. But we knew someone would claim this goofy dog, because of his condition. He simply seemed like someone’s happy pet with short nails and a clean coat (albeit, his coat did smell like dawg!). But without tags or a microchip identification, options for taking Bevo home were limited.

First, we posted notices online, using NoDogNo.com, Twitter.com and Craigslist.com. Meanwhile, Bevo played with a gaggle of children and dogs in Weslaco and then back to Brownsville to cruise some neighborhoods to try find his home. When that failed, he went with us to play at the office once we returned for an afternoon shift at work. The whole time, Bevo’s name remained a mystery. So he was either Hushpuppy, or Roscoe or Big Guy or Gus or any other favorite name declared by the many people to meet him.

That nose of his would smell out our Fritos, which he’d refuse to eat. The nose would sniff out our peanut butter crackers, which he’d refuse to eat. While the nose seemed to like everything from dog food to dog treats, he’d eat nothing. We didn’t think he was nervous, since he’d instantly bond with everyone and whine if any one of us would leave him. He just seemed to be picky about food, until later in the night a child dropped a crust of pizza on the floor. Bevo devoured it.

We made flyers that night with the intention of papering Brownsville with “found” notices, but then we woke in the morning to discover cold, miserable rain. Our only options until the rain passed would be PetSmart and the animal shelter. So we put notices at both places, and then drove through the neighborhoods again.

A few hours later, a day after Bevo went missing, we got a call from his owner, Roger. Someone had seen one of the notices and given him a call.

Everyone was happy for his return.

SOME LESSONS LEARNED ON MISSING DOGS

Bevo taught us a few things about missing dogs in Brownsville. One of the worst times for a dog to disappear is on a major holiday, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Because of the many closures, there is no hope of getting help from vet’s offices, animal shelter, local pet stores or other venues. The other lesson is that posters, placed as quickly as possible, help find dogs. It’s natural when dogs run off to search the neighborhood, calling its name. But especially in cases of breeds with wanderlust, such as hounds and others, posters are vital. We didn’t have posters immediately available for Bevo because we needed to take his photo and create the flyers and copies. By that time, the sun had fallen. But we did immediately drive around looking for flyers.

We saw a couple posted flyers for jack russell terriers and yorkshire terriers. Each time we saw a flyer, we hoped it was for a Basset hound. So part of what we learned is that dog owners should have a basic “lost dog” sign ready before the dog goes missing. While the family is out in the neighborhood calling for the dog, the posters should be posted immediately.

Roger says they searched for Bevo for hours that day. We were looking for Bevo’s owners. Immediate posters from either one of us would have made Christmas happy again. The proof is that only two notices, one placed at PetSmart and the other at the animal shelter, was enough to get Bevo home in a matter of hours. We know this to be true because Roger called us by the phone number, which we put on the posters. Meanwhile, the web postings had email addresses and had been up for a day.

Technology is great, and in the future, an owner will likely be reunited with a dog because of an online posting or social networks. But for now, flyers are the best way to go.

Also, don’t let your dog go without tags. Inspect the tags regularly to make sure they are readable. A simple tag costing no more than a few dollars that included phone numbers or addresses would have gotten Bevo safely home in minutes.

Bevo’s a special dog, just like yours, who would be missed if he was not returned home. But don’t wait until your dog gets out and disappears before you make some preparations, which can make a difference of a dog being returned quickly and a dog lost forever.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Roger said Bevo missed out on a family photograph on Christmas Day, in which Bevo would don reindeer antlers. We hope that now that Bevo is home, the family has taken that photograph. If so, we’d like to see it.