Sunday, January 12, 2014

Catskill animal control officer lauded for Thanksgiving puppy pickup

NEW YORK -- Town Animal Control Officer Aaron Clause is being lauded for coming out on Thanksgiving evening to take in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy that had gotten away from owners away on a ski trip.

The credit was noted in a letter to Town Board members from resident Mary Somoza, who said the animal was found wandering around her garden and she was unable to bring it in the house because her own animals would not accept a new critter.

“We had spent the whole week trying to keep the peace between the two cats so taking in the dog was not an option,” she wrote. “Yet, it was too cold to leave him outside ... We fed him and got a blanket and called Mr. Clause at ... almost 10 p.m.”

Clause picked up the puppy around 11:30 p.m. and was contacted the next morning by the dog’s owners who live on Underhill Road about a quarter mile away from Somoza.

“He was a youngster, under six months, and his owners had rented a cabin and he had gotten away from them,” Clause said. “He had lost his bearings and just couldn’t find his way back.

“Thankfully he had wandered to a house where people wanted to do right by him and contacted me to let me know he was out in the cold.”

Clause said the Somoza family stayed with the puppy for nearly 90 minutes until he could get back to Catskill.

“They stayed outside with him and waited while I came back from Thanksgiving dinner that night,” he said.

The owners were contacted by Somoza after another neighbor saw a flyers about the lost puppy.

“I kept him overnight to avoid bringing him to the shelter that night,” Clause said. “He was in great shape and I knew somebody would want to get their puppy back.

(Kingston Daily Freeman - Jan 12, 2014)

No comments:

Post a Comment