Roadie, a German shepherd mix, was lost and wondering the streets of Franklin, Indiana.
She sat down behind a tree and waited for assistance since she was unable to find her way back home. A kind bystander saw the dog and the message in a bottle that was fastened to her collar.
They contacted Michael Delp, director of Johnson County Animal Control, who immediately rushed to pick her up and bring her back to the shelter. The note attached to Roadie’s collar explained that she had once been well-loved by her family, but after her dad lost his job and house due to COVID, he let her go.
Luckily, Roadie was in perfect health — happy, playful and full of energy — but she still needed a home.
“When I read the note, [I felt] two emotions: one, if it is legit, my heart goes out to that individual,” Delp told The Dodo. “If it was not legit, [I felt] anger that someone would manufacture an excuse to abandon their dog that was designed to elicit sympathy.”
“As it turns out, from our investigation, the note was completely legit,” Delp said. “We were able to ascertain who the owner was and get that individual the help that was desperately needed.”
On Saturday, Jeremy Pell was casually reading the local news when he stumbled onto the terrible account of Roadie’s abandonment. He had been searching for a dog to train in search and rescue for months as the chief of the White River Township Fire Department and a reserve sheriff deputy, and Roadie sounded ideal.
Pell told The Dodo, “I picked up the news and saw Roadie. I noticed the breed, the tale, and the fact that she’s almost in my backyard.”
Roadie was tested by Pell at the shelter, and she passed with flying colors, gaining a new life, employment, and family.
Roadie currently works on honing her social skills and obedience training every day at the workplace with her father. She sleeps next to his desk and follows him about, saying hello to everybody and even playing a game of ball.
Although she is still in the early phases of her training, her father is optimistic that one day they will be able to collaborate to benefit the neighborhood.
She’s attached to me, Pell remarked, and she makes an effort to carry out her duties while looking to me for direction and acceptance.
She believes that she should bark at strangers, but when I reassure her that it’s acceptable, she… It almost seems as though she is apologizing when I look into those kind, deep eyes.
Roadie’s family has given her a new name to match her fresh start — Rosie Grace.
“All our dogs have middle names, so she’s Rosie Grace,” Pell said, “because it’s by God’s grace that she was found and got a new career, and we’re hoping to take her from rescued to rescuer.”
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