Softie Celeb Saves Stray

http://www.nypost.com/living/10262.htm

Softie Celeb Saves Stray

November 9, 2003 -- What would you do if you were driving along a busy highway
and you spotted a stray dog darting in and out of traffic? 

For Eric Stoltz, there was only one answer: Pull over and help. 

Three weeks ago, the actor-director-producer, who has a 12-year-old yellow Lab
named Poppy, was on the freeway in Los Angeles, on his way home from seeing a
friend's play. 

Suddenly he spotted a mutt "running onto the off ramp, in between cars - it was
very dangerous," he recalls. 

Food - specifically, a lemon-flavored Luna bar - served as temporary bait in
the capture; Stoltz is a vegetarian, but the average dog is not. 

Luckily, another motorist stopped to offer the dog a can of cat food, "which he
went ape for," Stoltz says. 

(Experts agree that animal-loving motorists should always keep cans of cat food
in the glove compartment for just such emergencies.) 

It was 11:20 at night, cars were honking and "the dog was totally freaked out,"
but finally the shepherd-Rottweiler-pitbull-Lab mix landed safely in Stoltz's
station wagon. 

"It took about 45 minutes to lure him to the car," the actor says 

"Then he calmed down." 

The dog had a collar, but no tags. 

"I took him to a vet immediately and had him scanned, but there was no
microchip," explains Stoltz. 

The vet's exam showed there was nothing wrong with the dog except dehydration. 

"He was so scrawny and starving, he lunged for food with his ears pinned back
in panic mode, and he drank about four gallons of water," Stoltz recalls. 

"Then he didn't pee for a day. He stayed with me that first night, but didn't
sleep. He just howled." 

The lucky mutt earned himself the name Chancer - an Irish term for "someone who
takes great risks, pushes his luck and survives," Stoltz explains. 

After inquiring at area shelters, which sadly have a kill policy due to lack of
space, Stoltz decided to manage Chancer's adoption himself. 

The now-neutered and vaccinated pup is just under a year old, in perfect health
and looking for a permanent home. 

Interested adopters can e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] 

"He's so eager to please, he learned to sit in a day," Stoltz says. 

"Now he's eager to have a home."