Selected article(s) from "The PAW PRINT"

RESCUE STORY-SILVER, THE SEWER DOG
by Gayle Smith

A few years ago, a stray mutt, who was later to be named Silver, and who was called many other things by several home owners, took up residence in a sewer. It was a large pipe which ran along a ditch and under a driveway. It seemed like a good place to him. He was out of the rain and hail and protected from the cold and heat. Barring a flood, it was a perfect home. It would serve other purposes he soon found out. The exact center of this pipe was just out of reach from the dog catcher. He could sit there and watch the desperate dog catcher swinging his noose on a stick. He could even snarl and bare his teeth, smug in the knowledge that he could not be reached. For some reason, probably boredom, he soon discovered the joy of stealing his human neighbor’s newspapers. He had it down to an art. Every morning at 4:00 am sharp, he sat waiting for the newspaper man to make his rounds. He would grab the newspapers one by one and scurry into his drain pipe. He became braver. Soon nothing was safe. No one dared to leave a muddy shoe on their door step. He became a nightmare to Terry, the local dog catcher. For a solid year his phone was ringing off the wall. People were mad! They were becoming vicious and hostile toward Terry. I even heard there were death threats. Something had to be done about this cunning little pack rat. Finally, someone came up with the bright idea of spraying a hose in one side of the drain and hopefully the dog would be washed out the other end into the arms of the dog catcher. It worked! Terry became a local folk hero for ridding the area of this menace. To this day, he can’t speak of Silver without a shudder. And, having a weakness for smart, unruly dogs, Karen took him home with her to join her lively group of canines. It’s a pretty good place to be, but sometimes he does miss his days in the sewer.

Karen was the remarkable lady who brought P & P from a little one room shack where everything got put to sleep to about 3,000 sq feet added to the new pound that the city built. She quit her job to spend 10 - 12 hours a day 7 days a week at the shelter. They had side yards for the dogs to run and a big dog park with a little pond. She was there about 13 years before retiring They adopted out between 2,500 to 3,500 animals a year during the 5 years I was there. I’ll always wonder if she ever fully realized what an amazing thing she did.