The dog in the picture...

The dog in the picture is formally known as Magnolia Maybelle.

She's been in the family since last April (April fool's!) when we rescued her from traffic in Riverside. Poor thing: she was caught between lanes of moving cars and no one was stopping to let her finish crossing. She was terrified. My husband stepped on the brakes to stop one lane of traffic and I ran out waving my arms to stop the other. I coaxed her to the median where she crept over to me, put her head in my hand, and fell sound asleep. When took her home, she slept for 4 days solid, waking only to eat and pee.

At first we called her Maybe -- maybe she had a home, maybe she didn't. We tried to find one, but no luck. She eventually became Magnolia after the street where she was found; we added the Maybelle to convert Maybe into something that would reflect her more permanent status in our family. Plus Magnolia Maybelle sounded southern, our own Blanche Dubois ("I have always relied on the kindness of strangers"). Of course, we rarely call her by her formal name. She is, interchangeably, Maggie, Mag-a-no-lia, Maggie May, Maggie Maybe, Maggie Mayhem, and Magnet.

Since we've been in this area, we've rescued 4 dogs and passed by many more roaming without collars and in dangerous spaces. I see them everywhere -- some look healthy, some are scabby sacks of bones. I worry when I have to pass one by that I will drive past its broken body on my way back home. I wish those who own dogs would keep them fenced or on leash, and at least collared and tagged, but all too often they don't.

I have noticed that the number of dogs in the streets has been increasing in the last year. As homes are foreclosed and families are having to move to rental situations, some are simply leaving their pets behind. Evolutionary biologists, however, think that humans and dogs have co-evolved, that we have each shaped the other's species. Dogs, in other words, are not wolves and those who simply leave their dogs to go it alone are not doing them any favors. I wish instead that they would take their companions to a good no kill shelter or otherwise try to find them a new home if they cannot provide for them.

I also wish that people would spay and neuter their dogs. By the time we found Maggie, she'd had at least one litter, probably about 8 or 9 months earlier. This means her pups are likely also out and wandering (and reproducing) or dead. Some counties (including Riverside) in an effort to curb the geometric increase of companion animals have initiated low cost spay/neuter clinics. The Riverside Department of Animal Services (last link) also helps connect people to other support services and agencies for companion animals.

Maggie has settled in and her antics bring us (mostly) great pleasure. She and her older brothers (see small picture) have sorted things out and become quite companionable. Our home is a noisy, furry, bumptious place and we humans are well loved and looked after. Not a bad deal, considering that we just happened into all 3 of them.