Little Boy Lost

I am participating in Mama Kat's Writers Workshop and I have chosen the prompt.....Share a story about a stray you took in or an animal you once rescued.
I originally posted about Howard in February of 2009......

The newest member of our family is Howard... on the right....Mr. Bankerchick rescued him from traffic on Howard St....a few days after we got back from SB after a week with Лука,. We notified the Humane Society and made posters in the neighborhood. He was matted and starving. We think he's a forclosure dog, just left when owners leave the home. We have lots of them in San Bernardino County. We decided to keep him after we received no inquiries on him. He is a doll, housebroken, friendly, likes to cuddle and now, Gwennie's best friend. The Gwenster was jealous at first but they are now good buddies. We are taking him to the Vet next week for shots and then getting him licensed.  That was Spring, 2009.......

Well we took him to the vet and got a dog licence for him.  He was such a welcome new member of our family.  DD2 gave him a bath one afternoon in April and took off his collar.  I guess that maybe he was a runner, because he escaped from the front patio, Gwennie would have been to big to get out the gate but Howard was mostly fluff so he must have wiggled out.  DD2 scoured the neighborhood looking for him, we backtracked with the Humane Society, looking this time for a lost dog.  We were heartbroken. When we didn't find him after several weeks, we decided all was lost.  I would love to say at this time he came wandering back into our lives, but that was not to be.

We realized with Howard in our lives, that we needed to be a 2 dog family, so we decided to rescue from the Humane Society. We blocked access to the front patio to doggies and went in search of a new dog.  One Saturday, we found TOTEM  and our family was complete. Totem, so glad to find a forever home, has been a dutiful puppy never leaving our side. Even though he sometimes has run out the front door, he comes back when called.  Can't say the same of Gwennie, so we have both of them microchipped.

The pups have really enriched our lives and keep us active. We have decided to help the Humane Society here in Joplin by fostering dogs awaiting a forever home. I am sure I will have many stories to tell as we embark on that experience.