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Crap. WWYD?
Saturday we went to the lake and there was a dog running around the cove for the entire 3 hours we were there. He was just wandering. We kept watching him and finally I told H that we had to go get him. I swam to the beach area and he swam out to me, and got up into my arms. We loaded him in the boat and took him back to my parents' place.
He came home with us and we gave him a bath and picked probably 30 ticks out of him. My neighbor LOVES labs and immediately said she'd take him. I had called all of the convenience stores around the lake and left my number in case someone was looking for a dog...but here's the problem.
My neighbor took the dog to the vet this morning and spent almost $300 getting him vaccinated, bathed, heartworm tests--the works. The vet said the dog's tail had been broken and there was a pellet lodged in his ear where he'd been shot. His teeth look awful and he obviously has not been getting the care he deserves. On top of that, he isn't neutered-- and whoever "owned" him before was just letting him wander. No wonder our pet population is out of control...ugh.
So a lady calls and leaves me a voicemail today. To put it nicely, she sounds like a hillbilly. I cannot stand the thought of this dog going back to her. I haven't called her back yet but if this dog stays with my neighbor, he will be very well taken care of, neutered, and have two other labs to play with.
If he goes back out to the lake where he was I know he'll end up in a bad spot. My neighbors don't want to give the dog back. But I'm of course in a moral dilemma because I feel awful taking someone's dog and telling them that it ran away.
UGHHHH. What should I do?
Re: Crap. WWYD?
Just that she's looking for a male yellow lab.
I hate to take someone's pet but I don't feel comfortable returning him either I mean really...a broken tail? A pellet in his ear from being shot? Not neutered? And the vet said his eyes are very glazed over and sun damaged...so sad. Overall his health is okay but he just wasn't treated like he should be.
He's probably a farm dog that they just throw food out to. (look at me, assuming). At my neighbor's he's going to have supervised swimming play time in their pool...unlimited chew toys, regular vet visits, air conditioning...
My neighbors let him sleep in their bed last night FFS.
Here is what I have seen done in our rescue group.... Someone calls claiming that little Frank is their dog that had gone missing. They have two options, pay all of the vet costs plus boarding fees or forget about the dog. I have only seen one person actually pay all of the fees.
Your neighbor should set up the appt to have him neutered ASAP and THEN return hillbilly lady's call.
Option 1 Let her know that he has had any and all treatments and ask her if she can reimburse neighbor for the vet care. However, do not tell her where either of you live, not that you would BUT... Also, I would not call her back from your cell, I would honestly take some Lysol to a pay phone.
Option 2 Ask her to describe said yellow lab and make sure that her description does not match the one you picked up.
You totally did your good deed for the week/month!
If your neighbor loves the dog, then finders keepers.
I would NEVER give Dasher back to her original owner. Never ever ever ever ever.
With the exception of the teeth (which many owners are way too lax on!) is it possible that the other problems are a recent development? I know that if my dog escaped for even a few hours that he could get into a lot of trouble. He could be dirty, matted, hurt, etc. when found. I'd hate to think of this dog going back to a shitty home, but I'd also hate to think that someone would keep the dog I love like a child because he looks really bad after escaping/burrowing/climbing/running/digging/getting shot accidentally by a hunter.
Since she's called twice, and has been actively looking for him, maybe she's not as bad as we originally assumed? I think asking for at least part of the vet bill reimbursement is fair, though. A good owner would be thankful that he got the treatment he needs if they were unaware of the problems. I'd pay $300 in a heartbeat to get my dog back.
I'm a terrible person. I would just let the neighbors keep him.
Bad teeth, sun-damaged eyes...those aren't recent developments. Did the vet say if the broken tail looked recent? And the pellet in the ear?
I spoke with the lady and she informed me the dog never comes inside. I said, "well what do you do with him whenever it's 110 degrees outside like it has been" and she replied that she puts water underneath a propane tank for him.
The dog had only been missing, according to her, since the morning of the day we found him. I am not joking when I say that by yesterday, my neighbor reported at least 20-30 MORE ticks on top of the ones we already picked out by hand that they'd found dead on the floor after they'd put Frontline on the dog.
The lady told me that she wasn't sure why he wandered but that he would climb the fence and just go and he always came back. She said she didn't want to chain him because that would make him a mean dog. I told her that the dog was wandering because he wasn't neutered--he was seeking females when he'd leave like that. I told her that she was only increasing the dog population which is already so overrun--how did she not see that? No response.
The more I told her about all of the things the dog had wrong with it she insisted that it probably wasn't her dog. I was like well, you'd know if this was your dog because these are all old injuries--the tail is healed from a past injury but is still crooked at the end, the pellet in the ear didn't just happen. She then started back tracking saying well there's no way this could be my dog then.
She text me a pic of him and it's more than likely her dog. I text her back and said that it wasn't, though. I can't give the dog back to her. She insisted that she loved him, but it just wasn't enough for me to feel okay taking him back to her.
I feel insanely guilty, but I can't help but feel a little better knowing that the dog slept in bed with my neighbor last night, will be in the AC in today's 100 degree weather, and get TONS of love and attention from someone who will pay the money to give him regular vaccinations/treats/affection. When I called my neighbor to tell her all of this, the dog was sitting on the husband's lap being petted.
Thanks for updating, I couldn't respond last night but wanted to tell you that you absolutely did the right thing. You shouldn't feel guilty at all, if anything you should feel like a hero for saving that poor dog from a life of hell for the rest of his poor life. I don't understand how people can treat these poor innocent animals like crap and then claim that they really love them.
There's a special place in heaven for people like you
Boymom, you get a platinum star from me - good choice!
I am so glad that because of you that dog is going to have a really happy, carefree life!!!
After the update, I'm Team BoyMom all the way on this one.
It was absolutely the most ethical choice by a mile!
Boymom-I would have done the exact same thing. You get nothing but props from me for doing what you did. I can see why the lady backtracked her story; she could have gotten in big trouble for not caring for the dog like she should have. Do not feel bad at all-the only thing you have done is given the dog a better place to live.
No need to feel guilty since she's not claiming him anymore!
I feel for you. I have stoped to pick up a dog that had been hit by a car and was just laying there diying slowly to take him to the ER and see if there was anythign that could be done. However, I have also had a dog that we did take care of that went missing.... we looked and looked and finally after a couple of months gave up thinking someone took him or he had been hit by a car or something. 6 MONTHS later he came crawling into our yard that was covered in snow, he couldnt walk, covered with burs hair all matted, and covered in ticks. He didnt look like that when he left but I know that we were exctied to have him back and even though the vet said he wouldnt get better and that we should put him down we didnt (they said he wasnt in pain). He ended up living another 5+ years and learning to walk and run again. So I know it is probably really hard but I think you should call and maybe just feel her out a little bit, maybe if you tell a little white lie her that your kid or neighbors kid is absoulty in love with the dog and see keeping it is an option. If you were going to give it back I would even try to find out where she lives before hand so you can do a little "looksy" to see maybe he did have a good life and just ran away and has been gone awhile, so he looks really bad. Good luck and let us know how it goes.