Former ‘ghost dog’ has new haunt
Labrador mix that once roamed Navajo Nation has new home in Colorado
It was just a year ago when Sugar, a peppy golden retriever who now delights in interrupting yoga lessons, was known as the “ghost dog.”
She’s the one who was often seen wandering around Navajo Service Route 9 in northwest New Mexico for two to three years. Her backstory remains something of a mystery, though many believe she and a canine mate belonged to an out-of-state man who died in a vehicular crash as he was passing through the area. Sometime later, the mate dog, a black lab mix, was reportedly hit and killed by a car, leaving Sugar alone.
But she survived, fascinating locals who provided food to keep her going and who also dubbed her the “ghost dog.” Then, last July, she was finally caught by members of an organization
that tracks and traps lost and wandering dogs with the goal of giving them another shot at life.
At first, they called her Lily. But her current owner, Heather Ireland, a yoga instructor who lives in Southern Colorado, adopted the name that staff members at a local animal shelter, where the dog ended up early this year, gave her: Sugar.
Now Sugar can be seen playfully wrestling with Ireland’s cat, Cinder, and goofing around with Ireland’s other dogs, Rasta and Veda, while managing to cause high jinks during Ireland’s videotaped yoga lessons, at least one of which can be found on YouTube.
“I’ve got a blooper video of outtakes where those dogs are up in my face during the entire lesson,” Ireland said by phone Sunday. “They just want attention all the time.”
Ireland said she began considering adopting a new dog so Veda, a 7-year-old yellow lab mix, would have an age-appropriate companion to play with, given that Rasta, a 13-year-old chocolate lab mix, is aging out of playing.
She saw Sugar’s image on the La Plata County Humane Society’s website and liked her looks.
“As soon as I saw her photo, I knew. And the more I read about her, the more it seemed she would be a good fit,” Ireland said.
But she did not know that Sugar was the ghost dog until she called the humane society to learn more about her. Staffers told her representatives of 4 Corners Wolf Dog Sanctuary in Farmington first took Sugar once she was captured and then worked with the dog to improve her behavior before putting her up for adoption at the La Plata site.
While at the humane society shelter, a behavioral therapist also worked with Sugar to help her readapt.
Ireland said while she was nervous that Sugar was going to be skittish, “The moment I met her, it was like a fairy-tale encounter. It was love at first sight. I texted a photo of her to my husband while we were at the shelter and said, ‘This is the one.’ ”
Over time, Ireland and her animal clan’s influence has played a role in making Sugar see that life is going to be OK.
“The first week she was with us, she was terrified of everything and just sat in a little hallway,” she said. “She was afraid of
the tile floor, terrified of squeaky toys and scared of her own food bowl.
“But we live on a dead-end dirt road on 40 acres of property. It’s just us and the two dogs and cat, and that’s what she needed, a quiet place where she could be part of the family. I still see snippets of her skittishness, but she’s 100 percent a different dog now.”
Videos of Sugar that Ireland sent to The New Mexican show an ever-bouncy camera-hog — ready to run, romp and be ridiculous, often in tandem with the other two dogs.
Conrad Mahaffey, who with Lily Azures caught Sugar in a humane trap last year, said Ireland has done a “great job” working with Sugar.
“It’s an amazing feeling to see videos of Sugar jumping around and being a social animal. It makes me smile for sure,” he said. “It’s a happy ending, and you couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”