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Author Topic:   Gotta Vent!...
Maisey
Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 09-10-2003 09:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Maisey     Edit/Delete Message
I found a lost dog four days ago, I have three of my own so I wasn't thrilled about bringing him into my house. He was a black lab adult male that had not been neutered, I figured that he would fight with my males, or mark everything he could. It was getting dark, so I brought him in despite my reservations. Turns out he has perfect manners, did not try to fight with my boys and loved my two daughters to pieces.
I placed found ads in all the news papers in Portland, Vancouver and Gresham, went on line and placed more ads on National and local lists, all the surrounding shelters and a couple local rescues. I contacted a breed specific rescue as well. I also made and posted posters at grocery stores, on telephone poles, vets offices and our park nearby. I took him to a vets office close by and asked them to scan him for a microchip...no luck there. I scowered the lost ads on our county shelters web site (and others)looking for a possible match. I called on many of them and grew more disgusted with the amount of people who had lost dogs...their dogs were not neutered, had no collars or tags, and had not been chipped, I would ask these people why ??? The answers frankly p*ssed me off, there was no excuse for many, others would tell me how they had wanted "at leaste one breeding off the dog first" Was the dog papered? Was the dog an outstanding representative for his breed? Did he possess oustanding work ability? NO NO and NO. I heard..."well he was such a good dog", "he was so cute!", "I don't have papers, but I could get them I guess" I bit my tongue, offered not one of the nasty words or phrases I wanted to spout. On with my search. Finally I talked to a lady who had lost her dog in May, her dog also had not been neutered, no collar, no tags and no microchip. He had skin problems(like the dog I found), was five years old and answered to the name "Buddy". (Do you have any idea how many black labs are out there named Buddy??? How was I supposed to tell if it was really the owner?)
Later that day I drove the dog to her house, and it was indeed her dog, she showed me pictures and I am as sure as I can be that it was hers. He seemed to know everyone and was happy to be home. The woman was very nice and obviously loved this dog. When she asked me what she could do for me...for my trouble, I asked her to promise me she would get him neutered, microchipped and licensed and buy him a collar with a tag. I gave her flyers I had printed up that gave information for local low cost spay/neuter programs, one that described microchipping and several that talked about Food allergies and what kinds of foods may help his skin problems. I gave her a coupon for Frontline and invited her to an event my flyball team is going to this weekend, there will be a microchipping clinic there and it would only cost her $20 to have it done.
I hope she does these simple things to keep her dog safe and to ensure that if he gets lost again, he can be returned easily.
It makes me angry when people get a dog, claim to love it, but aren't willing to do their homework about owning one. The leaste expensive part in owning a dog.....is getting it. If you can't afford to spay/neuter your animal, license it, buy a collar and a $5 tag at minimum. DON"T GET A DOG. There are so many other important things to do in being a good owner, and more expenses...vaccinations being one of them, it's part of having a dog, a very small part, if it's over your head...don't go there! I feel good about doing the "right " thing, I am glad he is off the streets and hopefully safe now. That aside, I want others to know that keeping your dog unaltered and letting it run the
neighborhood is not only irresponsible on your part, but it makes your neighbors angry. I don't want my dog endangered by a stray dog that may be aggressive, I don't want your dog who has worms, pooping in my yard, I don't want to be the person who ran your dog over with my car because it was loose, I don't want your dog mating with dogs all over my neighborhood and making new puppies for the pound! Please...ask yourselves, "have I done everything possible to ensure my dogs health and safety?" even..."have I done the basics?" If you haven't...PLEASE DO, if you have, Thank you and maybe consider talking with a neighbor you know hasn't about getting on the ball.
(done venting now)

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jeminn
Member

Posts: 166
From:Colorado, USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-10-2003 09:21 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for jeminn     Edit/Delete Message
THANK YOU MAISEY. Well said.
My neighbor had a beautiful, wonderful golden retriever that they let roam the neighborhood, and it always bothered me. They reassured us that "he doesn't get into any trouble"..but I always feared that he would get hit by a car, and occassionally he would come into our yard and take our dogs toys and bones. He was so sweet and playful about it though that we didn't mind. Others I am afraid did. He never went too far, but he went far enough. It bothered me that they let him run around into people's yards, garages, etc..even though he was a sweet dog, not everyone liked having him visit. One day, about 2 months ago, Buddy got very sick. They took him to the vet and found out he probably had been poisioned. It could have been something as simple as anit-freeze in someone's garage, (which dogs lap up like crazy) or- someone who really didn't like Buddy coming over to their house..we'll never know. The sad thing is, Buddy died 3 days later,he was at the Vet Hospital for 4 long days of treatments- and they could not save him.
It was heartbreaking for this family, and yet probably completely preventable if they had not let him roam. Now they have a new Golden Retriever and I sincerely hope they do not repeat this same mistake and let the dog roam. It is very sad to see that people are not responsible owners at times, even when they "seem" to love their animals.

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honeybear
Member

Posts: 926
From:
Registered: May 2003

posted 09-10-2003 10:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for honeybear     Edit/Delete Message
Maisy - no0ne could have said it better - A coworker this morning was showing me pictures of his german short hairs mother and daughter (6 month old) no collars - they dont wear them and they arent chipped. He was bragging she does jump the 4' fence. I said what do you do when she is in heat. He said she is now and no problem. I said why dont you get her fixed since you dont plan on having pups again, he just mumbles something. by the way he ended up gaving away the last pup because he couldnt sell it. About 6 months ago his daughter brought home a stray kitten - I said you better get it fixed! Well they didnt and it had a kitten a few months ago, He was asking me if I wanted it. I said you need to get that cat fixed asap because it can get pregant again immediatley- I explained he will cause a huge feral population if he doesnt get the cat fixed. He still hasnt. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE. I think it is a money issue and told him about the low cost clinics.

Maisy how did you end up finding the owner - since the dog had been missing since May.

My husband thinks I am crazy when I pick up strays - I said "well - what if it were our dogs" and everyone had the same attitude just letting them wander and have possible dire consequences.
Honeybear

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Maisey
Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 09-10-2003 12:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Maisey     Edit/Delete Message
I found the owner by looking through the lost ads placed at the county shelter and calling anyone who had lost a Black lab male in the last 6 months. Which there were alot of!

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puttin510
Member

Posts: 1179
From:,Calif. U.S.A.
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 09-10-2003 01:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for puttin510     Edit/Delete Message
What would we do without people like us. I think we were put on this earth to help educate people about their pets. At least thats part of our mission, since it lays so deeply on our hearts. Good for you Maisey. I talk to people all the time that have no knowledge at all about many of the topics on this forum.

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9jan8
Member

Posts: 16
From:Phoenix, AZ, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-11-2003 03:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 9jan8     Edit/Delete Message
Amen, Maisy! I am conspicuously quiet about my observations of OP's (Other People's) pets....I still get po'd about my neighbors' and their golden retriever....they got this "cute little puppy" for the kids 2 years ago. It lives in the backyard and isn't allowed in the house "because it will scratch our new wood floors". The kids don't play with it. The older son will take the dog for a walk when his dad yells at him. The father will occasionally take the dog out for a run. But most of the time, it's neglected, sitting in the backyard barking and crying. Once, they went on vacation and left the dog in the backyard alone with no one to check on it! I ended up going over every day to make sure Rex had food and water. And Rex barked ALL night, every night. Needless to say, when they got home, I was furious and told them don't EVER do that again or I would personally take the dog to the humane society (privately, I was thinking I would just bring him over to my house!).
We adopted a stray this past Christmas. I put ads online and in the newspaper and scoured ads looking for the owner for a few days. I let the ads run out, the longest ran for 2 months online I think. But after a few days, my family and I were certain that Duke was our gift from God. He was ours, and if someone had ever come to claim him, I think we would've lied and said he ran away! He showed up the week before Christmas, in February he had all his shots and in June he was neutered. Once he had some obedience training, he was allowed to come in the house, and as he gets smarter and more well-mannered, he can stay inside with us for longer and longer periods of time.
My husband and I just know that someone got him as a pup and we bet he was adorable. But he grew into 70 lbs. of untrained beast, and since he wasn't starving and dirty when he showed up, we figured somebody just dumped him. My stomach turns when I hear about people buying puppies "for the kids" or because "they're so cute!" Having an animal is like having a baby, and the responsibility lasts a lifetime!

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honeybear
Member

Posts: 926
From:
Registered: May 2003

posted 09-11-2003 04:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for honeybear     Edit/Delete Message
9JAN8 I know what you mean, my old neighbors got a lab about 2 years old that someone didnt want any more well he took for his daughter since he was newly divorced, well neither the daughter nor the dad paid one little spec of attention to that dog and to make matters worse I live in an area whre it is over 100+ everyday, the poor dog had a slice of shade and often no water - I would slide a paper dish in between the fence to give it water. Then they saw our plastic dog pool and they got one, but would nver fill it, again the dog had no drinking water, so I would fill it with my hose. I talked to them about it and as usual they are very obnoxious to me. I t just sickens me. The neighbor on the other side would also go out of town, leave the poor dog tied to a tree. I would sneak in the back to take care of it.

Honeybear

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dogangel
Member

Posts: 132
From:Brewton, AL, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-11-2003 06:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dogangel     Edit/Delete Message
Maisey,
I take my hat off to you for going to hell and back to find the poor baby's family!!! And you did it!!! After almost half a year!!! The first thing that went thru my mind was "Didn't these people care what happened to their dog?" Apparently not. I'm not sure I was going to give the dog back to them though... after being so insensitive and all... But on the other hand, there are so very few responsible pet owners out there it's scary!!!
I've always wondered - there is such a careful screening going on if somebody wants to adopt a child, but so very little when it comes to dogs (or cats)??
... and also, if somebody has 7 children, everybody says they love children, if they adopt 7 children, they're very compassionate, but if you adopt 7 dogs, out of a sudden you're nuts?!
Why do people treat dogs (and other pets) as if they're 3rd class beings???
(done venting too!!)

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