Liesje
Posted : 1/14/2009 4:29:25 PM
If you have a decent shelter, I'd take him there, or at least let them know you have him. I was in a similar situation. I found a Bichon on my way home. I went home and got a leash, came back, and he was still wandering. I walked with him but no one was looking for him so I took him home b/c he was covered in ice. We drove around looking for LOST posters and actually found one, but when we called they said they already found their Bichon. I called the shelter and they said no one had called looking for a Bichon. It was too late to get there before closing, so instead we drove him to the 24hr e-vet and they scanned him, no chip. He had a collar but no tag. He was good weight (fat actually), but his coat was icky, he had some weird lumps on his chest, and he was peeing blood. I bathed him and brushed him out as best I could. I put a found ad on Craigslist but all I got were people wanting to buy him. He slept between my legs in our bed and was fine. The next day I typed out everything I knew about him (where I found him, what I did, how he was with my dogs and in our house) and DH took him to the shelter. We had to pay to drop him off even though he was a stray, but they don't euth dogs unless they are human aggressive or very old and sick. A little white dog has an excellent shot. When I had called the night before, the shelter encouraged me to bring him there and not "foster" him myself. They said they have more resources for finding owners, and most owners will call them. Also if the owner does call, they have to drive out, pay a fine, and see all the other dogs that were lost or neglected so it's incentive for them to be more responsible. Dogs can wander a LONG ways so I just was not comfortable making fliers and trying to find the owner myself, and if they were looking, how would they know to contact me? They'd call the shelter. So that's why we turned him in right away. I guess if it was a high kill shelter I'd keep him and make fliers, but definitely do something to try to find the owner and not make that judgment call myself.
Just look at Julie's thread about Bobbi. Bobbi is timid and has some medical problems and is underweight, but the vet's office lost her not Julie, and Julie is not responsible for her condition. Look at how much ground Bobbi has covered since she got away. So what if someone found Bobbi and assumed that her owner was neglectful? That's not true, Julie was fostering Bobbi to rehab her health issues and it was the vet tech that dropped the leash, not Julie.