It's a nice sunny day so I decided to open the back door to let in some air. I went upstairs to grab my script so I could continue learning the lines for my upcoming play, Ladies in Retirement (no harm in a little bit of plugging - the show runs from Mon 28th March to Sat 4th April at 7:30pm, tickets cost £10). When I returned I found the most adorable little Jack Russell wandering around my living room. I have seen her previously, practically living in my garden for the past week, but this is the first time she ventured into our house.
The first thing I noticed was that she was walking around our house licking the floor clean and eating anything she found under my Dad's desk (lolly sticks, sweet wrappers, dust, socks, etc) so she was clearly quite hungry. It also occurred to me that she wasn't wearing a collar so I had no idea who she belonged to. Not knowing what to do next, my immediate thought was to contact the RSPCA but, after a few minutes of talking to robots, an automated voice told me that the RSPCA don't collect stray animals... so what do they do exactly?
I then called the Forest Heath District Council and they sent a woman from the kennels in Beck Row round to collect her so they could see whether or not she was micro-chipped in an attempt to find her owner. Whilst awaiting this woman I fed her a few scraps of ham because she looked extremely hungry and then she spent the rest of the time curled up on my lap and occasionally playing tug-o-war with an old sock.
Eventually the woman turned up and took little Jacqueline (I couldn't keep calling her 'Dog') into her van. We said our farewells and she was whisked away. Then literally 20 seconds after they left, a couple of teenagers knocked on the door and asked me if I'd seen a little Jack Russell... oh crap. I explained the situation and, needless to say, these kids were extremely angry. I gave them the relevant contact information for the council and told them who would be able to help them, but I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty even though I was only doing what I thought was the right thing to do. What would you have done?
I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks, bye! xxx
