The Stray Dog, part 5

The continuing adventures of a boy and his dog Karl
To see what you’ve missed so far here are the links to the previous installments.
The Stray Dog part 1: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog
The Stray Dog part 2: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-2
The Stray Dog part 3: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/stray-dog-part-3
The Stray Dog part 4: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-4

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Zoomed in for Karl's glamour shot... (Image by Krazy Uncle)

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Monday the 18th – morning
I have an appointment latter today so I’ll have to keep this brief, Karl and I made contact! Woo hoo!

This morning first thing Karl and I policed the yard, and he sniffed around. Once we came back into the garage I sat on my firewood splitting block and put my hand out, Karl came up to see if I had food, I didn’t at the time and after a moment he put his paw in my hand gently. I got a big lump in my throat, but I maintained my calm and reached out and stroked his head. We actually got quite touchy after that and he curled up between my legs and I was able to run my hands over him and lift up his ears to see how bad the ticks were. He’s a mess.

I headed for the house and the tick medication vial, but when I got back the moment had passed and Karl was back to his shy self, plus he didn’t like that I had something unfamiliar in my hand. I finally had to go to town and get some chicken to once again break the barrier.

Once back, I went out into the yard and sat on the ground with him feeding him bits of chicken. By the end of the chicken supply I was able to pet him again and finally was able to apply the Frontline™ flea and tick treatment on his skin like the instructions demonstrate.

I also called some Vets and talked to them about getting Karl checked out, most are about two days out for an appointment. One Vet took my phone number and is going to put out the word to the local agencies about Karl, maybe someone reported him missing. If someone does claim him I’m going to be real, real sad to see him go, but before that happens I’m going to see how Karl reacts to the person(s) claiming him. Karl better run up to them and claim his people too. If he isn’t overjoyed to see the owners nobody is taking him without Law Enforcement involved. There’s gotta be a whole lotta ‘splainin’ goin’ on about why Karl is so hand shy, and how he got to be in such dire straits!

Anyway, I’ve got a busy day and I’ll write more later this evening!
Stay tuned!

This is the second time I was able to touch Karl today, I didn't have my camera the first time... (Image by Krazy Uncle)

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Update: Monday the 18th – evening
As you all have read previously, this morning came with the
------ BIG BREAKTHROUGH!!! ------
Karl allowed me to pet him! To say I was overjoyed and choked up would be an understatement. I was able to apply the tick and flea medicine to the skin between shoulder blades as instructed, and the ticks are starting to fall off, yea!

During my afternoon appointment the local Human Society called me and I was able to step out to take the call. The lady on the line was doing a found pet follow up, from one of the vets I called this morning. She wanted me to bring Karl in and surrender him… Wha..! She informed me that they would take Karl in and get him cleaned up, checked over and neutered if he needed, plus they would check for any identifying microchip to see if he had one, and try to reconnect him with his previous owners. If no one claimed him in three days I could pick him up for a fee of $50 to $150 depending if he needed to be neutered and his age. I said, “No, I am not willing to surrender Karl.” Then she tried to explain how it could be less money for me if I surrendered Karl and they took care of his needs… huh? Now, maybe she is right if Karl is over six years old, and doesn’t need to be neutered it could be less, but with him out of my control and if he is claimed… I may never see him again… Naw, it’s not going to happen that way. As requested during that phone interview, I sent my local Humane Society a photo of Karl for their records, but for some reason the photo made him look like a cross between a Sheep dog, Bull dog, and a Great Dane mixed with fuzzy photography… go figure?

I did make an appointment with a vet for later this week and the cost of the checkup will be a straight up $50. I will have to pay to get him cleaned up and a haircut also, but I keep control of Karl. There is a possibility that Karl has a chip and someone is looking for him, but I will not let loose of Karl without meeting the claimant, and Karl will make the choice of where he wants to go. I will gauge this by how Karl reacts. If he is wildly happy to see his owners, I’ll let him go, if he is shy or afraid I will not surrender Karl to someone that can’t explain why he is so hand shy and timid. Now, I may be wrong about this, and maybe his experience in the wild is why he was so skittish around me at first, but..? If someone tries to claim, Karl I will contact my local Sherriff and see if I can have a Deputy present for any exchange of Karl from me to his “owners.” I want him to hear any explanations of Karl’s previous treatment by any potential owners.

So, how are Karl and I doing? Really, really good, Karl has gone from being in survival mode 24/7 to being a dog again. I have a security system with cameras and I could see Karl feeding from his dish, whenever there was food in it. It was sad to watch him eat. He would take a bite, and then walk around in a circle and scan his surroundings, then he would take a bite and again check to see if anything was sneaking up on him… it’s sad that any dog would get to that point of fear in the world around him, but I'm sure that's how he survived as long as he did on his own.

Now, that he feels safer, petting him is easy now, and he’ll curl up between my legs when I crouch down face to face with him. I expect a lick to the face soon. One thing though, Karl is the dirtiest, filthiest dog I have ever run my hands across… ugh! My first order of business is to start trimming out burrs and matted hair from his hide. I could pull some of the burrs out, but figure trimming with blunt nosed scissors would cause less hair pulling, and since I’m going to have his hair trimmed short, I don’t care if his fur is patchy right now. Besides, I don’t think Karl is going to choose cosmetics over function right now. I am considering bathing and clipping Karl’s fur myself? As it stands the two groomers I’ve talked to have waiting lists of two to three weeks out – I can’t imagine poor dirty dog Karl not getting a bath and a haircut for that long… ugh… poor guy

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

A very good day indeed... (Image by Krazy Uncle)