Bob Downey pulled a squeaky plastic ball from a box of dog toys to see if one of Capital Humane Society's newest residents would ever want to play fetch again.
CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, July 9, 2009 12:00 am
Bob Downey pulled a squeaky plastic ball from a box of dog toys to see if one of Capital Humane Society's newest residents would ever want to play fetch again.
Considering the circumstances surrounding his arrival, you'd understand if he declined the offer.
But the floppy-eared yellow lab went sliding over the linoleum floor, bounding after the ball. He brought it back to Downey, who was still there, which is more than you could say for his last toss partner.
"He'll make a good pet for someone," Downey, the Humane Society's executive director, said as he threw to him again. "Just wish we knew your name."
According to the details of a Lancaster County Sheriff's Office report, it's probably not Lucky.
A woman called the sheriff's office Tuesday and said she was at Denton Community Park that morning around 9:30.
A man in a white pickup pulled up to the park and got out. So did the dog, a 3- or 4-year-old yellow lab by the looks of him.
The man chucked a ball; the dog dutifully pursued.
Then the guy got back in the pickup and drove away, leaving the lab with a ball in his mouth and not much else.
"I never (before) have heard of this happening," Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said Wednesday.
The dog was taken to Capital Humane Society, where he will go up for adoption in about a week, unless his owner comes to claim him.
On the surface, it looks like an animal abandonment issue, Wagner said. But because there's not much known about the man, or the dog, those who've met the big nameless fella are left to hypothesize.
Maybe it was stolen and this is how the man felt he could best avoid any additional heat, Downey said.
Maybe something awful happened to it under someone else's care, and this was a Free Willy scenario with the dog substituting for an orca and downtown Denton standing in for the Pacific Ocean.
That one's quite unlikely. On Wednesday, he still was wearing a brown collar that someone secured with a plastic tie.
The dog looks well-fed. He knows how to sit. He welcomed attention and didn't bark when a little girl peered into a window at him.
"Obviously, the dog's been pretty well cared for," Downey said.
The witness at the Denton park didn't get much information about the man who turned a tennis ball into a symbol of betrayal.
Downey said it's a good lesson in case anyone ever sees something like this taking place. Try to get a good description, he said, and a license plate number if possible.
And if you're aware that someone's about to go through with such a plan, Downey said, take the animal to a shelter or seek help from an animal rescue. Or put an ad out and see if anyone wants it, he said. Or talk to your veterinarian.
But don't turn a dog's favorite pastime into a symbol of cruel betrayal.
Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.