When rescuer Donna Lochmann set out in her Jeep one February morning, her focus was on an emergency call. As Stray Rescue of St. Louis’ chief life saving officer, Donna is used to stumbling into unexpected rescues — but she hadn’t expected to meet a second dog that day.
From the passenger seat, her coworker Natalie Thompson noticed a small brown pup wandering a side street. Donna wanted to help immediately, but with a medical emergency waiting, she made a promise to return.
Once their first rescue was safe, Donna circled back. At first, the dog was gone. Then, she spotted her slipping down an alleyway toward an old, abandoned building.
Inside, the building was crumbling and cluttered with debris. Donna climbed a broken staircase to the second floor — and there, in the middle of the room on a tattered blanket, lay the little dog.
“She looked so young, just lying there,” Donna said.
Donna rushed back to her Jeep for a slip lead, but when she returned, the pup had vanished.
She’d found a hidden exit and slipped into the field behind the building.
Donna searched carefully until she spotted the dog again, sitting timidly in the grass. Not wanting to scare her, Donna knelt low and began tossing Vienna sausages, one by one, until the dog finally crept close enough to trust her.
With the leash secured, Donna lifted the pup into her Jeep. Unlike many frightened rescues, this little one seemed almost relieved.
“She put her paws right on the back of the Jeep like she was ready to leave,” Donna said.
At the vet, the dog — now named Dodie — melted into the arms of her caretakers, soaking up affection as if she’d been waiting for it all along.
Aside from being underweight, she was healthy and quickly settled into a foster home, where she now enjoys warm meals, soft beds, and endless love.
From a cold blanket in an abandoned building to the comfort of a safe home, Dodie’s transformation is nothing short of remarkable.
“She deserves it,” Donna said. “She really does.”
To help pups like Dodie get the care they need, make a donation to Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
