So, we picked up another dog......

[beepbeep]

Literally.

Chris and I were headed to MD to see his family, traveling I-85 N in Virginia, when I saw a dog sniffing the road in the path of on-coming traffic. And boy was she skinny!!! So, I pulled off on the shoulder and Chris coaxed the poor, scared dog over to the passenger side with Chicken-in-a-Biscuit crackers (it was all we had in the car!!). Sure enough, she was hungry, but timid.
After a few tossed on the ground, bringing them and her closer to his reach, he quickly grabbed her by the collar and the scruff of the neck. We put her in the back seat of the car and set about calling the numbers on her collar. Luckily, they were still valid numbers!
We pulled off of the interstate at the next exit and the owner met us there within 20 minutes to pick her up. He pulled up in a truck with a local dog kennel (maybe breeders?) painted on the side and the dog perked right up at the sound of his voice. Said her name was Toi (pronounced Toy) and that she had escaped from their kennels a few days back. By the look of her, she was either sick or had been gone for longer than a few days.
He offered Chris money for rescuing her (which we refused) and thanked us several times for doing so. I-85 is a very busy interstate and based on where she was, she crossed at least two lanes of 70 mph traffic...maybe all 4. I'm just glad that she wasn't hit and that Chris had fast enough reflexes to grab her when she was close enough so that she wouldn't go back out into traffic.

I don't know what the numbers are for. We didn't bother to ask. Anyone have any ideas?

[93STLTH]

It's great that you saved her and returned her to the owners. The numbers concern me. She could be part of a puppy mill?

[HilbillyHomeboy]

It's a hunting dog, perhaps competitively. Extremely common practice to number them with a distinct set of numbers/letters(sometimes it's the cb handle the owner uses). That way if they get lost(or stolen), people know who's dog it is. If it's competition, it's so the judges know whose dog(s) did what.

They're typically always skinny, that's how they're kept to insure they do "their job". I don't agree with this practice, but that's how it goes.

/redneck lesson for the day

Jeremy

[Granny]

I guess getting a chip put on your dog is the best way to identify them but the tags with a phone number are great.
We have loose dogs in the neighborhood from time to time and it's nice to be able to call the owner

Good save!

[beepbeep]

It's a hunting dog, perhaps competitively. Extremely common practice to number them with a distinct set of numbers/letters(sometimes it's the cb handle the owner uses). That way if they get lost(or stolen), people know who's dog it is. If it's competition, it's so the judges know whose dog(s) did what.

They're typically always skinny, that's how they're kept to insure they do "their job". I don't agree with this practice, but that's how it goes.

Ahhh, all of that makes sense. Despite being around hunting/hunters in my life, I never paid close attention to all the aspects. And no, I don't agree with the skinny practice, either.

I guess getting a chip put on your dog is the best way to identify them but the tags with a phone number are great.
We have loose dogs in the neighborhood from time to time and it's nice to be able to call the owner
Good save!

Thanks, Karen. I want to save all the ones I come across, but I know that realistically that is just not feasible. If it has a collar, it makes it that much easier to try for them, though, because I'd have an avenue to pursue to try and find the owner. We found one at a local park that had just a rabies tag and we contacted the vet it was from to find the owner.

[green-lantern]

I hope she has a good home. The numbers are a little weird. I just asked a friend that's a big hunter. He says if he goes out on Savannah River reservation they make them number the dogs. They make sure you don't leave the dogs behind. He said some people would get dogs from the pound and if they lost them they just left them behind. This way they make sure you get the dog back. He said this dog was group C5 dog 5. Also he said the dogs are always thin because they use so many calories with all the running they do. He has his on high protein diets. He hunts Bears BTW.

[beepbeep]

He hunts Bears BTW.

We are hopeful she has a good home. The fact that the owner came to meet us so quickly and with no hesitation gives us hope.

[green-lantern]

We are hopeful she has a good home. The fact that the owner came to meet us so quickly and with no hesitation gives us hope.

Hopefuly he isn't hunting anything very dangerous.

[beepbeep]

Hopefuly he isn't hunting anything very dangerous.

It's hard to say, honestly, especially since we had no idea what the numbers/marking signified.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

I hope she has a good home. The numbers are a little weird. I just asked a friend that's a big hunter. He says if he goes out on Savannah River reservation they make them number the dogs. They make sure you don't leave the dogs behind. He said some people would get dogs from the pound and if they lost them they just left them behind. This way they make sure you get the dog back. He said this dog was group C5 dog 5. Also he said the dogs are always thin because they use so many calories with all the running they do. He has his on high protein diets. He hunts Bears BTW.

LOL, who goes and gets a dog from the pound and thinks it's going to be able to track or tree? Wow, those idiots should be sent to the pound themselves.

Your friend sounds cool, I should have mentioned the responsible owners that do the high protein diet. Just seems so often, I see dicks feeding them very little so they earn their keep better.

Jeremy