I am not the dog whisperer

She's a black lab mix, big as a horse and strong as an ox, and she has that big goofy, sweet lab personality. She showed up on our front steps yesterday afternoon. We live two blocks from a busy street. If she got on that street I knew she would be a dead doggie. What else could I do but bring her into our fenced backyard? It was really a no-brainer.

I posted 15 signs in the neighborhood at 5 a.m. No calls. I've listed her as a found dog with the Humane Society and Pet Finder.

I took her to the vet tonight and had her scanned for a microchip. I literally jumped for joy when they said she had an AVID microchip. Then my heart sank when AVID called the contact numbers and came back on the line and said one number was disconnected and the other had no answer. They promptly gave up. I begged then for the owner's name. I'm a pretty good detective and there are ways of finding people. Something about a privacy rule.

I wrote AVID tonight and told them what I thought about their stupid rule. I want the owner's name and the phone number that doesn't get answered. I also listed her on the AVID website as a found pet.

After I got her home from the vet, I made sure she had plenty of water and food. Then she promptly wrapped the cable she's hooked to around my ankles and knocked me to the ground. I got so wound up in the cable that I thought my feet might get amputated at the ankles.

She jumped on me, trying to lick me to death. I thought I was never going to get up. I was rolling around on the ground trying to get to my feet. She kept wagging her tail back and forth in a crazy frenzy, smacking me in the face, and pushing me back to the ground. I was sure she was going to knock out my front teeth with her antics. I'm strong, but she's stronger. Crazy, stupid, sweet dog.

Moral of this story...if your pet is microchipped make sure your contact information is current. Old phone numbers that don't work aren't going to reunite you and your pet. I'll keep searching for her owner. I know someone misses her. She's a character and a sweetie. She deserves to go back to her people. And no, I'm not keeping her. I'm going to find her owner.

Diet and exercise
On the diet front, struggling big time. After nine days of an eating frenzy it's damn hard to get back in control. Good workouts yesterday and today, but my eating sucks. Nothing really bad, just too much of the healthy stuff. Same old story.