Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Lost and Found

A local chiropractor saves an abandoned dog from the cold

• By: Josh Kulla  
• Published: 2/4/2010 12:32:12 PM

Photo By: Josh KullaLost and Found
Henry, a black Lab-German Shepard mix, is looking for a new home after being rescued from the elements by Dr. David Corll.

David Corll simply had to act.

The time was two weeks before Christmas 2009, and temperatures were hitting record lows, in some cases below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The place was an undeveloped field in Wilsonville adjacent to Parkway Avenue and Boeckman Road across from the Mentor Graphics campus.

And that’s when Corll, a Wilsonville chiropractor, made the decision to track down and help a stray dog he had seen foraging in that area over the past several weeks.

It was not a random act on Corll’s part; he is as much of an animal lover as you are likely to find.

“I was just trying to keep an animal from being hit,” he said. “Everybody who knows me knows I have a black dog the same size.”

Thus it was on one of the coldest days of the year that Corll saw the dog walking down the sidewalk on Parkway Avenue. Worried the dog would be struck by a car if he pursued it too closely, Corll retreated into the field owned by Mentor Graphics behind his own office on Town Center Loop East.

“I jumped into the Mentor Graphics field behind the bowling alley, and when he came out and saw me, he turned around and went back in (to traffic.) He had no interest in going with anybody. Others pointed out where he was running in and out of traffic, and he then made the mistake of running into the Post Office parking lot.”

Knowing the back parking lot at the post office was fenced, Corll quickly latched the gate and went to work corralling the frightened animal, which nonetheless resisted capture for another 45 minutes before being baited into the back of Corll’s SUV by the promise of food.

“He was hard to catch, but we finally got him,” Corll said.

As it turns out, that was the easy part. Now, Corll must find the dog, which he’s named Henry, a new home. And that’s not something either Corll or Henry is looking forward to.

“I took him home, put him in the garage and gave him food and water,” Corll said. “He was really dehydrated. He’d been out for a while. He finally let me pet him that night, and it took him a day to pee, he was so dehydrated.”

Visits to all three veterinarians in Wilsonville revealed no identifying microchip under Henry’s skin. He bore no identifying marks, save for an electric shock collar around his throat. Other than dehydration and hunger, Henry was in good physical shape. His age is estimated at three to four years, and he now weighs around 80 pounds.

As best as he can tell, Corll said, Henry is a mixed-breed dog with dominant black Labrador retriever genes.

“I would have kept him, but…” he said, his voice trailing off. “He’s just as gentle as can be.”

Corll created flyers and posted them in the neighborhood where Henry was found. He posted an ad on Craigslist and in the local newspaper without response.

As it turns out, however, Corll was not the only one who noticed Henry’s struggles.

“I’d been watching that dog for weeks,” said Sylvia Campbell, who lives in the Canyon Creek Renaissance development adjacent to the Mentor Graphics property. “So many people are dumping dogs, which is what I’m guessing happened. That’s a big property that’s vacant there, and he wouldn’t’ allow anybody to get close to him. So I finally saw his (Corll) little thing in the post office, the notice about the lost dog and it made me cry.
“I live at Canyon Creek Renaissance, at a dead end on Canyon Creek Road, so every day I would drive out of here I would see that dog and I thought ‘my gosh, he’s got to belong to somebody.’”

Corll agrees wholeheartedly.

“My belief, based on his separation anxiety, is he was dumped,” Corll said. “He’s the gentlest, sweetest dog I’ve had. He’s just a lover.” 

Presently, Corll is seeking a suitable home for Henry. With three dogs and five cats already living under his roof, Corll said, there just isn’t space to take Henry on a permanent basis. The dog will be neutered this week, and the search for a home will continue.

“He’s worried about being left again,” Corll said. “It looks like we’re not going to be able to keep him, but we’re going to find him a home where we know he’s going to be taken care of.”

Until then, Henry will continue to have the run of Corll’s office, where he romps daily with two office cats and other members of Corll’s canine family who provide comfort to patients.

“He’ll come up here in the office and beg for treats,” said Corll’s receptionist, Nancy Kurts. “He’s still a little shy, a little leery, but he’s so cute.”

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