{"id":7682,"date":"2025-03-02T08:39:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T13:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=7682"},"modified":"2025-03-02T08:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T13:39:44","slug":"catching-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2025\/03\/02\/catching-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s the next in the \u201cSunday Story Series\u201d on Our America. No politics today, just another “tail” about dogs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lost Pet Recovery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is an old political adage, explaining the problems of success:  \u201cIt\u2019s like the dog who caught the car\u201d.  The premise is that dogs chase cars, but if they were actually successful and caught one, they wouldn\u2019t know what to do.  Today\u2019s story  answers that question:  what really happens when a dog catches a car?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of the dog stories in \u201cOur America\u201d come from our work with Lost Pet Recovery (LPR), a group of intrepid volunteers who find lost dogs and return them to their owners.\u00a0\u00a0LPR gets requests for help from all over Ohio, Kentucky and even beyond.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes, we are able to \u201ctalk\u201d folks through getting their own dogs back.\u00a0Often, we supply equipment to help them out.\u00a0\u00a0And sometimes, we go out ourselves to recover the dog, and return it to the owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So last weekend we were on a trip to \u201cscout out\u201d a husky mix that was a \u201chard case\u201d, out in Preble County.\u00a0Where\u2019s Preble County?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the last county before the Indiana border, starting just west of Dayton, Ohio, and reaching through the flat farmlands towards Richmond, Indiana.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, the quickest way to the Husky\u2019s last known Ohio location was to enter Indiana, turn off the interstate onto a state highway, then onto a local county road that recrossed the border.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Stuff<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cdog\u201d folks in Preble already tried the \u201ceasy\u201d stuff.\u00a0\u00a0A box trap was placed near where the Husky was sheltering, and they hoped she would be drawn in by the \u201cgood smelling\u201d bait.\u00a0\u00a0But instead of attracting the dog, she went on a long \u201cwalk-a-bout\u201d, over fifteen miles before returning to her original location.\u00a0\u00a0The trap scared her off, so that technique was scratched off the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was hanging out in a dairy barn, eating cow feed and cow remains.\u00a0\u00a0And she found a soul-mate, the local farm dog that lived there.\u00a0\u00a0They clearly were in a friendly relationship, so much so that any attempt to retrieve the Husky had to take into account what to do with the local dog.\u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s how we know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were driving down the narrow country lane, just after crossing back into Ohio, checking out the \u201clay of the land\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0We passed the farmhouse where the dairy farmer and his family lived, then turned around in the next driveway to come back and look for the Husky.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile ‘Ol Farm Dog determined that our truck, with a six-foot trap in the back, was a threat, if not to him and his family, definitely to his \u201cfriend\u201d the Husky.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THIS IS MY ROAD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We pulled back by the farm, and Ol’ Farm Dog came out on the road to greet us.\u00a0\u00a0We went past the farm house, then turned around again in the dairy barn driveway.\u00a0\u00a0This time it was “Mr. This is My Road\u201d, and he was having none of it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood in the middle of the road, barking boldly at our offending vehicle.\u00a0\u00a0When I tried to back up, Farm Dog followed along, right by the front bumper.\u00a0\u00a0When I tried to turn to the side, he circled around to keep us centered in the road.\u00a0\u00a0Then, when we lowered the windows to try to cajole him, he approached the door.\u00a0\u00a0‘Ol Farm Dog didn\u2019t seem very \u201cfriendly\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two young kids who live in the house just stood in the front yard watching the show.  We certainly weren\u2019t the first car their dog had \u201ccaught\u201d, and I expect they were enjoying our inept maneuvering.   I lowered the window (just enough) to give them a yell:  \u201cHey kid, could you come get your dog?\u201d.  One responded \u201cJust drive forward\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were in a pickup truck, and the dog was so close to the front bumper that he was beneath our view.\u00a0\u00a0I wasn\u2019t moving forward:\u00a0\u00a0how would it look if the LPR \u201cTeam\u201d ran over a farm dog while trying to catch a lost dog?\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019d definitely lose my Lost Pet Recovery “membership card”, and besides, I don\u2019t run over dogs.\u00a0\u00a0So I inched forward. He barked even more furiously. ‘Ol Farm Dog wasn’t going to move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caught<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

He had us.\u00a0\u00a0He caught the truck.\u00a0\u00a0And he knew exactly what he was going to do.\u00a0\u00a0Ol’ Farm Dog was going to keep us, right there, in front of the farmhouse, for as long as he damned well wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was ironic and kind of funny.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of trapping dogs, our LPR team was trapped.\u00a0\u00a0But Don, the \u201cboss\u201d in the back seat wasn\u2019t amused. He was furious, not with me (the driver), and not even with the dog.\u00a0\u00a0He was furious that the farm owners would let their dog wander on the country lane, trying to catch cars.\u00a0\u00a0And it wasn\u2019t because it was interfering with our scouting.\u00a0\u00a0There is only one inevitable result for a dog fixated on catching cars, trucks, and other vehicles.\u00a0\u00a0In the end, one of those will catch him;\u00a0another \u201cfarm dog\u201d lost.\u00a0\u00a0And our \u201cBoss\u201d didn\u2019t think that was so funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I yelled at the kid again, \u201cCome on, Man, come get your dog!\u201d.  The older brother gestured to his younger sibling, and the kid meandered over to the road, jumping in front of the truck to chase his dog into the field.  He then hollered at us \u201cGet Going!\u201d.  The vaunted \u201cLPR Team\u201d now taking orders from a ten year-old.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pulled ahead, slowly.\u00a0\u00a0I was trying to avoid flattening old farm dogs and young children.\u00a0\u00a0Then Don said, \u201cYou better get going\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He, ‘Ol Farm Dog, was racing across the field, a desperate move to keep ahead of us.\u00a0\u00a0He didn\u2019t want to lose his \u201ccatch\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back Way Home<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I punched it, and once we passed forty, the farm dog was left behind.  We spent the rest of the day trying to \u201cspy out\u201d the Husky, without success.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours later, the quickest way back home was to take the county road to the highway, to the interstate in Indiana back to Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0But I refused to go that way.\u00a0\u00a0No more Mr. This Is My Road!!\u00a0\u00a0I charted a course along the county roads, meandering our way across Ohio farmlands and through small towns until finally we got to the interstate.\u00a0\u00a0More miles, more time, but anything was better than getting caught by an old farm dog again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postscript 1:\u00a0\u00a0The Husky is still at the farm.\u00a0\u00a0The farmer\u2019s wife has one of our trail cams in the dairy barn, and we know she\u2019s there.\u00a0\u00a0A team is headed back out soon.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ll let you know how it goes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postscript 2:\u00a0\u00a0Finding and returning lost dogs isn\u2019t cheap.\u00a0\u00a0LPR is a volunteer organization (and a 501-C3 charity). We’ve found thousands of lost dogs.\u00a0\u00a0Most went back to their owners, but some are strays that end up in our rescue. If you\u2019d like to help financially \u2013 we welcome donations.\u00a0\u00a0That’s how we keep going. Here\u2019s how to support LPR<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n