Arizona dog currently up for adoption has long, unusual history

PHOENIX — A dog currently up for adoption at a Scottsdale animal shelter has quite the history.

The story of Ears, a Chihuahua who is up for adoption at the Brynne Smith Memorial Campus and Adoption Center in Scottsdale, was recently chronicled in a post on Foothills Animal Rescue’s Facebook page.

Ears was first found last month, when members of Humane Animal Rescue and Trapping Team, a program of the Arizona-based nonprofit Lucky Dog Rescue, was working to find and help a different stray dog in Scottsdale.

The team set up a humane trap outside of a local hospital to trap a skittish dog and hoped to catch it without it being scared and running away.

One night, volunteers with the team were alerted that a dog had entered the trap when it was not live — but it was not the dog they were looking for.

But Ears would not leave the cage, so some volunteers brought him some treats and were able to trap him.

Later, the volunteers found out that the night before Ears entered the trap, he was riding in a vehicle that was pulled over by police.

“The occupants of the vehicle were detained but Ears had jumped out of the car and escaped,” the post read.

“Unsure of where his family had gone, Ears decided to find a safe place to stay until they came back. So he found the trap and made it his own.”

A security guard at the hospital where the trap was placed learned from police that Ears’ former owners would not be returning to the United States, so the volunteers took him in and transferred him to the Foothills Animal Rescue’s shelter.

“He’s great with other dogs and with people (it may take him a few minutes to warm up to strangers),” the post continued. “At just two-years-old, Ears has so much life in him and he’s dreaming of a loving home.”

Those looking to adopt Ears can do so at the Brynne Smith Memorial Campus and Adoption Center. His adoption fee is $175 and he is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

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