When Laura Black and her seven-year-old daughter Frances went on vacation in Montana, they did not expect to fall in love with a stray dog.
The two were camping out on the Flathead River on the Salish Kootenai Reservation for a three-day rafting trip with family and friends in early August when Laura’s sister-in-law Bre saw a dog in the parking lot.
“Encountering dogs is very common because she’s been in animal rescue her whole career. So I said, ‘stay focused, this is not a dog rescue.’ I’ve been on several rescue missions with Bre,” laughed Laura.
The next day, they saw the same black and tan canine in the parking lot. Laura was struck by how much the animal reminded her of Zella, a beloved rottweiler who passed away years ago. The group decided to embark on another day of rafting and see if the dog stuck around. The next morning, she was under Laura’s car, trying to find relief from the 100-degree heat.
“It’s a big parking lot and there were a dozen cars there, so we were like, okay, we need to pay attention to this situation now,” she said. “It seemed like she had been dumped in the parking lot and had been living along the river.”
Laura, Frances and Bre spent an hour trying to coax the scared pup out from under the vehicle, but to no avail — although Frances was able to gently pet her. They decided to leave her alone for the time being and reach out to nearby humane societies for help. By the next day, Laura received word that a shelter volunteer had taken the dog home.
“We knew this was our dog and we wanted her. But as soon as we decided, we started reaching dead ends, ” she said. “So we decided to drive up to the shelter right before they opened. The staff said, ‘we can’t give out that information but we can give the volunteer your information.’ So we had to wait to see if she’d call.”
The good samaritan did get in touch and explained that a friend was interested in adopting the lost dog. But after Laura shared her story of the sweet pup along the river who touched her heart, it was clear who was going to be the adoptive family.
Frances and Laura named the husky-rottweiler mix Sloan Buttercup Black after the name of the bridge she was found near. Laura says she is “just the sweetest dog” and describes her as joyous, gentle, quick to wag her tail and reluctant to bark. Although she is around two years old, Sloan is like a puppy in some ways, so Laura and Frances are potty and crate training her.
“It’s quite possible she’s never lived in a house before,” Laura said. “But she doesn’t have the personality of a dog who has been abused, which is wonderful. She’s very people-oriented.”
Added Frances: “I like having a dog as a friend. We love her.”
