Staff writer
Since June Eileen Sieger has been working to rescue a stray dog she affectionately named Hope. Last week her work paid off as Hope was finally captured and is no longer running along US-150.
“It was the rescue of the century,” Sieger said.
The capture happened last week when a couple helping Sieger was driving along the highway and noticed Hope crawling into a culvert underneath a driveway.
Chris Morrison stood on one side of the culvert while her husband, Justin, crawled into the culvert forcing Hope to exit on Chris’s side and allowing her to catch Hope.
They then took Hope to their home where she is currently staying.
This capture was the finale to a previous attempt a few days before by Sieger where she was feeding the dog at Grant Cemetery.
Fearing Hope was chasing cars, Sieger rented a large live trap from Caring Hands Humane Society in Newton, and was able to capture Hope using hot dogs as bait. Hope received a clean bill of health from a veterinarian, was searched for a microchip (none was found) and brought home to Sieger’s home.
With some help from friends, an enclosed 15-by-20 foot kennel was built inside their fenced-in yard. Hope spent the day inside Sieger’s home, but that night she thought it would be better for Hope to sleep outside. It took Hope only a few minutes to find a weak place in the kennel then in the fence and escape.
“I was devastated,” Sieger said.
The next morning, Sieger returned to Grant Cemetery to put out food and water for the dog, which returned to the cemetery and acted like nothing happened.
Now that Hope is off the highway and safely residing at the Morrison home, she is getting the chance to socialize with other dogs and people. Sieger says that while progress to get Hope to trust them is slow, she’s hopeful that she will come around.
“She’s a wonderful dog,” Sieger said. “She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and I’m confident that as surrounded with love and hope as she is that she’ll have a happy ending.”