Dharma, saluki

The Story of Dharma
by Cathy Scott
November 18, 2014

I was heading home one night after a pet sit visit and I missed my usual turn into my street. I went to the next light by our hospital and in front of me runs a gorgeous Saluki.

Dharma and her owner in the hotel room, where they were staying

I followed her. She was limping and I could see blood from her mouth. I knew it would be hard to get her but I had to try. She was doomed if I didn't. Other good Samaritans saw me and joined in to help.

We were able to get her to run into a storage facility that fortunately dead ended. We got her to a small end of the facility and another person there helped me block her so that I could get a leash on her.

Once we did, she gratefully gave up. I gently picked her up and put her in my van.

She walked right in the crate with no hesitation.

I then immediately said "someone is missing this dog".

I went to the nearest vet and had her scanned and to my surprise she had no chip. But she had clearly been recently groomed and was in very good shape, other than some injuries from being on the run.

I went home and immediately put her picture on Facebook.

One of my friends found a Craigslist ad that looked very much like her, and I called the number.

I waited a couple of hours and the woman on the phone immediately identified her right down to a small scar on her back leg. I knew I had found her owner.

They had been putting up endless amounts of flyers for her, but she had run so far away from where she was lost, I never saw them. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the dog had been on the run in the streets of San Jose for 36 hours. It's truly amazing she survived.

Tragically they had been in a motor vehicle accident and the tow truck driver had let this gorgeous dog out of the car, even though the owner had them gated in the back seat. They had just come from the local dog show. This dog I found was and is an amazing show champion.

The other amazing thing is that the owner and I had mutual friends. Right at the moment I found her, other friends of mine were getting the word that Dharma was lost. With the power of social media I was able to find the owner.

The picture is of the owner and the dog laying on the bed in the hotel room where they were staying.

Needless to say she now has a microchip.

The owner and I have remained life long friends. We connect when we can and I'm planning a visit to her home to visit the dogs this coming year. I'm so grateful it was a happy ending.