This doggy was free. I woke up Saturday morning, looked outside the window and saw this dog munching on some leftover McDonald’s left on the ground. He wasn’t leashed, and I didn’t see anyone nearby. I put on my coat and went outside to see if he was lost. He didn’t appear to be distraught, as his tail was wagging and he was walking up the street going door to door. He seemed to have caught a scent, as his nose was glued firmly to the ground during his walk. Perhaps he was looking for more McDonald’s.

I followed him up the street, wondering if he would eventually walk to his own house. He walked into the neighbouring townhouse complex and continued his quest for more McDonald’s. To my surprise, he found some a few houses up and devoured the soggy french fries without breaking stride. Impressive. As he wandered around I decided that he didn’t really know where he was going and was just looking for more food. The bell on his collar was full of snow, so I figured he’d been outside for awhile.

His tags had a 613 area code, which would be the Kingston-Ottawa area. We’re near Toronto, quite a distance from his home. I figured he hadn’t walked all this distance in his quest for McDonald’s, so I decided to give the phone number a call. I thought either the owners were here visiting for the holidays, or the owners moved and hadn’t changed their tags yet. Luckily I had brought my cell with me, so I called the number and left a message asking if they had lost a dog, and that I probably had it. Not knowing what to do, I grabbed his collar and walked him back to my house and put him in the backyard.

He was a very happy dog, and eagerly explored my backyard, likely looking for more McDonald’s. He could see us through the window, and probably heard the ooohhhhhs and awwwwws of Bahar, Tim and Elaine. Tim quickly named him Arnold, and Bahar wanted to keep him. He was an instant hit, except with Butters. Butters was unsure of what to do, and while he didn’t freak out, he was curious yet tense. I called the humane society since I couldn’t keep him for the day, and they would send someone out to pick him up. I wanted to tell them that I’d take the doggy if the owners couldn’t be found.

Just 30 minutes later, I was surprised to get a phone call from Ted the owner, who got my message. It turns out they were visiting relatives from Ottawa and were walking their dog near our house. He jumped over some water, went around a house and that’s the last they saw of him. The owners had spent the past couple hours driving around looking for him, and instead of happiness and elation upon seeing their beloved pet, they were a little annoyed. They quickly took him away to the waiting car, and as they left, I realized I had forgot to ask them his name. I was a little sad to see him go, however, we’re not quite ready to own a dog. Not yet.