While on my way to work one morning in the beginning of January, I took a back road heading to the other side of town. As I approached the overpass that takes you over the freeway, I spotted a small head pop up and out of the brush on the opposite side of the road. There laid this girl, no collar or tags, alone, out of place, and wrapped up in a tight ball (which was no surprise because it was really quite cold out).
This is where our adventure began. I immediately went into action to try and catch her but it didn't take me long to figure out this would not be an easy rescue. She was extremely afraid of people and would not let anyone close. I tried everything I could think of, treats, wet food, toys, but I still had no luck catching her. So unable to get her the first day I was back out there the 2nd day before the sun came up. I spent all that day with her too. Feeding her treats by tossing them out to her, each one making her come closer than the last. When those stopped being as appealing we just sat in the field together and watched the cars go by. There were times I was close enough to touch her but as soon as she saw any leash, game over.
On the first day I had met a friendly man and his wife who stopped a few times to try and catch her as well, the gentleman came each day and would keep an eye on her so I could go home, get food, feed our dogs and head back out. This was helpful because she had set up her territory between a freeway, a highway, and believe it or not a set of train tracks between the two, so we were very nervous she would get hit. We did this dance for 2 days (from sun up to sun down).
Then, on the night of the 2nd day, a few hours after dark, some local volunteers were finally able to catch her as she was in flight from a coyote mom and her pups. As soon as we heard we went and picked her up so she would not have to be taken to the shelter.
After no one stepped up to claim her or look for her (we scanned for microchip, posted about her on local social media, and notified dog control), we made the easy decision to make this girl an official part of our Crew.
Phoebe comes to us with a lot of baggage, I am not sure what she went through before we found her but it would be hard for me to believe she didn't have it rough. To give you an example my sister came over to visit the other day and the simple action of her kneeling down to give her a treat made Phoebe panic and desperately try to get away. She also exhibits several other signs that indicate a troubled past.
Despite everything she has been through she took to the Crew right away. She sleeps, plays and eats with everyone and fits in as if she has been part of the Crew for years. To our surprise she also does well with the cats, Zoe even makes it a point to say hello to her every day by rubbing up against her in passing. Watching her come out of her shell has been amazing and we have nothing but hope for her future.
