On October 11, 2011, Bryan and I came home from work and, as we were getting out of the car, noticed a little dog sitting on the edge of the woods across the street from our house, watching us. For a moment, I thought our own little gray dog, Truman, had gotten out, but on second glance I could see this was not our dog.
As I started to approach, she ran back into the woods, clearly not interested in being approached. I had to leave to go to grad school class, but while I was gone, Bryan-- with the help of some neighbors and their German Shepherd-- heroically rounded up the terrified little dog and caught her. She was affectionately called Harry, until it was discovered that she was a female, and then we started referring to her as Harriet.
Harriet was horribly matted and flea infested, with no tags or collar. She seemed shaky and disoriented. We kept her in our garage with some food and water. Other neighbors donated some supplies: a dog bed, some food, a collar, a toy. She was pretty exhausted and timid, but not exactly fearful. She was gentle and didn't seem averse to being petted, although she seemed equally comfortable hiding in the corner of the garage.
The next morning, she escaped from the garage as we were leaving for work. We left the door to the garage open in case she wanted to come back for shelter or food or water. But, that was that.
...Except that when I came home for lunch, there was Harriet, sitting in the yard. She again ran away when I approached, but again, some kind passers-by helped catch her and we put her back in the garage. We made a vet appointment for that evening.
The vet discovered that, much to our surprise, she was overall quite healthy. This little 10 pound dog was not emaciated, as you might expect from a stray dog in her situation. She was very docile and never showed aggression to anyone caring for her. Based on her muscles, eyes, and overall body condition, the vet guessed that she was about 5 years old, but that she had been living on her own for at least a month or two.
The biggest problems were a severe flea infestation (easily taken care of) and the condition of her teeth. She had the teeth of a 20 year old dog. They were rotting out. An emergency grooming was scheduled to take care of her matted hair and the awful smell and the the fleas, but 3 of her teeth fell out during the grooming. Poor Harriet seemed to have never had any dental care whatsoever, which was probably made worse by chewing on sticks and bones while she tried to survive in the woods, causing serious gum damage. She was at serious risk of infection, which could pose fatal problems if left unattended. It was estimated to cost between $1200-1500.
This was when I learned that there are not a lot of options for financial help for people who want to help a stray animal. We were willing to give her up to a rescue organization, but we were also very willing to foster her, and since she was adjusting comfortably to our home, sending her away to a rescue organization felt a little cruel when we were perfectly willing to care for her. The high cost of surgery would be a big strain for us, but we couldn't find low-cost vet options for care other than vaccines and spaying, and rescue organizations we called were (understandably) unwilling to provide funding assistance to people who weren't already approved foster-families. Yet, the rescue organizations we found were all desperate for foster families, and her fate with them would be uncertain
Meanwhile, we learned Harriet had an intestinal parasite which required medication. She continued to recover at our house, getting regular meds. She was getting along well with our dog, and she made progress every day in becoming more comfortable with us. At first she was completely unwilling to walk on a leash, but bit by bit, within a couple weeks she was able to walk around the block with us.
We ended up heading to another vet to get a second opinion (even though I adore my usual vet, this other one was a friend of a family member). They gave us a much lower estimate-- $600-800. As I began posting updates on Facebook and talking with friends and family about Harriet's situation, people began asking if they could donate to the Harriet fund.
Thus, I awkwardly created this site, to give people the opportunity to contribute to Harriet's immediate medical costs. She is a sweet, affectionate little dog, and we have come to terms with the fact that she is now a beloved member of our family. We can happily provide for Harriet's care in the long term; the typical costs of being responsible dog owners are familiar to us. But the initial cost of finding a dog in the woods who has never been cared for responsibly and catching her up on shots, dewormings, spaying, and dental surgery is more than we were prepared for. If you are the kind of person who likes to contribute money to things like this, we would graciously appreciate any help lightening the financial burden of our new, very sweet but needy little family member, we would be deeply grateful for your generosity.
