The Tail of a Woofer called Natty

This is a 'tail' of a few tumultuous days that had a wonderful ending. A tale about a dog.
On Friday while surfing Facebook at my desk I came across a plea from a pet rescue organization. It showed images of two very forlorn dogs who were in a high kill shelter and need immediate evacuation and fostering. I quickly responded to help with both. I've been in The Blue House for nearly two months and both Rosie Lee and Tricksie Treat have adjusted well to their new surroundings, claiming their favorite sleeping spots and thundering around the house as though it were a Feline Formula One racetrack. I feel we now have space to help another animal, especially on a fostering basis.

 So on Saturday morning I began the drive down to Staunton in pouring rain. I'd had to purchase a crate and a leash to pick up the dogs. I could have got these from the organization's base in Fairfax Station but that would have added considerable time and mileage to my journey so I got the crate from a local animal thrift store and bought the leash new. Arriving at Staunton 2 hours later I met a lady who had a cargo van filled with crates of barking dogs. Well, all were barking except Natty and Nellie, the two I was collecting. They were so traumatized that they simply huddled in silence, their heads hanging. And poor Nellie shook from head to toe. She was also a severe flight risk so couldn't be transferred from her crate to mine. She had to stay in the one she was traveling in. Natty could be leashed since she was so docile and meek. The lady also told me that she was pregnant, a fact we hadn't been aware of.
Once they were safely stowed I began the 2 hour journey back to Fairfax Station where both dogs would be checked and then Natty would return to Front Royal with me. Nellie thankfully already had a foster home to go to. The journey was long and the rain unrelenting until we neared our destination. The poor dogs must have been kept in terrible conditions as the car smelled like a farmyard, an over populated farmyard. And I couldn't open the windows because I didn't want to let the rain in. Eventually we reached the center and leaving Nellie in the car until I had help I walked a very docile Natty into the building. The staff at the center were incredible. Fully sympathetic that I was a complete novice they helped unload Nellie and then checked over Natty. She got updated on all her shots, was given heartworm medication, flea and tick preventative and also a microchip. She tested positive for Lymes but is unable to receive medication for that until her puppies are independent feeders. They gave me a bag of puppy food for her so she receives nutrients required for her babies and wished me luck. The whole time throughout this ordeal where Natty was prodded and poked, stuck with needles and walked about in a strange surrounding, she made no complaint. She didn't make a single noise or show any malice, she just endured her treatment silently. She made no attempt to escape, just quietly trotted where she was taken to. I soon realized that she makes no sound at all, I have yet to hear her bark or whine.

 Once her medical checks were completed we began the drive back to Front Royal. Natty dozed in the back of the car and upon entering The Blue House took no notice of the cats at all, simply wanting to rest. Rosie Lee and Tricksie Treat stared at her as she walked through the house but thankfully made no loud complaints or attempted an attack. I laid an old duvet on the rug below the sofa and Natty curled up and went straight to sleep.

 While she slept the cats stared at her and Tricksie Treat checked out her crate, which I couldn't use as since she is pregnant she can't stretch out in it. Upon waking, Natty was a lot more alert, eating a bowl of food and lapping some water. The rest of the day she slept but we did manage a couple of walks which she enjoyed tremendously.

On Sunday I had to bathe her. I hadn't wanted to do it on Saturday as she'd been through enough already on that day, but a bath had to be given. she smelled bad, poor thing. but like everything else she succumbed to her treatment with no complaint. I noticed a long scar on top of her head and she has a good chunk of her ear missing also. This dog has been treated badly yet has somehow retained her sweet uncomplaining nature. Since being in my home she has shown nothing but trust and affection, it breaks my heart to think how someone could mistreat such a companion.
We went for 3 walks on Sunday and she ate well but I was really concerned about her pregnancy. I read up on it and realized that it wasn't something I could see her through, being on my own and having no experience whatsoever. I had planned on taking her to work each day but the thought of her having pups there scared me intensely. I spoke with the rescue organizer, Rebecca, and we decided the best option would be for Natty to go and stay with Cora, a foster lady who lives on a farm with plenty of whelping experience.
We met up that evening in the Sheetz at Haymarket. I explained the situation to Natty, promising I would visit and led her to where Cora and her son were waiting. I lifted her into the truck and said goodbye, promising to call later that evening. I began driving away and looked back to see Cora's son out of the truck and running to a grassy area. Thinking Cora had lost her phone I parked and walked over, to hear the horrific news that Natty had escaped. Her son had the window down and Natty leaped out. I was distraught. It was dark and her son couldn't be sure in which direction she had fled. We began searching, but after about 30 minutes it seemed hopeless. I called Rebecca.
Cora and her son walked around all the buildings and I walked over the road to the woods, thinking she could be in there. Using my phone as a flashlight I scrambled back and forth over brambles and plodded through soggy grass. After an hour and a half I was full of despair. We'd had no sighting and I agonized at the thought of her alone and pregnant on the streets, especially after the ordeals she had already endured. Cora had to leave but Rebecca showed up. I chatted with a local policeman whose car I'd spotted outside Sheetz and he put out an alert. Rebecca also contacted her boss and the tragedy began to flicker along the pipeline, alerting thousands of folk in the neighborhood.. A sighting was reported that a tan dog had been seen north on Heathcote Rd. She had run over extremely busy intersections with no sidewalks and over a bridge spanning Rte 66. Rebecca and I drove up there immediately, followed by our friendly cop, but to no avail. She could be anywhere. Rebecca said we'd have to wait until daylight and she'd get a tracker dog team. I gave her the duvet with Natty's scent on it and drove home, feeling anguished and extremely wretched for that poor little woofer out there in the dark and all alone.

I didn't sleep well and told work on Monday that I'd be leaving early to continue searching. Rebecca had set Facebook alight with notifications and a Lost Dog poster. and the comments poured in. So many people were feeling our pain and we also got more sightings. But no one could catch her. As the day progressed the reports stopped and we fretted that the shock had caused Natty to go into labor, and that she'd nested down somewhere. I was frantic. The previous night hadn't been too cold but Monday's forecast was very different with temperatures plummeting at least 20 degrees. The last sighting we'd heard had been by the railway tracks. Cora was already there with her son when I arrived and we all walked along the tracks. A dense thicketed woodland with swampy patches was to our right and we kept hearing a bark. Cora thought it could be her but I had my reservations since Natty had not barked once since I'd picked her up. But we plodded into the undergrowth regardless spreading out as we slopped in the flooded grassy humps and collected burrs on our jackets. But we never saw the dog. I veered back to the railway line and saw a young girl bouncing up and down from behind a tall wooden fence as she tried to get my attention. Apparently just 20 minutes earlier they'd seen a tan dog running along the fence line on their side. I told Cora I was going back to my car so I could drive round and investigate.
I drove down cul-de-sacs that finished near the railway line, getting out to peer into gardens and call Natty's name. As I pulled out of one and prepared to drive down another I noticed a dog laying down on the front yard of a house, looking as though it belonged there. I stopped and looked. And it looked at me. I spotted the torn ear and the yellow tag on its collar that I'd placed there Saturday afternoon. It was Natty. I stepped out of the car and walked around a few steps, softly calling her name. She stood up and took one step towards me. I stepped once more towards her and she skittered to the side. So I sat on the curb and called her again. She came straight to me and laid down putting her head on my lap. She was safe.

We hugged and hugged, her tail thumping on the ground as she licked my chin and standing up I led her to the car. She even tried to get in herself. I lifted her up and then got in myself, quickly closing the door, still not fully taking in that the hunt was over, Natty was safe and wouldn't be spending a night in freezing temperatures. And she looked remarkably well. No mud or burrs on her, like on me. She was obviously happy to be in a warm car and extremely tired. After more hugs, a snack and a drink of water, she laid her head on her paws and gave in to her exhaustion, asleep in seconds.
I sat there and thanked God for her safe return, tears pricking at my eyes. I savored the victorious moment a few seconds later and then gleefully sent the photo above to Rebecca and Cora with a "Look who just came to me!" message.
The dog tracker hadn't been able to come that afternoon and was going to search the following morning. But they could now be cancelled. Over 12 other people were out hunting this little hound, they were all given the good news, and then suddenly Facebook came alive with scores of well wishes and breaths of relief from those who had been monitoring the situation. She had covered almost a full circle, over busy streets, through residential estates, through woods and over a railway line, covering about a 2 mile radius.

I drove to meet Cora and after explaining to Natty that she had to stay with Cora until she was done whelping I carried her over to their truck, ensuring all windows were up and that her son had a tight hold of her leash. Natty curled up on the bench seat and fell back asleep and later when they got home, Cora sent a photo of Natty fast asleep on the floor. She seems to be used to bare floors at the moment, we'll introduce her to soft fluffy beds.
As I headed towards Front Royal I burst into tears, the relief overwhelming me. I couldn't believe how I'd come across Natty so easily, maybe she was done running and wanted to be caught, who knows. But after only 30 minutes darkness had fallen, a heavy black curtain slowly closing out a magnificent scarlet sunset that had dazzled us just a few minutes previously, like the final encore of a production. Everyone could now go home and sleep well,