Positivity: Local dog turns hero, finds kittens in the desert
Published: Monday, April 30, 2007 11:19 AM CDT
George and Matt got a raw deal being dumped in the desert as babies to fend for themselves. But luck was on their side Monday with the chance arrival of Chi, a 4-year-old Cairn terrier mix.
Chi (pronounced “chee”) was out on his favorite romp in the desert off West Drummond Avenue with his guardian, Donna Scharf, when he happened upon the two 4-week-old orange tabbies, George and Matt (named after the sexy duo Clooney and Damon), hidden deep within a creosote bush.
“It was just by happenstance that Chi found them,” Scharf said. “He pretended he was a pointer dog. He just froze and stood at the bush.”
Chi’s behavior was so odd that Scharf had to see what Chi was reacting to. There, deep in the bush, she saw the two tiny helpless kittens. Scharf was shocked at her best friend’s discovery, but at the same time proud that her one-time shelter dog saved the day. She sprung into action and recruited Karen Sanford, a family friend and hospice worker to rescue the kittens and get them to the shelter.
George and Matt are in good shape considering. Shelter workers and volunteers will do the best they can to socialize, feed and love the little orphans. In two weeks to a month the handsome duo will be ready for adoption. Finding orphaned kittens is not as rare occasion as we would like to believe. At springtime the shelter is inundated with pregnant females, brought in as strays — some too young to be away from their mamas. But for everyone brought into the shelter, how many are dumped in the desert, Scharf wonders.
Scharf has a soft spot in her heart for orphans and cast-offs. Her lovable mutt, Chi, was once a cast-off, an unwanted. The two years since she adopted Chi from the shelter, she never ceases to be amazed at her sweet dog’s love and intelligence.
“Chi is such a loving dog. It’s amazing,” Scharf said. “He spends a lot of his time laying by my dad, who is terminally ill. It’s the sweetest thing.”
