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Finding Gizmo

© Joy Butler

I was in the kitchen chopping celery for a salad when I heard my two terriers barking wildly in the yard. Peering out the window, I saw a strange dog standing outside the fence. His stringy tail waved high above his back as he watched my dogs making their fuss, but the little scruffy gray dog was unsure of coming any closer.

Now dogs love to explore, so it's not hard for them to get lost. If their yard has no fence, they may wander away. If they are inside a fence, they may climb or dig out. They have even been known to dash through the door while no one is looking. Sometimes, I have found lost pets and could not locate their owners, and those animals ended up at the shelter. But seeing the black collar and tag around this dog's neck, I smiled.

Calling my own dogs into the house, I went to have a look at the visitor. Once outside, I noticed another little dog - a Dachshund, keeping his distance and wearing no collar. I knelt down and called them. My words instantly set the gray dog's tail in motion and he trotted toward me. The Dachshund seemed frightened and only moved farther away. With the scruffy dog safe in my arms, I came back inside to phone the number on his tag.

The phone rang at a veterinary office and the clerk asked for the ID number on the tag. By typing that number into her computer, she was able to bring up all of the dog's information. His name was Gizmo! I asked her if Gizmo's owner also had a Dachshund, but there was no record of another dog. My heart sank. With no tags, the little frightened dog would remain lost.

I held the line while she phoned the owners. A moment later, her voice came back and informed me that Gizmo's "mom" would come to pick him up just as soon as she could get there! It turned out she had been crying and looking all over for him!

I went back outside to wait with the little dog, "Gizmo, we've found your people! You are so lucky that they were thoughtful enough to keep a tag on you."

About ten minutes later, a tan suburban pulled into my driveway. When a young girl stepped out, Gizmo jumped up and down wildly with joy. His scruffy hair bounced and his eyes sparkled! The girl and her mother had tears in their eyes and thanked me for keeping their pet safe. It was then that I told them about the Dachshund who had been traveling with Gizmo.

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