I was hosting an insurance agent on my client's closed pallet manufacturing plant and office complex in Amelia, Virginia, when from nowhere emerged a beautiful but dirty and emaciated English Setter with no collar or tags. Nothing but skin and bones.

 

The dog had trouble walking and when I lifted him into my Jeep SUV he must have weighed around 20 pounds, if that much. I bought a small bag of dog food at the Food Lion and fed him in the back of my Jeep. He ate every bit of what I gave him.

 

I then went on a merry-go-round to find the Amelia County Animal Shelter until a very nice man in the courthouse complex told me where to take the dog. When I arrived at 4:50 PM there were two signs on the door. The first said the shelter was open on Wednesdays from 3 to 5 PM and the second mentioned that no one was there and to call the sheriff if you have a problem.

 

The sheriff's deputy who I spoke with was extremely nice and concerned about the dog but said there was nothing she could do until the Animal Control people got involved. But while I was speaking with her a call came in from a Richmond client about a small problem and I told him what I was doing. Lucky for me he said he would take the dog so I drove for an hour to the Wellesley subdivision by Short Pump Shopping Mall and dropped him off.

 

My client and his daughter took the dog and the dog loved the daughter. He is a very sweet dog with a very good disposition.

 

My client's sister is a vet and he was going to bring the dog to her to check for a chip and have a physical completed.

 

My wife said we should have kept him but since we do not have a fenced yard there is no way I could have a setter.

 

I don't know if he ran away; got away; is a hunting dog that got lost; or someone abandoned him on the highway. But he is safe from the predators and has a loving home. If he has a chip my client will return the dog to the rightful owner.

 

Interesting how things work out and how nice it is to help an animal in distress.

 

 

Dang Sam, your a good man..Karma will pay you back 10 fold someday...Good on ya.

The story continues as of Friday, January 10, 2020.

 

The vet said that this is a purebred dog and had a good home and was well taken care of. She also did not find any chip so the owner could not be identified.

 

My client then took the dog to the Richmond SPCA where they looked up missing dogs of his breed in their data bank which seems to cover the entire state and they found one report of this type of dog missing that was filed over a year ago.

 

So the SPCA contacted the individual who swore it was his dog. But before the SPCA will give up a purebred dog you must convince them that the dog is yours via a sales receipt from a breeder or photos when you had him. If not, my client has rights to the animal.

 

My client left the dog at the SPCA and is waiting to hear back from them. He is hopeful the dog will be his but if the "owner" can prove beyond a doubt that the puppy belongs to him than the that person gets the dog.

 

What we can't figure out is where the dog was living for a year until we found him and was he trying to get back to his  home? When I told the CPA at Amelia Lumber about the one year time period she was certain someone had the dog as there are too many predators in Amelia County that would have grabbed him by now.

 

Will let all know the final chapter when I hear back from my client next week.