How she acts on it is another matter. Fate may have other plans. Perhaps a special dog will set the path. I certainly hope so.
Posted on 01/07/2017 12:04:27 AM PST by nickcarraway
After two months on the run and countless attempts by adults to capture her, it took the charms of a 6-year-old dog whisperer named Meghan Topping to finally bring "Daisy" in from the cold.
"I used all my experience with dogs" said the Morgan Hill girl.
The tale of "Daisy" began in late October when the shepherd-mix, rescued from a Northern California animal shelter, was adopted by a "forever" family in Hollister.
She escaped their back yard just two days later.
For close to two months, members of the Hollister Animal Lost and Found Facebook group chronicled "Daisy" sightings all over town. Repeated attempts to capture her, though, failed.
"She was in fight or flight mode," said Deanna Barth, and expert in animal rescue with decades of experience. Barth likened "Daisy's" skill at eluding capture with that of a coyote. But even coyotes can be captured eventually.
"All the typical things like cage traps and baiting with smelly foods was not working," Barth said. "Our only way to earn her trust was to get someone she might remember."
Barth had heard that before being adopted, "Daisy" has spent time with a foster family and had become attached to a little girl there. They set out to find her. That girl turned out to be Meghan.
Meghan, and her mother Karen Topping, are prolific at fostering and training rescued and even feral dogs. Seventy-five dogs have passed through their home in the past year along. "Daisy," though, was special.
"Her bond with Meghan was uncanny," Karen Topping said.
This all explains why, in late December, Meghan and her mom drove from Morgan Hill to Hollister to see if they would have any luck at capturing the dog.
They found her in one of her usual haunts, an empty field.
Karen Topping began taking pictures and video to document the sighting, but it was Meghan who decided on her own to take action. Well, not completely on her own. Meghan says "Daisy" told her what to do.
"She told me. Because you can talk to dogs in your brain," Meghan said. "She told me if Mom stayed in the truck she would come to me and I believed it." So Meghan got out of the truck, walked to the middle of the field, sat down, and waited.
"Daisy" was cautious at first eventually crept closer and closer to the little girl, seeming to recognize her as an old friend.
The last few moments were captured on video by Karen Topping.
Tail-wagging, "Daisy" comes up to Meghan and allows the girl to pet her. Meghan eventually walks back to the truck, gets a leash, returns to the dog and puts it on her. "I was just amazed," Karen Topping said.
"It's hard to watch that video and not cry," Barth said.
"I was just thinking whatever was meant to be was meant to be," Meghan said. "And that was meant to be."
"Daisy" and Meghan have spent plenty of time together since the rescue, but the dog won't be coming to live with the Toppings. They say there are focused on the thousands of other dogs out there in need of fostering and training. They have already found a great family to be her new "forever" one.
Though, if she ever goes on the lam again, they'll know just who to call.
LOL! Here's a little secret: You can't believe everything you see on the Internet.
It’s amazing how often there happens to be someone present with a camera taking video when this kind of stuff happens. (Yes, I am a cynic.)
Considering pretty much everyone has a phone with a camera, and pretty much everyone has their phone with them at all times, it would probably be more unusual if someone didn’t have a camera nearby.
I hope no adults ever ‘talk her out of it’, like they’re prone to doing.
I swear, this place, sometimes.
o.O
All lost dogs come here, by themselves.
When Jack Michael was alive, his coonhound pack always finished their nightly hunt by stopping at my gate.
I’d wake up to a dozen dogs, just sitting out there, waiting to be let in, so I could give them water and call their owner to drive them home.
After a couple times of that, his son Drew’s Golden showed up a couple times, as well, expecting the same.
And we’re talking 2 miles and several road crossings.
I don’t know 90% of my neighbors but I know where every neighborhood dog goes.
Today, I discovered another Dobermann in the ‘hood, running around in a yard about a quarter mile from my house.
Kewl.
:)
We live in an era of everything being filmed, all the time.
It never ceases to amaze me, how many people are “documenting” their trip to the grocery store or whatever.
Strange days have found us.
Animals “put images in my head”, for the lack of a better way to explain.
They do not think in “words”, but pictures.
Of all my dogs, Gypsy, the Portuguese Podengo Medio is in charge of the water pail.
It’s a 2 gallon stainless steel bucket they all drink out of and sometimes, I don’t notice it empty.
When it is, she is the one who comes up to me and “pushes” the image of the empty bucket.
Seven is more or less “hubby’s dog” [or so he thinks] and she is a *very* “talkative” dog and she’s been waiting for hours for someone to “hear” her.
When I go in the room, she rushes to me with a veritable montage of things she wants or needs because, as he admits, “he doesn’t speak dog”.
When animals are content, this a great blessing.
When they are not, it is the worst curse, imaginable.
Injured critters on the road are pure agony.
Sometimes, in the pet stores, I meet a dog who is desperately unhappy with its owners.
Most of the time, they try to come home with me, much to the annoyance of their people.
And no, I do not care one whit if you think I’m insane.
It is what it is.
:)
Dogs know everything we think, feel or do.
We barely comprehend them.
They can learn hundreds of our words, in any language.
We only vaguely intuit their one universal language of barks.
Who is the “dumb animal”, really?
;D
The funny part is that the word “cynic” is derived from dogs.
Origin of the Cynic name
The name Cynic derives from Ancient Greek (kynikos), meaning “dog-like”, and; (kyôn), meaning “dog” (genitive: kynos).
One explanation offered in ancient times for why the Cynics were called “dogs” was because the first Cynic, Antisthenes, taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium at Athens.
The word cynosarges means the “place of the white dog”.
It seems certain, however, that the word dog was also thrown at the first Cynics as an insult for their shameless rejection of conventional manners, and their decision to live on the streets.
Diogenes, in particular, was referred to as the “Dog”, a distinction he seems to have reveled in, stating that “other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them.”
Later Cynics also sought to turn the word to their advantage, as a later commentator explained:
There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named.
First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads.
The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy.
The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies.
So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.
/Cynical Salamander
;)
I'm teared up with you...
Regards,
GtG
PS I've got a 45# Pembrook Corgi and he and I talk to each other all the time. His name is Frank for his blue eyes.
I would be inclined to make the little girl wait in the car with windows rolled up high.
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That’s the problem today. Children don’t learn life skills because they are constantly overprotected. Experience is the best teacher. FEAR is the greatest killer. Over-protection develops fear in children.
I would be inclined to make the little girl wait in the car with windows rolled up high.
..........................................................
That’s the problem today. Children don’t learn life skills because they are constantly overprotected. Experience is the best teacher. FEAR is the greatest killer. Over-protection develops fear in children.
It’s amazing to me how intuitive animals are. For example, my brother’s always had labradore retrievers throughout his life. His labs, a few generations of them have always taken to me and my brother always marveled how they would go crazy as soon as they knew I was visiting and wouldn’t settle down. They always wanted me to play with them and wouldn’t leave me alone as long as I was over. He currently has a sweet chocolate lab and same thing with her. My brother says she starts whining in the back yard before I can even park my car in front of his house. It seems she even knows what my car sounds like and and knows it’s me. My brother’s always marveled at how all of his dogs have acted the same towards me.
My son brought a cat home and I let him keep it. Although it was his cat it adopted me almost immediately and when my son moved out he asked if I would keep her. He said he thought it would break the cat’s heart if he took her away from me, so I kept her. She turned out to be the best little friend I ever had and she lived until she was 24. I miss that cat constantly.
My step dad had a minah bird and it talked, but only when it felt like it, however, whenever I came into the room this Minah would start whistling and talking a blue streak. It would start jumping around in it’s cage from perch to perch and talk and whistle up a storm. It only would do that when I came around, it amazed everyone. In fact, I was the only person this bird allowed to hand feed it and the only person it would perch on their finger.
I can approach stray cats and dogs if i want to. Even wild birds like crows and pidgeons land amazingly close to me and sit looking at me, and even look away so that you know they have no fear. that’s always been weird but really rather cool.
I do some dog sitting for my family members but other than my son’s hand me down cat, I’ve never owned an animal of my own. Weird hah?
I have a lifetime full of animal stories like this.
Thoughtful words, worth remembering. Thanks.
I get what you mean. Some folks on this site refuse to accept that one can be both a Christian and someone who accepts validity and utility of the many ‘undefined arts’ in communication. I don’t spend much effort trying to convince someone of other viewpoints, as many become upset simply by hearing the question raised.
I don’t come on this site with the intention of challenging people on such personal or crucial matters. Who am I to say what is ‘right’ for all? Nobody, but another individual now living this life.
I think the milleneals and many others will be more open to accepting the validity and the good of both life perspectives. Compared to fourty or fifty years ago, it seems less forbidden to ask certain questions in a sincere and respectful way. This communication technique is but another God-Given talent that most of us were born with, but was either ignored , becoming weak and atrophied or shunned and forevermore suppressed and denied. This skill, as with electricity , as with fertile soil, simply is, and can be used for good or for selfish motives.
“I think it’s a big help to ‘get down to the dog’s level’,”
In our rural area, a stray dog showed up on our lot. We could see he had a collar and tags but we couldn’t get close enough to check it because he’d run away. After a couple days we asked our neighbor if she could help. She came over to where he would hang out and she laid down flat on her back in the grass. About 15 minutes later the dog came over to her and licked her face. She was able to read the tags, call out the phone number to us, and we called the owner.
People hunt in our area, and the dog had separated from his “person”. When the owner showed up, they sure were happy to see each other!
How she acts on it is another matter. Fate may have other plans. Perhaps a special dog will set the path. I certainly hope so.
IMO, she should be the one to have the dog.
Their bond is already special.
You are a person after my own heart.
[and probably one of the few who would not call me crazy]
;)
Ha ha, now if only women found me as desirable as critters do.... Well, I’d have it made.
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