Drive By Drama

In the summer of 2022, our sweet female LGD Pyrenees “Brandy” was meandering down by our shops when someone pulled in to our driveway, put her in their vehicle, and drove up to Davis Peak to play with friends for the day (weekends are pretty wild up our hill). They renamed her and pretended she was theirs, then dropped her off at the Humane Society in East Vancouver late that evening. Since it was after their public hours, we were unable to pick her up until the following day. We were, obviously, unbelievably worried about where she went – and even more concerned that someone “rescued” her by coming on to our property and taking her. They seemed like good-hearted folks who just hadn’t thought the whole thing out well. We were given our first warning and cited for having an “animal at large” when we picked her up. When I signed the release form, I wrote in the description what happened in hopes of leniency in the future if indeed, one of our critters got out and taken in. It happens.

Fast forward to 2023. Our driveways continue to be a source of great curiosity for many. I’ve got a few stories here, but I’ve got to focus. One is of an old disgruntled church patriarch that doesn’t speak to us or allow his family to*, who seems to enjoy county drives by our farm – who didn’t appreciate being asked to not trespass. Another was an “anonymous” nuisance complaint about a couple temporary structures we put up, along the same road said fella likes to enjoy leisurely drives, a dead end that oversees our place. To be fair, it’s a beautiful view.

Last month we decided it was time to find a puppy for Sage to train and ready for her someday final departure. She’s getting older and slow (but will do what she needs to do in a pinch), and tho’ we attempted adopting a roadside rescue… Well, actually our friend took a load of our stuff to the dump for us and came back with her… It didn’t work – and we needed to make a valiant effort at the perfect pup. I put in an inquiry with a local breeder.

Back in my day (ha!), mixed breed pups were free and easy to come by. We valued mixed breeds because they didn’t have some of the same genetic issues purebred had and, let’s face it, growing up low income (tho’ I never noticed), we didn’t pay big money for dogs. It just wasn’t a thing.

Now we’re here, realizing the value and not wanting a rogue coyote-mix… It’s time to get to serious shopping.

The day I inquired with the breeder, a neighbor posted two adorable pups that she rescued from a nearby puppy mill. They were quick to obey, and were beautiful, good natured and sweet. She couldn’t keep them, so we brought them home together (and are currently looking to rehome one “in the family” so we can have playdates!). They are excellent with boundaries and training, and after cleaning up fleas and worms, they have doubled in size! Sage adores them and so do we.

Last Sunday, Scott went down to the shops and they followed him down. He was away from them for less than 5 minutes when he realized they had vanished. Simply gone. No sign of them. We all instantly began looking, scouring the forests and neighbors yards and posting on social media. It didn’t make sense. They don’t wander, and they always come when called. And we were all outside and easy to track down – 20′ away from the road, even! – if someone thought they were loose.

I was totally brokenhearted, more than I expected to be. Those little gals had really wormed their way deep into my heart and I was just nauseated with worry. It was 6 hours later that we got our FIRST sign: a vet tech in a town 15 minutes south of us saw a photo I shared and said someone had brought in two pups to check for microchips. He didn’t give his name or number.

Not 30 minutes later, another gal messages me and says she thinks she has our pups. They had been running loose in Brush Prairie, another 35+ minutes from the vet. What?

We have no idea what their day looked like, other than a neighbor saw a white car with a gentleman at our lower driveway that morning when Scott was in the shop, who got out and visited with the pups. It matches the description from the vet tech. I can only speculate, but have no idea about the gap between the vet visit and roaming city streets yonder. But they’re back. And that’s all that matters. What a relief!

Pairing this with other strange behavior around our driveways, we’re investing in fast-growing trees and a few more farm gates. We have put up cameras, and are familiar with self-protection. The local authorities are apprise of situations. Our hill is full of outback, redneck, yee-hawers. We take care of each other.

Times are weird, folks. Everyone needs a nice, big dog or two.

*we exited a fundamentalist cult (I can supply reviews of others’ experience for anyone questioning) in 2021 that excommunicated us because of this blog, and our lack of obedience to the leadership. They have created a very different narrative. I didn’t understand then, but now that massive allegations have come out and history/patterns are exposed, we know God rescued us from somewhere we would have never left. It has continued to prove to be an unsafe place. I’ll continue to love them anyway, with boundaries, because I am no judge, and know God’s great Light is brighter and better than any dark thing – Hope endures!