Elizabeth Standow of Bedford commutes to work in Boston from the Park and Ride at Exit 5 in Londonderry, and on Jan. 27, she went to the bus station to pick up her tickets. That day she decided to bring her German Shepherd dog, Max, along for the ride, and when she opened the back door to get her purse, Max bolted. That began a month- long odyssey for Max and a month of worry for Standow. “Max is very street smart and was seen heading in the direction of Dunkin’ Donuts and Sub-way.
I have to say that the community of Londonderry was outstanding. People kept calling with sightings and going out looking for Max,” Standow said. Standow said that during Max’s journey, he was seen on at least three occasions sitting on a fence watching the kids in the Kinder Care daycare center near Market Basket at Exit 4, quite a ways from where he began his trek.
“He was seen sitting on the fence by the Kinder Care. The sun had melted a path along the fence and he would sit there sunning himself and watching the kids. The kids actually asked their parents to start looking for him,” Standow said. Knowing that Max seemed to be lingering in that area, Standow put out a humane trap with food inside and caught a skunk.
“I was out there talking baby talk to it trying to get it out of the trap after I opened the door, and the skunk wouldn’t leave. I eventually went around to the other side with my car and put on my headlights and started beeping the horn, and the skunk waddled away,” Standow said. The next time something was caught, it was
Max.
“We put a roast chicken inside and when Max went in to get the chicken, he stepped on the lever that shuts the gate and we got him,” his happy owner said. “That was about 10:30 at night, and we took him to the vet and by 12:30 a.m., we were going home. He was scared, had a few sores on his pads, and the vet said he could use some food, which we’ve been doing. The sores on his pads are healing and he’s doing very well.”
Max’s adventure came to a happy ending but there has been a change in his life.
“After this we changed his name. He’s not Max anymore, his name is Rebel,” Standow said.