{"id":6602,"date":"2023-08-20T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6602"},"modified":"2023-08-20T10:00:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T14:00:41","slug":"toy-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/08\/20\/toy-truck\/","title":{"rendered":"Toy Truck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is another in the \u201cSunday Story\u201d series.  No politics today, just a story of people who help dogs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dog Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The dog \u201ccommunity\u201d is varied.  Most know about the \u201cgovernment\u201d agencies, the county animal shelters.  What many don\u2019t realize is that there are \u201ccounty shelters\u201d, and there are county \u201chumane societies\u201d, and those two are very different entities.  The \u201cshelters\u201d are the \u201cdog catchers\u201d of old, a branch of law enforcement.  Their primary job is to manage dogs that are a threat to the community, either vicious, road hazards, or some other nuisance.  The Humane Society is privately funded, and deals with animal cruelty and health.  So a lost dog that is injured might fall under their jurisdiction, while a dog that is biting people or other dogs goes to the shelter.  But a lost dog that is just lost; neither may be involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s confusing.  Now add to that the privately run dog \u201crescues\u201d that are throughout the state, and groups like the one we work with, Lost Pet Recovery (LPR), and there are a mishmash of folks working to deal with lost, injured, dangerous or stray dogs.  Sometimes they all work together, and sometimes they end up at cross purposes.  The \u201canimal control\u201d agents (old school \u201cdog catchers\u201d) and the Humane Agents are legal authorities, with badges and guns.  When there\u2019s conflict with private groups, they have the authority to arrest humans for obstruction.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lost Dogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So if you lose your dog, you definitely want to call the County Shelter and the Humane Society and let them know.  That way, if someone reports a lose dog or turns it in, they\u2019ll know it\u2019s yours.  But they probably aren\u2019t going to help you find your dog.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that you need to do your own work.  There are no \u201ccompanies\u201d that I know of that you can pay to find your dog.  There are groups, like our Lost Pet Recovery, that will help you, but your participation in the process is fundamental.  Think of LPR as a guide, letting you know what to do, in a process that will hopefully get them in a position to humanely trap your dog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, scattered throughout the state, there are private, non-profit rescues.  These are the folks who take in strays or dogs that owners can\u2019t keep.  They are usually (not always) out on some country road, far away from neighbors.  When you pull up there\u2019s a cacophony of barking, and at the better ones, there\u2019s indoor kennels and outdoor runs.  Those non-profits need supplies:  food, medicines, equipment.  It\u2019s an expensive proposition. Few are funded by a \u201csugar daddy or momma\u201d.  Most raise funds through donations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Farm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I was three years-old, I watched  \u201cZorro\u201d on television (in black and white, it was 1959).  I wielded a knitting needle and decided to sword fight with our dog Princess.  She turned and bit me on the arm, a perfectly reasonable thing for her to do.  But Mom and Dad decided she couldn\u2019t stay, and sent her to \u201clive on a farm\u201d.  When I was older, I thought that was a story they told us kids when a dog was euthanized.  And maybe she was.  But there are literal farms, often at the end of a narrow country lane, that take in unwanted and stray dogs.  So maybe Princess really did go to a farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an organization in Cincinnati called United Pet Fund.  It plays a particular role in the dog (and cat) community.  UPF takes in massive donations of food and equipment from manufacturers.  For example, if a dog food manufacturer prints thousands of dog food bags with a faulty label \u2013 they  don\u2019t throw the filled bags away.  Instead, they sell them at a much reduced cost to UPF, who then re-sells them to the non-profit shelters throughout the state.  And it\u2019s not just dog food:  it\u2019s \u201cpee pads\u201d, crates, and other equipment.  And last week, it was dog toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overstock<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The toy manufacturer had a huge overstock of toys.  They had to clear out their warehouse, and so they donated the toys to UPF.  Now UPF\u2019s warehouse was filled with toys, and space was at a premium.  The folks at UPF are big supporters of Lost Pet Recovery, our group.  And so we did them a favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPF has a big 26\u2019, diesel delivery truck.  They filled it with pallets of boxed dog toys.  And we volunteered to deliver the toys to shelters and rescues throughout Southern Ohio.  So last Friday and Saturday, it was \u201cChristmas\u201d for dogs, compliments of UPF and LPR.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenn and I drove to UPF on the northside of Cincinnati to pick up the truck.  After passing a driving inspection by \u201cDr Z\u201d, the founder of UPF, we pulled out on our tour of Ohio.  It was a beautiful day to drive into Ohio\u2019s hilly Southern country; out on State Route 32, the Appalachian Highway.  Our first stop was past Portsmouth in Wheelersburg, to meet  Rescue people in the parking lot of Lowes.  We transferred a full pallet of toys to them, as well as several boxes of \u201cpee pads\u201d (an absolute necessity for any rescue).  They were excited, filling their van with boxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into the Hills <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We then went to a \u201ctypical\u201d dog rescue, up on a narrow winding road in Scioto County (just north of Portsmouth).  As I backed the truck (that went better than expected) the dogs responded to the \u201cbeep-beep\u201d warnings with plenty of \u201calert\u201d barks.  And then we were up on the back of the truck, pulling out almost a whole second pallet of toys.  The dogs will soon be happier, with pull-toys and \u201csqueaker\u201d chew toys to play with.  (There\u2019s a soundscape:  thirty dogs, searching for the \u201csqueaker\u201d in the chew toy.  Better than barking, I guess).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We found our way out of the countryside onto the \u201cnew\u201d Portsmouth four-lane bypass, SR 823.  Then we headed North, up SR 23 to Chillicothe, and then across SR 35 to the Fayette County Shelter near Washington Courthouse.  They got a pallet of toys plus some, and we got to talk to the Agent, who works with LPR  trapping stray and lost dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we turned towards home, but first with a stop at the Licking County Humane Society.  There we left a fourth pallet, and had a conversation with the folks from our own county\u2019s group.  One agent went to high school where I was the Dean of Students, and quickly said I wouldn\u2019t know her because she didn\u2019t get in trouble!  She was right, though I recognized her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hand-off<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And then, after almost 400 miles, we dropped the truck off in West Columbus to the leader of LPR, Don.  Four pallets to go – Don had the second leg of the \u201ctour\u201d.   \u201cSanta Claus\u201d arrived  on Saturday to groups in Troy, Dayton, Middletown, and Western Ohio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a whole lot of volunteers, non-profit organizations, and trained professionals involved in helping animals in our communities.  Jenn and I have five dogs at home; we know it takes a lot of financing as well as time.  Our tour with the \u201cToy Truck\u201d let us meet all sorts of folks who are doing what they can do to make life better for dogs who don\u2019t have \u201cforever families\u201d.   If it takes a \u201cvillage\u201d raise a child, it takes a whole state to care for dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Story Series<\/h4>\n\n\n\n