the word is out

Apparently, the local animals--stray and otherwise--have all heard that we love little critters and will help them out if they need it. Along with the 3 cats that already live on the property (Li'l Guy included), there is a menagerie of wildlife that likes to stroll about the lawn, including (but not limited to) deer, racoons, an owl, other large and small birds, and a few other cats that like to hang around, too.
Well a few weeks ago, Berkley went outside in the morning and lo and behold, there was a little shivering chihuahua on the front porch! Poor little thing, she'd been there all night it looked like and since she had very short hair, she was freezing! Even so, she was very excited to see him. She had no collar or anything but she looked healthy so we thought she must have been someone's lost pet.
We had no place to keep her sheltered except for on the porch so Berkley made a little bed for her and we fed her some food and water. By the time the animal shelter opened 2 days later, I had placed an ad in the local paper, and called all of the vets in town. Oddly enough, I had no response, and even though we were tempted to keep her, we knew we couldn't take on another animal. So, on Tuesday morning, I put her in my car and sat with her for a bit so she could warm up. She climbed up onto my lap, curled herself up into a ball and promptly fell asleep! She was obviously exhausted, and I wasn't in any hurry to get rid of her, so I just let her sleep for awhile before I took her to the shelter. She was such a little sweetheart, it was difficult to leave her there! It was the best place for her, though, and I felt good about that. She wasn't at the shelter the following week, so I'm hoping that she was reunited with her owner. For a short time though, we had a sweet, precious little dog...