December 2017 - It Takes a Village
By Linda Brecher
My passion is animal rescue and at this point in my 11 years of living in Sedona, there are so many kind acts that animal advocates do that no one is aware of.
This story has to do with the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In this case the village was Sedona and the child was a lost dog. In mid-November a couple drove up to Sedona from Phoenix with their two dogs to enjoy a weekend of hiking. Unfortunately, even with a Do Not Disturb sign on the motel door, the house cleaner opened the door, and one of the dogs, darted out.
Posters and web sites and West Sedona streets were flooded with photos and everyone was out looking. These “everyone’s” were people from Central AZ Animal Search and Rescue, Golden Bone, Humane Society of Sedona, and Red Rose Inspiration, plus many others just because. After a few days, the motel was raising the rates back to normal, one partner had to return to Phoenix for work, and the weather was beginning to get very cold and rainy. My husband and I offered our casita just at the right time. For about 4 weeks I watched the owner pull out of the driveway at dawn and return at dusk without her dog. She never gave up, nor did all the dedicated people who had “sightings” but to no avail. The weather remained awful.
Then she was spotted on Shelby Drive one early evening near the Humane Society. The Humane Society left capture crates containing food and blankets along the road. By dawn, she had gone into a crate and was quickly taken to a closed garage nearby to get warm and then be checked out. Amazingly, she was dehydrated and had lost weight but nothing serious. She, and her delighted owner, stayed in our guesthouse for another 5 days to acclimate. , All of this could not have had a happy ending if not for the countless volunteers who always put animals first.
The final act of kindness was by the pet parents who returned to Sedona several weeks later to distribute shopping bags full of doggie treats for each volunteer.
And what was this dog’s name? NOEL…who was found just before Christmas.
This story has to do with the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In this case the village was Sedona and the child was a lost dog. In mid-November a couple drove up to Sedona from Phoenix with their two dogs to enjoy a weekend of hiking. Unfortunately, even with a Do Not Disturb sign on the motel door, the house cleaner opened the door, and one of the dogs, darted out.
Posters and web sites and West Sedona streets were flooded with photos and everyone was out looking. These “everyone’s” were people from Central AZ Animal Search and Rescue, Golden Bone, Humane Society of Sedona, and Red Rose Inspiration, plus many others just because. After a few days, the motel was raising the rates back to normal, one partner had to return to Phoenix for work, and the weather was beginning to get very cold and rainy. My husband and I offered our casita just at the right time. For about 4 weeks I watched the owner pull out of the driveway at dawn and return at dusk without her dog. She never gave up, nor did all the dedicated people who had “sightings” but to no avail. The weather remained awful.
Then she was spotted on Shelby Drive one early evening near the Humane Society. The Humane Society left capture crates containing food and blankets along the road. By dawn, she had gone into a crate and was quickly taken to a closed garage nearby to get warm and then be checked out. Amazingly, she was dehydrated and had lost weight but nothing serious. She, and her delighted owner, stayed in our guesthouse for another 5 days to acclimate. , All of this could not have had a happy ending if not for the countless volunteers who always put animals first.
The final act of kindness was by the pet parents who returned to Sedona several weeks later to distribute shopping bags full of doggie treats for each volunteer.
And what was this dog’s name? NOEL…who was found just before Christmas.