A tail-wagging happy ending

Clover captured after a month traversing Evergreen, Genesee

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

If dogs could talk, Clover the golden retriever would have quite a story to tell.

Clover, who is about 2 years old, got away from her new adoptive owners in March and spent 30 days roaming through Kittredge, Evergreen and Genesee until humans with a tremendous amount of patience and tenacity were able to corral her and bring her home.

During her month-long ordeal, Clover only lost about 12 pounds, and Bailee Wilson, the kennel manager for 4 Paws 4 Life Rescue and Boarding in Sedalia, said that was likely because of the many people in the area who left food out for Clover in case she came by.

Clover is back with the rescue, and Bailee now plans to keep her in her family.

Here’s the story:

Clover, who came to the rescue from a puppy mill in Oklahoma, was pregnant. After an emergency C-section in January during which only one pup survived, Clover was put up for adoption in March. Wilson said she was looking for a family who could provide the time An Evergreen family was selected home, Clover bolted. Nowhere to be found, the family, neighbors and Wilson put out signs and started looking for her. anks to social media, wildlife cameras and security cameras, Wilson could see that Clover was alive and on the move. But she eluded capture. en on April 6, Wilson heard that Clover had been spotted in someone’s yard on Hiwan Drive. So Wilson took a chance and drove from Sedalia to Evergreen, bringing along Clover’s puppy, named Antler, and arriving around 11 p.m. After about 90 minutes, Clover recognized the smell of her pup and walked toward Antler, and Antler led her mom to Wilson.

“Clover’s tail was so tucked under her body because she was so scared,” Wilson said. “ en Clover and Antler touched noses, and Clover’s tail slowly started to wag.”

Wilson slipped a collar on Clover, carried her to the car and brought her back to Sedalia where she was in more familiar surroundings.

“With everything that she’s been through, she’s so fascinating,” Wilson said of Clover. “She jumped up on me like she was excited to see me. She’s extremely fearful but has a good loving heart. She has a heart of gold.” ose on social media in the foothills know how common it is both for dogs to escape their homes and for them to be reunited with their owners. e good news, she added, is most animals in the foothills are reunited with their owners.

Wilson gures that Clover didn’t lose much weight because she came to the rescue already underweight after being in the puppy mill, and while she had gained weight at the rescue, she still was accustomed to not eating a lot.

Ann Brown, the Evergreen Animal Protective League’s lost and found volunteer coordinator, said the nonpro t gets fewer calls about lost or found animals because people use social media more often for that purpose.

People need to pay attention to their animals, never assuming they will do what they normally do such as stay around the house because they can get distracted or decide to chase an animal, she said. Underground electric fences are not a panacea because something could be enticing enough to dogs that they are willing to experience the shock to go across the fence line. Brown has been able to match up animals with their owners by paying attention to social media posts. EAPL provides tags to animal owners that are available at Chow Down in Bergen Park and Buster’s in Aspen Park. EAPL keeps information on the animal and pet owners in a database, and someone who nds an animal with an EAPL tag can call EAPL to get the owner’s information.

Coming soon: “Songs of Earth and Sky”

e Golden Concert Choir’s Spring Concert, “Songs of Earth and Sky,” will be performed at 4 p.m. May 6 in the Great Hall of the historic Calvary Episcopal Church, 1320 Arapahoe St., in Golden. A silent auction begins before the concert at 3 p.m. Admission to the concert is free, although donations will be gratefully accepted. Come and enjoy choral music within the Golden Community.