Heartbreak in Finding my Dog

A few months ago we sold our dog Sugar to a family we hoped we could trust. Sometimes you just never know. Well, we were sad to see him go but he was a lot of work for us. We didn't know at the time of selling him that labs are very difficult in their younger years. They don't really mature till they are about 2-3 years old.

 Well, today I got a phone call from the pound saying that they had Sugar and our name was on the microchip. I couldn't believe it and was very sad that he could possibly be euthenized if kept there. Charles and I drove down there in a rush to possibly pick him back up. We didn't know what health condition he was in but we wanted to rescue him and hopefully keep him or find him a good home. On the way there our van broke down and we couldn't turn our van back on. We sat there in the heat for a few minutes and just kept trying. Finally, it barely started and I gave it some gas for awhile to make sure it wouldn't stall it. We just knew not to turn the van back off till we got home.

 Finally we made it to the pound an hour later just as they closed. We begged the lady to let us in and she barely did. We were shocked to find that the cost of getting him out is $119! Plus, for every day we keep him there, it's another $35 for boarding fees. My gosh! I told the lady that first off, this isn't our dog anymore but we would rather pick him back up than have him in the pound. The other owners probably don't know where he is at and since our name is on the microchip, he is our responsibility. We don't have the owners info to call them. I just stood there dumb founded by those fees. I said, "no wonder you guys complain that people won't come and claim their animals or adopt them. The fees to even pick up their own dog is ridiculous!" My heart was absolutely broken that Sugar was in there and because my husband was laid off 3 weeks ago, I didn't have the funds to pick take him out. I begged to see him and they led me to a row of cages of all the animals. They said for me to find him. I just slowly walked down the row and saw the most adorable animals just staring at me. I stopped as soon as I saw the gorgeous yellow lab with green eyes. He is beautiful. He was real quiet, looked a little thin, and just sniffed my hand. Then I could tell that he recognized me and kept licking me. I just started to cry right there. I couldn't believe he was stuck there and no one is claiming him. They told me that most likely he won't be adopted because they get over 150 animals brought in everyday and hardly anyone adopts. That's why they have to put them down. I just cried and cried there at his cage.

 I could only tear myself away from the cage because a worker started to yell at me to leave because they were closed. I cried back to the van, told Charles we couldn't rescue him, and we quietly drove away. My heart was broken that there was nothing I could do. They said he is completely healthy and there are not injuries. Just a little thin. I was quiet all the way home thinking about him. I guess sometimes things are out our hands and we can only do what we are able to do. But it's heartbreaking in the process.