Punk-Pink Poodle Stowaway

Punk-pink poodle was a stowaway
Saint Leo University students said they found the vagabond in Dade City and moved it to their dorm.
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
Published May 8, 2004
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photo credit
Dr. Jonathan Blake of San Antonio Animal Hospital treated a toy poodle Friday found in a dorm room at Saint Leo University.
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SAN ANTONIO - Every dog has his bad hair day.

But this is ridiculous.

Veterinarian Jonathan Blake said Saint Leo University employees brought in a toy poodle Friday that was found in a dorm room.

In addition to being underweight, at just 6 pounds, the little dog was sporting a pink hairdo, the result of some kind of dye or spray, Dr. Blake said.

University spokeswoman Jacqui Cash said the poodle's tale is a bit of a mystery, but by Friday afternoon, it had a happy ending.

And Blake figures the pink dye might come out with a good shampooing.

Cash said school security officers thought they heard a dog barking Thursday in a dorm, where such pets aren't allowed. They alerted officials, who confronted three students Thursday night, and the students said they had found the dog wandering in Dade City, with a pink hairdo, and thought they could take him home and clean him up.

After discussing it, the students agreed taking on a pet wasn't the best idea and agreed to give him up, Cash said.

He ended up with pet lover Susan Reed, in the school's student services office, because her friends knew she has a soft heart for animals, Cash said. But when Reed couldn't take him in, she brought him to Blake at the San Antonio Animal Hospital.

That's when Blake decided he wanted to help find the affectionate little dog with the funky hair a new home.

Before word spread outside his office, Reed said someone back at Saint Leo decided they wanted to adopt the pink poodle.

Blake said it isn't unusual to find a lost animal at the university toward the end of the school year.

"About this time, we see an increase in stray cats brought in from out by the college," Blake said. "The school year ends, and they get left behind."

But a pink poodle is a first.

Cash said her own dog, a basset hound named Abbey in honor of the Saint Leo Abbey, is a university dog. She found her wandering campus during a reunion weekend about two years ago.

Saint Leo University rules don't allow students to have pets, Cash said. Most pets, that is.

"The official policy of the university is pets are prohibited," she said. "Except for fish and small lizards."

[Last modified May 8, 2004, 01:26:44]