’Lauren the Veteran’ gets much needed help at RACC

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - The stray dog, affectionately named ‘Lauren the Veteran,’ has an interesting story to tell. One that led her to Richmond Animal Care and Control.

“It’s a scary environment because it’s brand new to her," said Rob Leinberger with RACC.

The hound mix, who had been roaming free for some time before ending up there, is out of her element.

She’d been spotted in the parking lot of McGuire V.A. Hospital for months. It’s how she got the name Lauren the Veteran. Darian Rice saw her wandering a few times.

“Seemed like a real friendly dog and it kind of attracted a small crowd of people trying to figure out who the owner was,” Rice said.

Richmond Animal Care and Control got wind of Lauren, along with NBC12′s Curt Autry.

“She was very shy and timid and wouldn’t come up to the animal control officer," Leinberger said. "We knew people were feeding her out there.”

That’s where Curt came in. RACC asked him to post this message about not feeding Lauren.

“I messaged him and I was like can you please tell all the people messaging you, please tell them don’t feed her,” said Christie Chipps Peters with RACC.

THAT DOG AT MCGUIRE .... that's been running loose on the hospital grounds for months? If you've been leaving out food...
Posted by Curt Autry NBC12 on Tuesday, November 20, 2018

“For our traps to be effective we’ve got to get the animal a little hungry," Leinberger said. "So if she’s not hungry because she’s getting good food from the community, it does backfire for us.”

But with some encouragement from Curt, the feeding stopped and the trap worked.

“With some nice smelling fried chicken,” Leinberger added.

Now Lauren the Veteran will get the care she needs to the relief of an online community who left messages on Curt’s page:

“Praise the Lord she is safe, she will be adopted in no time,”

“So very very happy this dog will finally have a proper home...”

“So glad she is safe and warm! Thanks for posting Curt Autry NBC12.”

“She’s really sweet and very kind so I’m sure she’ll make a very nice pet for someone,” Peters said.

The dog will be at RACC for about a week as a stray hold and then she’ll be eligible for adoption.

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