We left Page, AZ and drove into Utah. We were planning on going to Zion and Bryce Canyon but it was too hot so we decided to see them at a later time and go up to Yellowstone National Park instead.
We headed to Richland, UT, traveling through Navajo reservation land. I should have taken pictures of the people selling things (mostly jewelry) in little three sides shacks along the road. We stopped at a couple of them. I bought Judy a neat bracelet made out of seeds but most of the jewelry were made from things you would get at a craft store. Some were really well done but not what you might think of being "real".
We saw some signs for a Trading Post in Tuba City, AZ and I decided I wanted to see it so we drove the 10 miles in so I wouldn't think I had missed anything. Well, I was in there about 2 minutes and knew it was a joke (on me) and walked out wondering why we were there. As soon as I got outside, I could see why we were there. Judy was feeding hotdogs to two stray dogs.
The stray dog at the grocery store.
They were both a Shar-Pei mix; looked like they could be litter mates or mother/daughter. The mama dog had obviously just weaned a litter of pups, her teets were nearly to her knees (don't ya hate that!) and she looked like she had been in a lot of dog fights in her life. She had infection in one eye and a bad back leg and yet she was still so friendly. The other dog was in better shape and just as friendly. I went back into the Trading Post and asked about the dogs. The clerk said they had been there for "some time" and there were more at one time but now, just the two of them. I'm sure the others were her pups and people took them home. We got a nice ceramic bowl and filled it full of cold water for them and then had to drive into town to find a grocery store to buy a big sack of dog food. Naturally, there was a stray dog in the parking lot of the grocery store so we gave her a bowl of water and left her a big bowl of dog food. Everyone told us it's a "big problem" in the area but it appears it's just ignored.
How can you walk past a starving dog on a screaming hot day and not even give it water?
Both of the dogs were glad to see us again (sadly enough) and we took the dog food inside and they "promised" they would give them food and water until they were picked up. I had called the Navajo Nation headquarters and talked to animal control but it sounded like they had a big area to cover and not enough staff so she took the info but it didn't sound like they would get picked up anytime soon.
With tears flowing, we left them and headed on down the road.
Saturday I called the Trading Post and just one of the dogs was there. The other dog was gone so maybe someone took it home with them. Naturally, the poor, skinny, sick mama dog was left behind.
I called a vet there and asked her if she would pick up the dog, check it out, see what it needed, and we would pay the bill and try to find a home for her. She went down and got the dog and has her now. We are paying for her care and PRAYING hard someone will give her a second chance in life and a FOREVER home.
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