Tuesday night I was on my way home and driving up the street that I live on, I saw a car accelerating and shortly after a puppy chasing the car. We turned on to our street and the car took a turn off, and I instantly saw the lost puppy look on the dogs face. He had been abandoned... It is so sad that people do this when there are plenty of no-kill shelters that will take in an animal no questions asked. Anyway, my wife and I managed to get the pup into our back yard where we've kept it since then. It appears to be a Pit/Lab mix, no more than a year old, more likely 6-8 months. It shows behavior of an animal that was neglected/abused. He growled and bared his teeth several times but a few bowls of food and puppy treats seams to have stopped that at least for us. Also, a good bump/scar on his head and some kind of eye infection. He's also pretty skinny and scared of the dark. So the point to all this, he needs a good vet visit. The problem is a lot of animals in this area get chipped when they're very young. Are there laws that say that a vet MUST give the dog back to the owner per the chip? Anything that I might be able to tell the vet/shelter to prevent this pup going back to whoever dropped him? edit: pic!
I would take him to the vet anyway its much better to know he's healthy then worry about any further consequences, anyway even if he is chipped the owners likly made no attemp to retrive the dog so anything is likly to fall in your favour. He probebly only need some antibiotics and some worming tablets and he will be healthy as a horse.
First, a lot of love and patience can make a huge difference in his behavior. Don't be put off by his immediate state. He has some very intelligent and loyal breeds in him and in time he might make a faithful companion for many years. Second, take him to the vet and get him looked at. See if he's chipped, and if the chip is registered. Have the vet document any signs of abuse or neglect. IF there is a law that he needs to be returned, find a lawyer and challenge it on the basis of neglect and abandonment. The animal protection laws are stronger then the property laws, I'm willing to bet. But get him right medically first. Treat him with respect, kindness and gentleness; he'll respond in time. But you should know, it might take him up to a year to settle completely. Even abused dogs mourn the loss of their family, which makes it all the more rage inducing what people do sometimes. My dog was abandoned for economic reasons after 6 years, and while she showed no signs of abuse or neglect (just the opposite really), it took her a year to settle down and really become herself. And when the cats came to us 11 years ago, they had the same time frame before we really saw who they were. Edit: if you do decide to keep him there are some things you should do: a) call him Rufus. b) get him neutered at the correct time c) get a good book on dog behavior and/or take him to a series of dog training classes. Also, get him a good rubber ball. Kong Balls are the only ones that the Battle Dachshund™ won't destroy in a matter of hours, so I can recommend them. He's a good looking dog. I'd take him in heartbeat. Mixed breeds always make better family dogs, IMO.
He is lovely, do your utmost to keep this dog, there is no such thing as a bad dog only bad owners. Shower this mutt with love and he will repay you tenfold with unconditional love.
Thanks for the replies. I know he needs a vet so he's getting a visit either way, just trying to mentally prepare myself for what might happen. As far as the breeds, a lot of people don't like the rep of a Pit. Personally, I've known several and they can be the nicest dogs if they are treated right. He is already warming up to us. A few bowls of food and lots of puppy treats helped that along and he is just begging for attention and wants to play. As far as keeping him, I'd love to, even my wife is falling for him but that's not an option right now. We've already got a dog and two cats. Add their vet bills to our house payments and everything else, we're already very tight on cash... We're just doing what we can until we can find a home for him or if there are no takers, he goes to a shelter. The shelters around here are good about doing background checks and can and will deny adoption just because they don't feel right about you. I almost didn't get my dog because of that. They went as far as calling my parents and the vet that I took my old dog to ten years ago.
I cured a pitt bull mix like that once when he got parvo.. went down to the vet supply and got the shots and the bottle of penicillin.. shoot them in the back leg and give them lots of pedialite to drink I'd take him to the vet for the eye infection.. vets are cheap too- not like doctors who will billy shaft your ass if you don't have insurance you don't have to mention he was stray.. just say you bought him
You say the dog was abandoned and it needs treatment. Take the dog to the vets, explain the circumstances of how you came to be looking after it. Explain you want to keep it (it is a great looking dog!). Get the vet to contact the owners. If what you say is true then they will be perfectly happy with you keeping the dog. Then get it treated.
I don't know how it stands over there with chipped pets, but in England it costs about £25 to have a dog registered. If you are planning on keeping him and he is chipped, a trip to the police, explaining how you came to have him would be enough and an explanation letter would be enough to change the registration papers. It really does my head in how people can do this sort of thing to dogs or animals in general. I wish you all the best with him, it, It looks like with a bit of work he'll soon be totally loyal to you once he realizes that you are not going to be cruel to him. An ex girlfriend of mines brother found a pup some one had dumped on a rubbish tip. He spent 2 weeks feeding him every 4 hours night and day until he was healthy again. He turned out to the most loyal dog I think I have ever seen. Keep us posted with how you get on with him..
My guess would be that he isn't chipped because judging by the previous owners' behaviour they are not the type to care. You could check for small scars in all the places that a chip would normally be implanted to make sure. Second (or third) that, especially on getting the vet to document signs of abuse/neglect --even though the owners could always lie that he ran away and he must have suffered the injuries and starvation as a stray. But as AshT says, the owners dumped him, remember? So if they were contacted they would probably deny ownership altogether.
I second this. He's absolutely gorgeous. It makes me so sad to think there are people who neglect and abuse such beautiful, affectionate animals like this.
Well, this is depressing. It's becoming apparent that no one we know is going to take the dog. I know of a few no-kill shelters in the area but he may get turned away from those based on breed. Even if they take him, it's unlikely that he'll get adopted out to a good home based on how much it took to get him to trust us - if a dog growls and bares his teeth at you in a shelter, you usually move on to the next and never get to see the affectionate, well behaved dog that it really is. I really wish I could keep him. He is a good dog but the $20 that was left in my bank account before I got paid today and the amount that had to go back out after the paycheck went in says no.
Keep it! That is a really beautiful dog. And if he's already being calm and gentle towards you, he's obviously got a soft spot for you. I wouldn't be able to put him in a kennel/shelter after that. Don't want to make you sound bad at all here, but 2 people abandoning him? I know what I'd feel like.
Not being able to afford to look after him properly would be bad as well though, so it's hard to know what to do in your situation. I really hope you find a good home for him.
I don't know about over there but close to where i am in the UK a cats shelter actually provided us with food, a few toys and even paid vet costs for a kitten that we gave temporary shelter to. We couldn't keep it, we could neither afford to not would our own cat accept a newcomer (she is the very felinification-is that a word?- of evil) so it would not have been in the kittens best interests anyway. My point is contact some of these shelters and see if they would be willing to supplement your housing of the dog. If they could help with food and bills then it would be best all round. The only potential issue i see with this that it would be on the provision that you immeditaely release the animal into their care should a home be found. He really is beautiful though.
Yeah, I feel like crap giving him up to a shelter but our choices are limited. Basically, what's worse: 1. keep him but can't afford to take him to the vet to fix whatever is up with his eyes or whatever else may be wrong, maybe not even afford to feed him. or 2. give him to a shelter where he will get the treatment that he needs and hopefully adopted. Neither option is really good but at least doing what we can...
Personally I'd just hand him to the shelter, it may sound harsh but you don't want to be taking in a pet that you weren't planning to and it's probably under similar circumstances that he was abandoned (but from a whimsical purchase rather than an act of charity). I'm not implying that you would abandon the dog but you need to think about your needs as well and placing yourself under any financial hardships and finding youreself stuck for paying for treatments isn't going to benefit you or the dog. Hopefully if you do take him down to the shelter there will be people who find him as beautiful as we all do who will give him a good home.
WOOT! We found a home for him. I got home from work and my neighbors were out and they took him in. They had a dog but had to put it to sleep not long ago so they took him. That feels so much better than taking him to a shelter. I just hope it all works out both for them and the puppy. Thanks again for all the replies!
