My Dillema

[whiskeywoman]

I got a phone call early this morning from my mom, she told me I needed to come to her work place, it seems she had found a little french bulldog running around in the streets sure to get hit in the morning traffic.

I went to retrieve her, and found her shivering so hard her teeth were rattling (it was 5 below zero this morning), she has a huge lump on her head that makes her flinch when you touch it, she has a large open sore on the very top of her head, one of her eyes looks infected, her nails are extremely overgrown and you can see all of her ribs.

Her coat is extremely dull from lack of proper nutrition.

She also appears to be starving for affection, even as I type this she is sitting on my lap and refuses to let me forget the fact that she is here.

Obviosuly whoever owns/ed her has not been taking care of her at all.

She is a very sweet and affectionate dog, she adores the girls and even gets along well with the cats,

this leads me to believe that someone owns her.

She was not wearing a collar when she was found.

So why the dillema?

It seems that she was ill cared for, and possibly abused.

She was allowed to roam the streets with no ID

So... do I attempt to find her owners like I normally would, and allow her to go back to a home that will not care for her?

Or do I take her to the vets and start sinking money into an animal I know will not be around long?

I am aware that if she has been microchipped that the vet will have no choice but to contact her owners and she will be returned home regardless of my wishes.

Unless the vet can find signs of abuse.

Then we get into another situation all together.

So what do I do?

I am really torn here.

[thurisas]

I would bring the dog to the vet and get her checked out and see if there actually is a chip. That would be my first step just because the vet needs to see the condition the dog is in now. If you can't get an appointment for a few days then I would take pictures. My next step would be to care for the girl as if she were your own and she were staying. If she has an owner and she is chipped, then you can cross that road when you come to it. IF there is a chip, see if you can keep the dog until its true owner wants to come and pick her up. See if you can arrange for it to be done at your house. Talk to the person and try to discern the reason the dog was abandoned. The nails and coat could be considered a circumstantial giveaway depending on the extent to some sort of neglect but a dog can lose weight fast if they aren't eating properly and the bump on the head could have happened during this time she was lost. It is possible she has a loving home to go back to and was just a runaway.

Thurisas.

[Tyger]

Well, if you have the money to do so, I would bring her to the vet. If she WAS microchipped, I would think the owners would've taken better care of her. So, if she was, and maybe had run away, and was starving cuz she was away from home? If she WAS microchipped, then yes, her owners would be contacted and responsible for the dog's medical care.

If there was no owner microchipping, and you feel she was abused or abandoned, keep her. If people can't keep tracks of their dogs, advertise that they lost them, then I'd keep it. And that's without the effort of finding her owner.

I found a sweet collie/beagle mix here in the subdivison. She was gentle, lovey, and kind. I asked everyone I could if they knew who her owners were. Nobody did. So, I had her fixed, shots, the whole 9 yards. About 4 mos later, I was walking her, and the owner pulled up and was like "oh there you are. I'm so glad she found a good home!". Never once did she ask for the dog back (and she wouldn't have gotten her if she had either).

If you don't have the $$$ to get her patched up, surrender her to your local animal shelter to get the medical care she needs, and then placed up for adoption.

But please don't let her get sicker and remain in pain.

[synirr]

Like everyone else said, I would take her to the vet first and foremost. If there is a chip, someone once cared enough about her to make sure she had a form of ID and maybe, just maybe she has simply been lost for a long time and there's someone out there who loves her and dearly wishes to have her back. It's worth looking into a bit, just incase. If she's a purebred then she is a breed that is often stolen for breeding purposes, and it may even be that this is what occurred and THEN she was dumped if they discovered she had been spayed, or something of the like.

That said, if there's no chip, I say f*ck the previous owners. If there's no ID whatsoever AND she's in this poor condition, there's an overwhelming chance someone simply dumped her.

[whiskeywoman]

Well, I had a long talk with my mom and uncle last night.

We all agreed that most people call the shelter first when they lose a cat or a dog, so, I called the shelter and told them that I found her, if the owners call, they can contact us to identify her.

We also agreed that she will stay with us as our guest until the owners are located, if not, well I guess we just adopted her.

In the meantime, she has an appointment with my vet, he has informed me hat they will check for a microchip and put her on a course of antibiotics, he says this is the norm when finding stray and possibly wounded animals.

If the original owner is found, then they will have to foot the bill.

If not, then it is on me.

Well, I better get going, we have a vet to see at 8 30.

Ill let ya know what is said.

[Tyger]

I am so glad!! It's people like you that make me believe in the kindness of most people! Thank you for that.

I hope the pup's injuries are minimal and are quickly treated!! *hugs*

[whiskeywoman]

Ok, well now that I have a second to actually sit down and give the lowdown on whats up with the dog.

First, she is not a french bulldog, she is a boston terrier, she is not microchipped, she is roughly 8 yrs old.

She has been spayed, and for now we are assuming she has had all of her shots.

The local protocol is to call the humane society and wait for 3 days for the owners to claim her.

If they have not claimed her in that time frame, she legally becomes mine.

As for the bump on the head, the vet said it could be from old trauma, hes highly doubting it, he is running more towards that it is cancer.

We are goinf to wait for 2 more days, if her owners do not claim her, then we will return to the vets to have a needle biopsy done on the lump, and probably some x rays as well.

Is it just me or do yalls see "SUCKER" written on my forehead too?

[thurisas]

Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who knowingly adopted a golden doodle with heartworm and spent the money to get him all fixed up during a less than stellar time so far as income went...

I think you're doing a great thing and it shows the type of character you have to be doing it. I not only applaud you, but feel a deep sense of respect for what you're doing. I hope all is well with the pup and that everything comes back all clear.

Thurisas.

[lilpink]

No way are you a sucker!

Giving selflessly to a helpless creature builds up your good kharma, and the universe will reward you! Bask in the positive aura that surrounds you, I can almost see it from here, it shines so bright.

You should be proud of the example you're setting for your kids. Even if she dies, this is the kind of lesson about doing the right thing that can't be taught by yapping lectures about responsibility (believe me, I've done it plenty) and they won't forget it when they have their own choices to make about what to do in a situation like this one.

[whiskeywoman]

Well, her owner called today.

He says he has been looking for her for a couple of days.

He called the pound, and they directed him to me.

He says her collar slipped off teh other day while they were playing, and since it was off, he washed it.

As for why she was out.. he said he must have not latched the gate tightly while he was rushing off to work.

He was very grateful for me not taking her to the shelter.

I would be too, it costs 100 bucks to get a dog out of jail.

I know what we did was right, and I can slep with a clear concious knowing that.

I also learned that this particular breed is very sweet, so perhaps we will get one of our own.

So thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it.

[pappyld04]

WW, I must say that you are a rare person to even consider this route. There are so many that would turn the other way on this matter. The last pup we took in was so malnourished that he could not even stand up to eat or to use the bathroom. His first day here was used to try gettinmg some strength in him. From the time they brought him here he came out of the kennel and laid right in my lap and did not move for two days. And yes he did pee on me once. But who could be pissed at him for the way he was treated before he came to us. We took him to the vet when he could stand on his own and all he could say was that the old dog would spend the rest of his days in a happy place. He placed the dog at 18+- years old and although the dog only lasted another 2 years I would say that they were probably the best two years that he had. He was so malnourished that his spine had rubbed a place on the scruff of his neck that festered and was the nastiest thing we've ever seen on an animal. Regardless of how long it lasts it is up to us to see that they are cared for. If not the original owner then someone has to do it. You did something that most would never do and should feel great about every second the dog was with you.