Ice Spice

Nov 20th, I headed to the San Jose Animal Shelter with Violet my ten-year-old girl and Lucky my one-year-old puppy. We wanted to foster any dog that needed time away from the shelter. The dog that the shelter volunteer brought to meet us was the prettiest husky I had ever seen closeup, Ice Spice. She was eight months old and had been at the shelter for three months. A few signatures later I was her foster mom!

Dogs and excited girl snuggled up in the back seat as we drove home. Short stop at the Petco near our home to pickup supplies quickly turned into a nightmare. Ice got spooked by the new surroundings slipped through her collar and ran around the parking lot. A Petco associate and many others in the parking lot tried to lure her. As soon as anyone got close, she would back away (this is typical dog behavior). After 30 minutes of this she took off at high speed down Tully Road, running in the middle of the traffic. By the time we got our car and circled back the sun had set and she had disappeared into the dark. We spent the next couple of hours driving around the neighborhood flagging down cars and walkers to no avail. Ice was lost and alone in the dark. For the first time, away from the shelter. The fact that she had not yet been spayed further complicated the situation. But her number one danger remained high speed cars.

Finally, home tired, and sad we notified the shelter. We posted her picture on ring, nextdoor and other social media. Within a few hours the lost post had been shared hundreds of times. Volunteers who specialized in locating lost dogs messaged, called and offered advice. One of the volunteers, Susan, quickly made a flyer for Ice. Folks started messaging and calling with sightings. Ice was caught on a ring cam around midnight near Yerba Buena, few miles away from where she got loose.

Break of dawn the search resumed. Then started the arduous task of getting the 100xflyers ready in sealed bags for posting around the lost radius. As the day started more sightings started coming in. Animal control was now available for chasing them down. Few hours later one was a hit! Ice was picked up by animal control and taken to the shelter. All fosters are runaway risks. Huskies, renowned escape artists. The shelter didn’t want to risk another escape so they scheduled an emergency spay surgery for Ice (how incredible are these overworked vets!). By evening of Nov 21st darling Ice was home with us!

As Ice settles in (with a GPS tracker on her collar) it appears I have one more reason to be thankful this thanksgiving!

Thank you to all my colleagues and friends who support me unceasingly. Thank you to the complete strangers who jump in when I need help the most. The Petco associate (whose name I sadly never asked). The police car, the Amazon Prime drivers, the USPS drivers, the innumerable dog walkers, people working in their garages, everyone who readily took my number and promised to keep an eye out for Ice. Alex, Alan, Rebecca, Tara, Susan, Ani whose last names I do not know. Thank you!

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As I prompt, retrieve, PEFT and SFT in wide-eyed awe of the modern miracle that is AI I am reminded to be thankful for the one condition that has endured over ages and is so inherently human, kindness. Happy thanksgiving everyone!