Andie

Andie, Ansel, Sonrisa – People dedicated to serving feral cats pursue cat colonies to the ends of the earth — and that's where these dogs were found. One day a woman called to say that while searching for cats, she'd found "a bunch of skinny, sick dogs way out in the country." I was certain she was making it up, but wanted to be sure.

I eventually found an abandoned house deep in eastern Travis County, off Pearce Lane. (Little did we know how infamous Pearce Lane would be.) I noticed a big Collie lying near a tiny pond among the pasture weeds. As I walked through the tall grass, the dog lay still, wagging her tail shyly. She was an older dog in terrible condition and probably the mother of many litters of puppies. I loaded her into the backseat of my car. In time, we would name her Andie.

I resumed my search. It was dusk when I stepped over a dead grey cat in the driveway of the eerie abandoned structure. I hesitated when I noticed a black dog lying on an old blue mattress and a red and white dog lying next to her. As I approached, the black dog wagged her tail and stood up timidly, revealing a multitude of tiny sleeping puppies. The other dog uncurled from its nap and walked off into the pasture. At that moment, I promised to pay closer attention to crazy cat people.

The momma dog was a small, shy black Lab mix. I called my friend Jen and pleaded for help. With Jen's truck, we could take them all. I felt overwhelmed but determined, since all the dogs could vanish before we returned tomorrow. I made more phone calls and found a friend who would foster the mom and pups. We named the momma Sonrisa. She was a gentle, petite black dog, often overlooked by adopters, due to her color. A lovely teacher in Austin adopted her. 

The next morning, we drove by the abandoned house. I walked toward the mattress and noticed a tiny bundle curled in the grass. I held my breath when I realized it was a tiny puppy and still alive. We had missed it in last night’s darkness. We quickly reunited the pup with momma. 

I returned the next day to check on the reclusive red and white dog. Surprisingly, he was lying near the mattress waiting for his friends to return. He was shy, but eventually let me slip a lead around his neck. We had no foster space, so this pit mix went to the shelter. He was so quiet that he was originally described as being "sick." Housing him at the shelter gave us time to do a temperament evaluation, which he passed easily. We found him a foster space and he was named Ansel. He was adopted by a great family in San Antonio.

As we worked Pearce Lane, we learned Andie's background. The old dog was a stray and lived on scraps from a convenience store. Each time she had a litter, Animal Control officers came and took the pups to the shelter, where most were euthanized. Finally, someone from the convenience store took Andie to be spayed and tied her in the back of a truck. On the way, the dog jumped out and hung herself, but the rope split. She found her way back to the pasture and continued to have more pups. Andie's age made it difficult to find a home, but we found her a good one in Austin.