When Eldad Hagar got an urgent call about a terrified pit bull loose on the streets of LA, he never anticipated the series of obstacles the rescue would entail.
Hagar, the founder of LA-based dog rescue team Hope For Paws, was working alongside two other helpers that day, Teresa, and Jackie Artecona. And it’s a good thing he had help—he was going to need it.
It was a hot, sunny day, and they soon spotted the pit bull, a girl, near a grassy park area.
“Walk on the grass,” Hagar told Jackie as they began to sneak up on her. “So she doesn’t hear your heals.”
They continued closing in, until Hagar spotted a silhouette in the shadow of a tree near where Jackie was. Hagar cried out, “Coyote to your left!” She obviously hadn’t noticed the shadowy profile, which then, startled, also darted out and was on the move, a potential hazard to the rescue.
“I want to make sure he’s not attacking her,” said Hagar who had lost sight of the dog, as they made their way through the grassy space.
Soon, they found the dog, safe, but still on the move. They had by now traveled miles into the park. The pit bull then entered a fenced-off baseball diamond, and that’s when Hagar knew they would have a chance to trap her by closing off the gate.
They closed the gate and eventually had her cornered near a fence, where she tried to get through a small hole in the fence but was unable to. Exhausted, she plunked down, panting madly.
Then, suddenly, she tried to make one last break, darting toward Hagar in a desperate bid to get by him, but she clearly wasn’t expecting Hagar’s snare. With a quick flick, it was around her neck, and she was held fast, but too tired to fight.
But they were miles from the car, and the dog, whom they named Brandi, could hardly walk.
Brandi was taken in by foster home Doggie Bonez but was still pretty nervous. But Hagar, being an experienced dog rescuer, knew how to cheer her up. They went out for a walk, where she met Miller, another foster dog, and soon they were rolling and playing in the grass together.
It was a sense of familiarity with another dog that she needed, and Hagar knew this would give her comfort in the meantime, while she awaited her happy, forever home.
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