If you haven’t read Holy Crap and Holy Crap, Part 2, you’ll want to do that now. (Holy Crap) (Holy Crap, Part 2)

As you know, an Animal Control Officer informed me he’d received word that 2 small dogs had been run over and killed on Mare Island the night before. Refusing to believe it, yet feeling sick to my stomach, I walked every foot of the reported area, thankfully encountering no dead dogs.

Then, while heading back to my car, I spotted the little gray dog, aka Gracie. What a relief! I immediately texted Loretta and Toni, alerting them she was heading their way, toward a palm tree where she and her buddy, aka Brownie, nap.

By now unsuccessful with traps, we resorted to nets.

Toni and I waited for Gracie to fall asleep in the tall grass while Loretta positioned herself to track her from her car should she escape. Trapping is often a waiting game so once the dog fell asleep, we made our move.

That’s precisely when a UPS truck drove up. Can you believe that? Naturally, Gracie bolted. I thought, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! What are the odds? Anyway, we greatly underestimated the speed of this little gal. I swear she could outrun my Greyhound in her prime, which explains why I was able to adopt Nellie in the first place. But I digress…

So Gracie sprinted past Loretta’s car but Loretta didn’t follow her. Why? Dead battery. Again I thought, ARE YOU KIDDING ME HERE?! Naturally, Gracie was gone in a flash. So while Loretta called AAA, Toni and I ran in different directions to search another area the bonded pups frequent. When my texts to Toni went unanswered, I wondered why. You got it; another dead battery. I’m guessing you know my response. We just couldn’t get a break.

Then I spotted Toni standing in the middle of a field, yelling and pointing toward the marsh. She, with her innate-dog-finding-radar, had located Brownie hiding in a bush! With that, our luck had changed. In his panic, Brownie made a critical error by heading into the thick marsh reeds. A severe limp slowed him enough that I, also a gimp, had a chance to catch up to him.

Brownie headed down a path framed by tall reeds. I worried he’d escape when he suddenly leapt into them. Another critical error! Wielding my net, and with Toni in hot pursuit toting a blanket, I swung the net and missed as the panicked dog continued bounding through the reeds. I swung the net again and to my surprise, he was under it. Brownie squirmed to escape while I slid the net closed and Toni quickly scooped him up into the blanket. We were ecstatic.

So he wouldn’t escape, I loaded Brownie into a large cat carrier inside my SUV. But the poor guy went limp, finally surrendering to exhaustion after a month living as a feral dog. He needed to be seen by a vet so I drove to Marin Humane while Toni and Loretta continued searching (like a needle in a haystack) for Gracie.

Upon examination, it appeared Brownie had been hit by a car after all, mistakenly resulting in Animal Control being told 2 dogs had been killed the night before. The two are inseparable and no doubt were running together, unseen, in total darkness on this part of the island. How this little guy even put pressure on his hind leg is amazing since it was essentially shattered.

On Wednesday Brownie will be neutered and his right rear leg amputated. Once Marin Humane clears him for adoption, he’ll go home with Toni to begin a wonderful new life. Hopefully soon his pal Gracie will be joining him. Stay tuned…

So dear friends, next Sunday, Holy Crap, Part 4 will conclude the pup pursuit saga. I hope.

Previously posted in 2019