All's Well that Ends Well for Vernon the Dog

You might remember the story I reported last week on that lucky dog that was plucked from the Los Angeles River by a firefighter as a million news cameras looked on and the whole city watched live, praying for a happy ending. At the time of the rescue "Vernon" was taken to a Rescue Hospital and then taken to a shelter and quarantined. He bit the firefighter during the ordeal, so he had to be quarantined to make sure he didn't have rabies. This photo is of Vernon being cared for in the quarantine area. Look at those eyes.

It was getting a little worrisome there for a few days, because nobody was stepping up to claim Vernon. Which was surprising, because he looked well cared for and had a collar. But several days went by and the news were announcing that the shelter was preparing Vernon for adoption.

But somebody did step up yesterday - an elderly woman who says that Vernon, who's real name is Spikey, got out of her backyard. Why didn't she come forward as soon as the rescue took place? I mean, it was all over the news. According to a family friend, the elderly woman speaks only Spanish and also hadn't seen the coverage.

So it's good news for this very lucky dog. Now, if all the other dogs and cats that languish in shelters could be plucked from their cages and adopted, this really would be a VERY happy story.

Here's the link to the L.A. Times article today about Spikey's "mom" coming forward. It also discusses how unbelievably people are still criticizing the city for "wasting resources" and rescuing a dog. The spokesperson, at the end of the questioning, said it very simply. Fire fighters are trained to save lives.

"It was an animal life," he said. "It is a life."