On Sunday I posted about catching a dog running loose in town. This afternoon I spoke with the local animal shelter to see if she had gotten back home.
Short answer: no.
It seems that Sandy, the slightly-overweight, very sweet beagle mix that Parker and I collared, is a regular visitor to the shelter. Six times, in fact. And each time, the owner gets cited, and each time, the owner takes several days to collect her. Sandy also has a brother, who is also a slightly-pudgy, very sweet beagle mix, whom the owner has voluntarily surrendered to the shelter. As soon as he's neutered—he's about 7—they'll put him up for adoption. The shelter also told me that they're about to send Sandy's owner a 24-hour notice, saying essentially "get your dog today or we're keeping her."
I had assumed that her owner would be worried about her, given that she had current tags and all. But no, the owner isn't worried, not one whit. Not even worried that someone (me) picked the dog up half a mile away and across a major street from home. Apparently the only reason Sandy had current tags is that the shelter won't release a dog without them, even if she comes in stray, so Sandy only got those from previous visits to Hotel Hound.
So, if you know anyone who wants a really sweet but slightly pudgy beagle-ish dog—or two—drop me a note and I'll put you in touch with the shelter.
Oh, yeah, here's the irony: if Sandy had an ID tag around her neck, I would have dropped her off at home, and the owner would not now be facing yet another citation. Then again, this will probably work out better for Sandy and her brother in the long run.