Strange Day - Lost Dog

Liesje

but it seems odd no one was looking for him. 

I got involved in a situation once -- a family went on vacation and let "Grandma" take care of Poochie (cos she loved him soooooooooooooo much).  But Grandma had Alzheimer's and by this time had a live-in caretaker.  Supposedly it was all ok for Grandma to "take care of Poochie".

By the time the people pulled out of the driveway Grandma had forgotten Poochie was even there.  The live-in apparently HATED dogs so she put Poochie outside (small bichon-mix type of dog -- NOT an outdoor dog).

She apparently put water out that first day and "some food" and then she never let him back in.  AT ALL.

Of course he was  gone, gone, gone by the time the people came back from vacation -- altho they came back early once they found out that Grandma's Alzheimer's was worse than they thot it was and once the live-in admitted she hadn't seen the dog "in a while".  The dog hung around the neighborhood for a week -- got pretty ratty looking but it had no skills at living outside.

They always hoped someone picked him up -- but never found him.

It was MUCHO STUPID to let Grandma watch him ... without making **sure** the live-in was ok with that added responsibility.  But it was one of those things where other family was involved and no one cared as much as they should have about being pro-active and they were all wound up about not "disappointing" Grandma ...

But stuff like this can happen more easily than you'd think -- especially when you get people involved who aren't nearly as responsible as they should be.  The road to nowhere is always paved with "good intentions"

The fact that this dog was hurt likely means it's been hit by a car or something ... If you hadn't stopped it likely wouldn't have survived and if the people cared enough to put a collar on with a decent tag, then they may just be gone for a few days with the stupidity to let the wrong people watch the dog. 

The poor little thing.  Was he scared at all?  Too bad you couldn't get some medical care for him somehow.  Don't suppose a vet would just help a stray dog I wonder?  I'd just hope that if one of my dogs got out and injured he/she'd be able to get some help.

Can't wait to hear an update.

 If the dog has an AKC pet recovery tag perhaps there's an emergency contact on file?

The lost dog saga is coming to a strange end!!

Before DH and I went out, I called again and left a message with my sister's name and contact info.  When we got back, we called my sis and she said they called her and came to pick up the dog.  She said the guy was a jerk to her, was scolding the dog (even though they left all day for some sports event after their dog got away, somehow this is the dog's fault....), never said a single "thank you", and even admitted to her that the dog has escaped before and the police brought it back and that they "think it got hit by a car because of the messed up leg."  My sis also said she knows this family (went to school w/ the son) and saw a ton of pictures on their Facebooks but it was a different dog, a wiener dog.  When she said this we knew exactly who it was!  There is a house on our walk/jog route with a wiener dog that is very aggressive, it runs out and attacks dogs, humans, bikes, cars...anything.  And of course they never bother to have it on a leash.  The dog has attacked us (walking our dogs) twice and I've seen it run out, run across the road, and attack (bite) a jogger who did not see it.  Now that I know they also own this other dog and don't seem to care about it darting in and out of traffic or the fact that his leg is all messed up, I am reporting any more incidents to the police.  If I find the dog at large again I will take it to the shelter so they have to pay the fine to get it back and get the angry spiel from the shelter manager about allowing dogs to roam at large (or maybe they would not release the dog until the leg was properly treated).  It just makes no sense b/c this is a well-to-do neighborhood and they drive big SUVs and BMWs and seemed to care enough to get the AKC recovery tags, but cannot take a dog to the vet when it's hit by a car or use a damn leash?!?!  Poor dog, I'm sorry my sis had to give it back but I know it's not our call. 

Lord knows I know dogs sometimes just get out.  Coke's escaped probably 6 times now but we drop everything and focus on getting him back.  The last few times we had no idea how he was getting out and then finally realized he'd dug a little hole, maybe 4 inches, but could still squeeze out, so even after fixing the hole and with a fenced yard, we either have him on a long tie-out (he can reach the fence but then at least if he gets out he can't run) or I am out there with him.  I would never leave for the day knowing he was out there, especially if he'd already been hit by a car!

stardog85

 If the dog has an AKC pet recovery tag perhaps there's an emergency contact on file?

They only give you the name of the dog so you can call it and then contact the people for you, which didn't really help b/c they had the same number I had on the dog's collar.  The AKC person asked for my name and number and asked me to catch the dog and hold it. I was going to keep it out in my dog van but it seemed very stressed by a crate (started panting and pawing) so we took it to my sister rather than have Nikon constantly sounding off.  If they had told me the home address I would have gone down there right away but it would not have mattered since they were gone all day.

Johnny&Tessy

The poor little thing.  Was he scared at all?  Too bad you couldn't get some medical care for him somehow.  Don't suppose a vet would just help a stray dog I wonder?  I'd just hope that if one of my dogs got out and injured he/she'd be able to get some help.

He was scared when we were trying to catch him, I think b/c there were so many people stopping and trying to get him and cars were nearly hitting him, but once he was caught he was fine.  He pulls on the leash but didn't care about the collar or leash.  He jumped into the van and then went straight to the door at the house to go in.  We thought maybe the leg problem was neurological b/c we couldn't see or feel a break, but a few times when lifting him in/out of the van he did yelp.  He was also kind of reluctant to sit or lie down.

If no one claimed him and we didn't already have the dog limit, we'd be tempted to see about fixing him up, but my rule is that I have to provide for the current dogs first and paying for a major surgery to fix or remove the leg would wipe out emergency funds for my dogs.  Also our local shelter is really good about that and probably would have been able to fix him and adopt him out b/c he was so nice and cute.  I've seen them do leg amputations and pretty major surgeries on adoptable dogs.  I don't know where they get the money from but they usually only euthanize when it's a "quality of life" issue (medical or behavioral).

Now ya got me wondering how THEY treat the poor thing!  Ignorant jerks!  I guess now you'll at least be able to keep your eyes open when you pass by their house to see if you can see him.

 Poor pup. :( What an a-hole that guy was for scolding the dog, I would be so mad at that guy and be holding back from yelling at him.

 Guess who I saw yesterday, limping around peoples' yards and darting in and out of traffic at a busy corner?  *rolleyes*

Liesje

 Guess who I saw yesterday, limping around peoples' yards and darting in and out of traffic at a busy corner?  *rolleyes*

Can you call AC when you see the dog running around so they can come pick him up? Around here, whenever someone comes to claim their dog there is a fine for the dog running loose and every time it happens the fine gets larger. Maybe that will make them realize he shouldnt be loose... or maybe they will give him up so they can stop getting fined.

Damn idiotic morons!  This dog needs a better home!  One's gotta look at the safety of the dog and seeing him running in the roads isn't too safe!

Too bad you couldn't get him and take him somewhere out of town to a different AC or rescue group.  I don't know how it works but if AC picks a dog up several times then what happens?

Last night I had my two GSDs with me.  My yard is a cesspool so I took them a few blocks away to a church yard to potty, run, and do some training.  I saw the loose dog and hung back.  Nikon is dog aggressive at loose dogs that charge him, plus it was on a very busy corner so I didn't want him to see me and dart across the road.  Then I saw a kid walking around, trying to call the dog.  I also saw a car that kept pulling over and hanging back, so I assumed it was a parent.  When we were done at the church, I did not see the dog or the kid on our way home.  I did not call AC because there was someone trying to catch the dog, and it was the nice one we caught, not the aggressive one.  My dog has escaped more than once so I'd hate if someone called AC while I was out there doing everything I could to catch him.

Liesje

 Guess who I saw yesterday, limping around peoples' yards and darting in and out of traffic at a busy corner?  *rolleyes*

  That dog is adorable.....why dont they let him go somewhere else if they dont want to take care of him.