Photo By Laurie Pearson | Maddi May called Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., home as a stray...... read more read more
After months of being coy, Maddi May, the base stray dog, finally concedes to be caught and adopted, Oct. 19.
Tricia Trujillo, spouse of Army Sgt. First Class Michael Trujillo, observation coach trainer, Scorpion Team at Fort Irwin’s National Training Center, first encountered the base’s infamous stray dog during the summer of 2016 when she came out from Pueblo, Colorado to visit her husband.
“I would see her by the Commissary and she was hiding between buildings, then by the Child Development Center’s trash area,” Trujillo said. “I felt like she needed help. She needs to be fed. So I started scooping out food for my dog Max and leaving some out for her, but there was no contact at that time. She wouldn’t let me get close.”
Shayna Holt, contracting officer representative, and Cindy Malloy,
administrative officer, both noticed the pup approximately three years
ago, and had the same impression that Trujillo did; the dog needed help.
“I saw this beautiful little dog everywhere I went on base,” Holt said. “I wondered if other people were feeding her. When I started asking around, I got the story that ‘Maddie’ had lived in the R.V. Park with her owners, but when they left, they left Maddie abandoned on the base to fend for herself.”
Malloy found her at the front gate dragging chicken bones across the
road. Both women took time to figure out the dog’s routine.
“I caught up with her at lunch and started following her to see where she spent most of her time so I could put bowls of food out for her,” Malloy said.
“I figured out that she spent a lot of time near the water treatment plant on Nebo side,” said Holt. “I started feeding her behind the commanding officer and executive officer’s houses. She would never get closer than about 10 feet from me but she always knew the approximate time I would arrive. She would sit and wait very patiently until I put out her food and water, then when I got back in my vehicle she would run over
to eat.”
Neither lady realized that the other was also helping to care for the same stray dog. They combined efforts and one fed breakfast while the other took care of dinner. In the summer time, they even carried ice in their vehicles in a cooler so that they could cool her water down in the temperatures soared over 100 degrees. They eventually relocated a dog house, blankets for winter weather, and her food and water dishes over to building 204, because there was less traffic and a nice shelter available.
“She would use the blankets, but she pulled them out of the dog house,” Malloy said. “I got the feeling she didn’t want to be in an enclosed space.”
Then, in April 2017, along came the Trujillos and their 6-year-old German shepherd, Max.
“Every time I’d walk my dog at night, he would get sketchy and look over at the bushes like there was something over there,” Trujillo said. “I thought it was a coyote at first. She stalked us like that for about two weeks. Then finally one morning, I went to let Max out and there she was wagging her little nubby tail. I could tell she was in heat. ”
Max was always on leash and Maddi May would walk alongside them. Max showed little interest in her being in heat, but their friendship quickly formed into a tight bond. They’d even play together in the dog run near the R.V. Park. It wasn’t just about Max and Maddi May, though. The wild and free Maddi May, took to the Trujillos, as well.
“She would follow me on post to the gym, commissary, or Route 66 Café,” Trujillo explained. “I’d go in and I just knew when I came back
out, she’d be right there waiting for me, and she was. I’d try to scoop her
up and put her in the car but she just wouldn’t allow me to touch her still.”
That started to change in August when Maddi May went through another round of being in heat. “It was terrible,” she laughed. “All of Max’s training went right out the window and he was so hard to control, but I was vigilant in keeping them from making puppies.”
In September, the Trujillos were finally able to pet her and scratch her under her chin, then she’d take off to maintain her space, then she’d come right back. “She’d let me hold her briefly, then run away, then
come back,” grinned Trujillo. “We’d grill out steaks for dinner and my husband could lure her in with food and be able to pet her, too. I knew I wanted to keep her once I saw how she interacted with Max.”
They borrowed a kennel and a mat for the dog, and tried luring her in, but the girl was on to them and never fell for their tricks. Eventually, they enlisted the help of Allen Boartfield, a local Barstonian who helps citizens with animal rescues. The police received complaints that Maddi was behaving aggressively so time was now of the essence. “Everyone on base knew that this was not the case,” said Holt.
“Everyone loved Maddi and fed her and looked out for her all the time. I had seen many stories on Facebook about Boartfield. I contacted him, and he came the following day.”
He set up a trap and within 24 hours, she was found in the trap.
“My husband, Mike, went out for work that morning and I heard him say ‘we have her,’” Trujillo said. “I was so excited!”
By 6 p.m. on October 19 “Maddie,” now named “Maddi May” by the Trujillos, was released from New Animal Hospital in Barstow, having been spayed, vaccinated and chipped. They also did a full medical examination and blood panel on her.
“Other than a uterus infection, that probably would have killed her eventually,” Trujillo said, “which was taken care of during the spay procedure, Maddi May was deemed a healthy dog.”
The veterinarian confirmed what Trujillo’s research led her to believe, which was that Maddi May is likely 5 or 6 years old and a miniature Texas Blue Heeler.
“She’s on a military reveille schedule,” Trujillo said with a laugh. “When she hears the music she will howl along and she’s ready to go out and use the restroom now. I’m hoping she will eventually relax and get onto our schedule so I can sleep a little longer.”
Maddi May now enjoys the lap of luxury, snuggling with Max, or Tricia, or Mike, on the couch in their travel trailer. She is even now beginning to sneak up on the bed, leaving just a little less room for the rest of the family. They don’t seem to mind though.
“I feel blessed that she chose me,” said Trujillo. “She chose Max, and
us as her family. How great is that?”
Leash and kennel training are going smoothly with guidance from Boartfield and others. So, what’s next in the saga of “Maddi May, No Longer a Stray?” She will be properly loved and spoiled by the Trujillo family, along with Max, and their two grandchildren.
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2017 15:47 |
| Story ID: | 255198 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 2,813 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Base stray Maddi May chooses a family, by Laurie Pearson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT