Today is Part Four of a five-part series of posts on Josie the black Lab.  If you missed Parts one through three you can read them here Part One, Part Two, Part Three.    Now, Of All the Joints in All the World…Part Four…

Tuesday morning, my husband and I went out and hung our brightly colored “Found Black Lab” posters in strategic locations around our area.  I called the vet’s office and learned there had been no response to the email they had sent to the owner the previous day.  Frustrated, I asked the vet’s office if they would give me all the information they had on Josie’s care, which they did willingly.  Josie had been a patient at the clinic since she was a puppy.  Knowing Josie was well cared for made me even more frustrated thinking and wondering how someone could just abandon her.  Was it due to her age?  Had they moved and left her?  Had she run off and could not be found before they moved?  A million what if’s ran through my head.

During the morning’s conversation with the vet, I managed to get the street name where the owner lived (had lived) though the vet’s office would not give me a specific address or a name.  My husband immediately went to the neighborhood and talked to anyone who was out and about.  One person said he knew of someone who had a black Lab that was ill-behaved and quite obnoxious.  Since this person had just seen that Lab the night before we knew it wasn’t Josie.  My husband hung signs at the entrance and exit of the neighborhood where hopefully they would be seen if the owner still lived there.

While my husband was out searching for the owner, I took Josie on her daily walk around our neighborhood.  I loved walking with Josie; she was well-behaved on the leash walking right by my side, she did not try to chase squirrels or spend her walking time sniffing and peeing on anything she could find unlike my dog.  She walked at a slower pace, which was perfect for just walking and relaxing.

As Josie and I made our way down and out of the cul-de-sac my plan was to walk all the way to our neighborhood’s entrance and then home.  Josie, however, had another idea.  As we approached my driveway and with no prompting from me, Josie made a left turn and took us “home.”  If I hadn’t fallen in love with Josie before that moment I certainly did when she made that turn.  I knew I had to find her owner or a new family soon before I would not be able to let her leave without a lot of heartache on my part.

My facebook friends had been wonderful in sharing Josie’s picture and contacting anyone they knew with rescue groups trying to help find Josie a new home.  When I had just about given up on finding her owner, Wednesday morning rolled around.

When Wednesday arrived, I walked Josie and then my husband I headed back to the owner’s neighborhood.  Again, we questioned anyone outside about an old black Lab but learned nothing.  On our way out of the neighborhood, we noticed a woman attempting to walk two large German Shepherds.  The Shepherds were pulling and jerking her about thanks to a small black Lab desperate to play with them.

As my husband asked the woman if she knew of anyone with an older black lab (she didn’t), I watched quite amused as the small Lab jumped towards the two German Shepherds.  When the Shepherds ran towards the little lab, she would roll around in the grass just out of their reach and then leap towards them again.   The lab was still entertaining itself with the Shepherds as we drove away.

When we returned home, I decided to call Animal Control in a last-ditch effort to find the owner.  The animal control officer I spoke with was very helpful and asked me to give her Josie’s vet’s name, phone number and her rabies I.D. number.  She said she would check for any prior warnings or nuisance reports on Josie and call the vet and get the owner’s name and complete address and send an officer to their house if it came to that.  The officer promised to call me back before noon.  Ten minutes later my phone rang.

The animal control officer called to tell me she had located and contacted Josie’s owner.   She went on to say they had a LOST report filed on April 21^st; eight days before Josie found her way to our house!   Unfortunately, they had no record of my FOUND report I had filed just two days earlier even though I had given it to the person on the phone and filled out the form on-line.  The officer asked if it was okay to give the owner my contact information and I told her it most certainly was.  A half hour later my phone rang again.

When I answered the call, a male voice on the other end said “Hi, I think you found my dog.”

Will Josie go home?  How did she end up here?  Did the little Lab playing with the German Shepherds have a role in Josie’s disappearance?  Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion.