Hurley the dog on the loose

[Miss-Delectable]

News Updates | "Hurley the dog on the loose" | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon

Hurley the dog had a long road to almost finding a home, and now he may be gone forever.

After a life on the streets, an uncertain future in a California shelter, a trip to Eugene and reconstructive surgery, the deaf terrier was at his first-ever adoption event when he slipped his collar and disappeared.

Hurley, a brown-and-white smooth terrier, was among a handful of dogs hoping to find owners at a June 20 event at Wine*Styles in south Eugene, West Coast Dog & Cat Rescue co-director Jennifer Clark said.

Disaster struck when, spooked by some balloons, he backed out of his collar and booked it down 29th Avenue.

Finding a deaf dog on the lam is no easy feat, Clark said.

He can’t hear anyone calling him. And after a hard life, he’s skittish and wary of new folks.

“He’s definitely the perfect storm of lost dogs,” she said.

There’s still hope Hurley may come home: He’s been spotted twice, most recently near the downtown Eugene bus station last Saturday.

“I hope that he’s still out there and safe,” Clark said. “It would be great if somebody found him, fell in love and wanted to give him a home.”

Volunteers and Hurley’s foster mother have been canvassing and searching for a couple of hours every day, she said. There is a reward for his safe return.

If Hurley is spotted, Clark recommended that a person get down on his level and be friendly. Offering a treat could never hurt, she said.

Also, Clark said Hurley likes other animals, so he may approach people walking their own dogs.

The deck already was stacked against the year-old terrier — most likely born deaf.

He was living in a shelter in Ventura, Calif., with a broken paw that was improperly wrapped, Clark said.

But the pooch was scooped up by a Lane County-based rescue group and brought to Eugene in March. Bush Animal Hospital donated most of the cost of what would have been a $3,000 surgery to fix him up, she said.

Months with his foster mother got him rehabilitated and taught him how to live with people.

And now this.

“His foster mom is absolutely heartbroken,” she said. “I’m definitely hopeful we’ll hear something.”

Anyone who spots or finds Hurley can call Clark at 221-3055.

 

[Miss-Delectable]

Hurley the dog reunites with foster family

News Updates | "Hurley the dog reunites with foster family" | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon

People were sure they’d spotted him at the fairgrounds, at the Eugene Public Library, even on his way out to Veneta.

But it turns out the real Hurley was bumming food from a nice couple at West 29th Avenue and Lincoln Street, not five blocks from where he took off nearly two weeks ago.

West Coast Dog & Cat Rescue codirector Jennifer Clark said her phone was ringing off the hook Thursday with people calling in their accounts of where they thought they saw Hurley, a deaf, brown and white terrier who slipped his collar at a fundraising event, after he was featured in Thursday’s Register-Guard.

The little guy had been brought up from California with a Eugene-based rescue group, given extensive reconstructive surgery on a broken paw and nurtured for a few months in foster care, all to wind up missing.

The pair who found Hurley have dogs, but couldn’t get near the skittish terrier. So they were setting out food for him every day, Clark said.

The woman called Clark after seeing Hurley’s photo on the front page of the paper, she said.

After a bit of coaxing, the couple was able to get Hurley to stick around long enough for his foster mother to drive in from the Thurston area in east Springfield.

“He just hung out until the foster mom came,” Clark said.

And while the Good Samaritans had taken a shining to him, Hurley’s foster mom will now be adopting him into her family.

“She said, ‘Being so worried about his safety I didn’t realize how attached I was,’ ” Clark said. “He has a home now, too. I definitely couldn’t be happier. A lot of worried people are ecstatic that he’s safe.”