Neighbor's Dog Looks Lost And Lonely. :(

Honestly, with any loose dog - I take it to the shelter. They are better equiped to handle these types of situations, and they are the ones that the owners will listen to in regards to properly caring for their pet. I wont bring an untested dog into my home - to many animals coming and going to risk an outbreak of anything.

erica1989

Honestly, with any loose dog - I take it to the shelter. They are better equiped to handle these types of situations, and they are the ones that the owners will listen to in regards to properly caring for their pet. I wont bring an untested dog into my home - to many animals coming and going to risk an outbreak of anything.

Thanks. Ya, I almost did call the Police. And I did knock on my neighbor's door to see if he could verify if the dog belonged to these people. But he was not home. I could have gone to the actual neighor's house too. I felt a little awkward about doing that though. Because they obviously don't care one way or another. Even if I did tell them.

 I'm wondering, do you think I should call the local pound tomorrow? Do you think I have enough information.. or are they gonna want something more than this? For them to go to the neighbor's house. For one thing, I don't know for sure if it was their dog. But I talked to another neighbor just earlier tonight... and told her about this as she was out walking her dog. And she says that my description perfectly suited the dog she had seen once over there. I guess I should know this info already you'd think... since I'm volunteer at a animal shelter. But not at this one.

Do you know for sure that the dog isnt let inside while they are home? Could he just be garaged while they are away? 

I dont think I'd go knocking on the door or give a hand-out. Too much room for them to be defensive, you gotta be sneaky abou it. SO if you keep a eye out for when they do walk I'd tell them you think you met their dog, it was very nice, ask if it can play with your dog (if your ok with that) and something along the lines like "I never see you walking your dog, I bet he'd like to play with my dog"

Maybe they'll confide in you with a problem they are having and you can help.

I just cant see a easy way of you knocking on the door and giving them a handout. What would you say? "Hi I noticed you neglect your dog, here is some literature on it"?

LOL good luck, and keep us posted. Poor lil guy!

Animal control is responsible for dogs running at large. The owners of this dog are breaking the law, regardless of the circumstances. Dogs belong on leashes, not roaming the neighborhood at night. By allowing the dog to stay out, he runs a higher risk of being hit by at car - esp. at night.

I don't think it's your call, or the neighbors, to make regarding the quality of this dogs life - but I do feel it is your responsiblilty to get him to a safe place for the night.

 I have a neighbor who would let her lab out off leash to use the bathroom.  It would wander the neighborhood and be out in the street unsupervised.  We had crazy teens on the street (still do) who would drive way too fast up and down the street.  One night, I almost hit her dog because she's black and it was dark.  This was right after I lost my dog and I was just so upset someone would let their dog be at risk like that.  So I marched over to her house and nicely (it was hard) said I had almost hit her dog and wanted to let her know and how worried I was about her since mine had just died.  She was very nice and said oh no, she didn't know she left the yard, etc.  She hasn't let the dog outside without a leash since.    Sometimes you really do get more by being nice.  Maybe you should just go to their house, describe the dog and ask if it's theirs, and then tell them it almost got hit by a car (a little white lie but it probably will eventually) and how worried you are about it.  Sometimes a little wake up call and a little embarrassment can do wonders.  If you find it out after that, maybe leash it up and take it to their house and AGAIN say it narrowly missed being hit.  Then, if that doesn't fix it and you find it out again, take it to the shelter so it can hopefully find a better home.  Say it's a stray, you don't know who owns it.

Good luck! 

erica1989

I don't think it's your call, or the neighbors, to make regarding the quality of this dogs life - but I do feel it is your responsiblilty to get him to a safe place for the night.

AFTER they have picked the dog up from animal control, and you see it out walking w/them, then you could approach in a friendly, neighborly way and invite them to play if you want.  But they need the influence of animal control to properly advise of the law and consequences, etc, etc.

Whoa.

If I had neighbors, and I thought their dog was loose, I'd knock on the door. Not assume they didn't care.

I wouldn't grab my phone and call the police, or animal control. I'd knock, and ask in a friendly way if this was their dog. Especially if I'd seen the dog out *once*.

I sure hope my neighbors would knock on my door if one of my dogs got out.  

Dog_ma

If I had neighbors, and I thought their dog was loose, I'd knock on the door. Not assume they didn't care.

I wouldn't grab my phone and call the police, or animal control. I'd knock, and ask in a friendly way if this was their dog. Especially if I'd seen the dog out *once*.

Uh..yeah..me too.. In fact I have done it a few times. I even kept a neighbor's (whom I'd never met before) dog (who I'd never seen before) in my yard all day once, because they weren't home and didn't answer the phone. Finally that evening I got a call back from their pet-sitter. Poor thing was freaking out looking desperately for little miss trouble until she finally thought of checking the answering machine, lol. Then a few days later it happened again (thankfully I only had her for like 30 minutes that time before they got home)...this time the owners were in town, and thought their gardeners must've left the gate open..til it happened again a few days later (this time at night, but luckily the people across the street from them knew the dog and took her off my hands til they got home), and then they figured out that Mandy (who can't be more than 15-20 pounds) was LEAPING up and over their 6 foot fence, lol... Not sure how they ended up fixing that, but she hasn't been out since that I've seen. I know she wasn't an outside dog, just had access to the yard. Maybe they just close her in the house now, I dunno.

I really don't think that warrants a call to animal control or the police, even on the third time. Yeah, she could've been hit by a car or something, but she wasn't, and AC wouldn't have been able to fix it any faster anyway. I mean, who knew a 15 pound dog could leap a 6 foot fence no problem? I didn't...

chelsea_b

I really don't think that warrants a call to animal control or the police

Some people cannot risk the health of their dog(s) or themselves by bringing another's dog onto their property.  Seems there are appropriate times to call AC, imo.  In my life in NH, it had been no problem to bring a stray dog to its home, or just keep them in our yard until someone came to get them.  Here in this city in AZ, in all honesty, there are a variety of reasons I wouldn't take a dog onto this property.  I couldn't contain them with my own dogs or any adjacent area.  It's illegal to tie them out.  The very large stray population combined with high rates of various diseases makes it a health risk.  The neighbors I know are all people whom I could return their dogs to them (and have).  The other neighbors are another story and keeping your head down and out of their business is not unwise. 

I guess everybody's situation is different and an individual needs to make their own judgement call.  But I don't think jumping to the judgement that the owner is irresponsible (after I saw the dog loose once) is the right call, either.

miranadobe

Some people cannot risk the health of their dog(s) or themselves by bringing another's dog onto their property.

I don't really get this. Exactly what's the big risk of bringing a neighbor's dog into your yard? Being bitten? Yeah, not that worried about a 15 pound dog (not any more worried than I am with neighborhood cats, certainly). Dog fight? Well, Cherokee will fight with most other dogs, so of course she wasn't around... Diseases? That just seems kind of paranoid. But maybe I'm overly lax..or maybe it's my area. I don't see someone two doors (or is it three? hm..) up from me having some diseased dog. 

I'm not saying it's wrong to ever call A/C obviously, I just think...maybe some people jump to it too quickly?

If a dog shows up on my rural property with a tag the owner will get a phone call and I will hold it[if friendly] till they get here.If there is no tag the dog is taken to the shelter.If I find a dog wandering down the road I will knock on a few doors.I agree with Erica that in most cases the shelter is best equipped to care for the dog and the health and safety of my own pets takes presidence over helping out a stray.

Tena

chelsea_b

Diseases? That just seems kind of paranoid.

Well, like in my situation right now Willow isn't supposed to be around other dogs.  She could pick up anything, even something that would be minor to another dog might cause a issue for her right now.  But, I think every neighborhood has a family like this.  

When we first moved in in November every morning there was a lab in the yard and on our deck.  He's one of those dogs that gets let out off leash unsupervised to go to the bathroom.  I heard from my father in law--who lives next door--that the lady here before us used to give him a cookie every day.  So, he'd show up every morning even after she left.  I would of given him a cookie too but didn't want to encourage him to keep coming around with the way Willow is.

Personally, I'd be having a heart attack if I didn't know exactly where my dog was--friendly or not.  But, I'd try to work it out with the neighbor first without getting animal contro involved.  For me, if these are my neighbors I want to keep things as friendly as possible. 

Dog_ma

Whoa.

If I had neighbors, and I thought their dog was loose, I'd knock on the door. Not assume they didn't care.

I wouldn't grab my phone and call the police, or animal control. I'd knock, and ask in a friendly way if this was their dog. Especially if I'd seen the dog out *once*.

I sure hope my neighbors would knock on my door if one of my dogs got out.  

Anyone, even the most responsible owner, can have an incident like this.  I once had a dog escape on her first day here, and was still wearing a tag from Spokane (we are in MA).  She just went across the road to a neighbor's house, but because her tag had not yet been fastened to her collar, the neighbor thought she must be visiting, and lost, so she called the ACO.  Of course, that was the first call I made, too, being a responsible owner, and twenty minutes later, I was reunited with my new dog.  Her name?  Dancer.  The ACO had a good laugh to think that one of my dogs ended up in "jail".  But, he also said that I held the record for the fasted retrieved dog!  He never forgot her either, just like everyone else she touched;-)

Dog_ma

Whoa.

If I had neighbors, and I thought their dog was loose, I'd knock on the door. Not assume they didn't care.

I wouldn't grab my phone and call the police, or animal control. I'd knock, and ask in a friendly way if this was their dog. Especially if I'd seen the dog out *once*.

I sure hope my neighbors would knock on my door if one of my dogs got out.  

I have to agree with Dog_ma,   I would at least try to connect and make sure I had right owner - right dog.  I know the world has changed a lotr but I don not think I want the Police dealing with a loose dog. And with the kill shelter rates I would not be happy about turning a dog in to a shelter with a "hope this is better than nothing" view.

Bonita of Bwana