Lucky's Bad Day

Friday afternoon, Leah let Lucky out into the back to do his business just like any other day. When she got ready to bring him back inside, though, he wasn’t in the yard. Apparently, he figured out how to open the gate on his own and escape. They looked and could not find him, and when I got home we all looked and could not find him.

We left the gate open figuring that if wasn’t picked up by the pound that he would come home on his own, but when I checked early Saturday morning, he was still not around. It was just after that that the phone started ringing. It was the vet. Before she answered the phone, Leah figured that the pound must have him, and they were just calling to let us know. That’s not exactly the case.

A couple several miles from our house had called the vet’s number off of Lucky’s collar to inform them that he had been hit by a car and had died during the night. The kids were not up yet, so I went ahead and got dressed to go and handle the situation. Now, here’s the funny part of this sad story: I needed to figure out where this couple lives.

I called the number that the vet gave me for the couple, and a gentleman answered the phone (to give you a good context, I did meet this guy, and he was about 55). I introduced myself and told him why I was calling. I told him that I wanted to come by and pick up Lucky, and I needed to know where he was. Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: Hi, this is Michael Newman. I got a call from the vet a few minutes ago, and they told me that our dog died last night and is in your yard.

Gentleman: That’s right. He got hit by a car last night.

Me: Well, I’d like to come by and pick up his body. Can you tell me where you are?

Gentleman: Sure. I’m at home.

Me: Okay. Can you give me your address?

Gentleman: Yeah. It’s xxxx Elm Grove.

Me: That’s not really helping me much. I’m in Woodbridge near Sachse Rd. and Miles Rd. Could you give me directions from there?

Gentleman: Oh. Is that the four-way stop?

Me: No. The four-way stop is at Miller Rd, but can you just give me directions from there?

Gentleman: Not really. I don’t know the way from there.

Me: Okay. Are there any other major roads near you?

Gentleman: Well, you know, there’s that winding, hilly road that Elm Grove dead ends into, and I’m just across the street from the new dump.

Me: The new dump? I know about the Hinton Landfill. Is that what you’re talking about?

Gentleman: I don’t know the name of it.

Me: Hmmm….tell you what. I’m going to get on the computer and see if I can get a map to your house. Can you give me your full address?

Gentleman: Yeah. It’s xxxx Elm Grove.

Me: Is that in Sachse, Wylie, Rowlett, Rockwall? What city?

Gentleman: Oh. Well, Sachse is down a couple of houses to my right, and Rowlett is a couple of houses to my left. I don’t reckon I live in a city.

Me: Tell you what. Let me do a little investigating and see if I can find you.

I really didn’t make that up. I got on Google maps and found the Hinton Landfill on the assumption that that is what he was talking about. I managed to find Elm Grove Road, and I managed to find his house. I picked Lucky up, took care of his body, and brought his collar home for Abbie. The kids were pretty sad on Saturday and they’ve already started asking if we are going to get another dog. Leah and I are agreed to wait a little while before we get back into that boat.