Sampson-Part 1

I was walking my dog a couple months ago when I noticed a doberman I'd never seen before rummaging through a garbage can. I called 311 and was told Animal Control would come pick him up. Meanwhile, I called my dog-loving next door neighbor, Bonnie, and asked if she'd seen the stray. "Yea, yea. I saw him when I left work." Bonnie teaches at the elementary school on our block. "Thomas lured him into his house with a steak to protect him from the gang bangers on the corner."
I had dinner with Heather that night and told her about the dog. She and her ex-husband had four Weimereiners, one still survived but was dying. "I'll take the doberman!" She said after I told her Animal Control was very slow in picking up the stray. I made a couple of phone calls and the next day she came out with her family to meet the dog and see if he was good with her baby, Jackson.
We walked to Thomas' house and met the dobie. He was a little thin and his skin was dry but his nails seemed well maintained. One of his ears was badly cropped and so it pointed to the other one instead of sticking straight up. Though he looked and acted young, his teeth were in bad shape, most likely the result of eating only soft food. Thomas has two young boys and let us know that the boys loved the dog and didn't want him to go but his wife did not like dogs or he would have kept him. He seemed great with Jackson also so we put a leash on him and took off for my house.
On the way a lady saw us and approached saying, "hey! Can I talk to you all for a minute?" We paused and when she reached us she explained that we had her brother's dog. We were puzzled.
"This dog was roaming the streets for hours yesterday." I explained. "If he wasn't taken inside by a neighbor he may have been beaten for sport by the bat carrying gang bangers on the corner."
"Well we appreciate that, my brother would have been upset if that had happened."
"I don't think you understand," added J Paul, "you're talking to two women that would have called the FBI to search for thier dogs if one had gone missing." All they had to do was go accross the street. We didn't want trouble from a neighbor so we handed over the dog. She brought him to the the most impressive Victorian on the block and was greeted at the door by an older woman. "Don't bring him in here!" we heard her yelling, "I thought I was rid of him, don't bring that dog in here!" Heather, J Paul and I looked at each other, "should I go see what's up?" Head nods and "yesses."
I climbed the steps of the house and waved, the door was still open and the two women were having words on the threshold. "Hi! I said, "I was wonderin if we could get that leash back."
The older woman stepped forward and asked, "do you want this dog, baby?"
Confused, I answered, "Um...yes but she just told us it was her brother's."
"Yes, well my son brought this dog home without me knowing and this dog doesn't like my dog. They fight all the time. They don't like each other and my dog was here first. If you want this dog you can have him."
"Well, actually it wouldn't be me taking him, it would be my friend."
"Oh!" She said, "So he wouldn't be living close by? That's even better. Then my son won't see him and try to take him back here."

I've seen her son. He lives in the coach house and is often on the street without his shirt on, mumbling, singing, mowing the lawn. One day he stopped by my yard while I was outside gardening and began singing to me, "you are a lovely woman, yes indeed yes indeed." oh, uh, ok...thanks! "Look, look, look. Your dog aint so tough is he?" People always think my dog's a he. "Is he? Is he? Look, look, my dog is tough."
Contessa kept watchful eyed but would not approach this strange man or wag her tail. Maybe smelled all the liquor.

I got the dog back and handed him over to Heather and J Paul. He's been with them ever since. He and Jackson have become brothers.