Sometimes I just don't get it. People, I mean. You think you've got them sorted out in your mind, you inderstand where they're coming from, and wham! - they leave you guessing again.
For the last few years (nearly 3, in fact) we've been looking after a couple of dogs for a friend. Well, she was the friend of a friend actually. She'd decided to accept a job in beautiful downtown Dubai, where the air is hot, the women are covered up, and you can (reputedly) make a great deal of money compared to here. So, I don't blame anyone who is capable of taking such a position from wanting to get on in life.
Anyway, this "friend" had a couple of dogs, (her "babies" she called them) and not much else to stop her from having a go at a Dubai stint. One thing led to another and we suddenly had two small dogs to look after, supposedly for 6 months. No biggie.
Of course, that was until (not long after she'd gone) we got the email to say she'd accepted a longer contract and would probably be back in a year, maybe. (did I mention that she left the country (& her "babies") without offering to pay for any of their costs? we eventually asked for and received a regular payment of $25 per week to defray the fur-ball's costs - considering most kennels charge that much PER DAY PER DOG, I reckon she was doing OK.)
So, I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that we were now the "owners" of these mutts; certainly the dog pound to which they were taken every time they houdini'd their way out of our backyard and which smilingly charged me $65 "bail" to release them thought of me as their owner.
Suddenly, mid last year, we got a message that she was coming home, her contract was not being renewed. "She couldn't wait to get back to her "babies", she missed them so much!" (oh puhhlease)
And, on Christmas Eve, good to her promise, she arrived to collect them. She seemed surprised that the dogs didn't leap into her arms in recognition, but I put that down to the relatively small brains which small dogs have (logical really) and that their memories were too full of important things like, "how to get out of backyards","when to eat" and "when to bark for food (yep, 4am)".
We said our (no so tearful) goodbyes and I was happy to call it quits at that point. Until last week.
Out of the blue, I got a phone call from the dog pound, with a polite lady telling me that one of the dogs had been found by an very caring person on the other side of town, and could I ring her to arrange to collect him? I had to convince her that despite my regular attendance at her facility to retreive said mutt, I was not in fact his owner, that she was back from OS, and I would be happy to put them in touch. (oh & could I be taken off their database please?)
So, I rang the lady who had found the dog, thanked her for her kindness, and assured her I'd get the real owner to contact her ASAP. I then spent the next HOUR trying to track the recently-returned-from-Dubai-owner down, leaving 2 voice messages for her to call me back. Eventually I sent her a text SMS with the phone number of the rescuer and hoped the message was getting through somehow.
Without any responses at all, I called the good samaritan who found the dog to update her, whereupon she told me that the owner had just left her place with the dog, thanks very much.
I'm writing this a week later & I still haven't heard from the owner.
Like I said, sometimes I just don't get it. Maybe I should get another dog - they're easier to understand.
For the last few years (nearly 3, in fact) we've been looking after a couple of dogs for a friend. Well, she was the friend of a friend actually. She'd decided to accept a job in beautiful downtown Dubai, where the air is hot, the women are covered up, and you can (reputedly) make a great deal of money compared to here. So, I don't blame anyone who is capable of taking such a position from wanting to get on in life.
Anyway, this "friend" had a couple of dogs, (her "babies" she called them) and not much else to stop her from having a go at a Dubai stint. One thing led to another and we suddenly had two small dogs to look after, supposedly for 6 months. No biggie.
Of course, that was until (not long after she'd gone) we got the email to say she'd accepted a longer contract and would probably be back in a year, maybe. (did I mention that she left the country (& her "babies") without offering to pay for any of their costs? we eventually asked for and received a regular payment of $25 per week to defray the fur-ball's costs - considering most kennels charge that much PER DAY PER DOG, I reckon she was doing OK.)
So, I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that we were now the "owners" of these mutts; certainly the dog pound to which they were taken every time they houdini'd their way out of our backyard and which smilingly charged me $65 "bail" to release them thought of me as their owner.
Suddenly, mid last year, we got a message that she was coming home, her contract was not being renewed. "She couldn't wait to get back to her "babies", she missed them so much!" (oh puhhlease)
And, on Christmas Eve, good to her promise, she arrived to collect them. She seemed surprised that the dogs didn't leap into her arms in recognition, but I put that down to the relatively small brains which small dogs have (logical really) and that their memories were too full of important things like, "how to get out of backyards","when to eat" and "when to bark for food (yep, 4am)".
We said our (no so tearful) goodbyes and I was happy to call it quits at that point. Until last week.
Out of the blue, I got a phone call from the dog pound, with a polite lady telling me that one of the dogs had been found by an very caring person on the other side of town, and could I ring her to arrange to collect him? I had to convince her that despite my regular attendance at her facility to retreive said mutt, I was not in fact his owner, that she was back from OS, and I would be happy to put them in touch. (oh & could I be taken off their database please?)
So, I rang the lady who had found the dog, thanked her for her kindness, and assured her I'd get the real owner to contact her ASAP. I then spent the next HOUR trying to track the recently-returned-from-Dubai-owner down, leaving 2 voice messages for her to call me back. Eventually I sent her a text SMS with the phone number of the rescuer and hoped the message was getting through somehow.
Without any responses at all, I called the good samaritan who found the dog to update her, whereupon she told me that the owner had just left her place with the dog, thanks very much.
I'm writing this a week later & I still haven't heard from the owner.
Like I said, sometimes I just don't get it. Maybe I should get another dog - they're easier to understand.
No comments:
Post a Comment