ID the mutt!

[Tim Benzedrine]

It was a centipede?
Wow, this means you guys were WAY off with the blue-heeler guesses! I thought they had more legs than that, but I'm not ' 'pede person, so.....


Anyway, they came and got the dog, er...centipede, and were supposed to take it to the Humane Society to check and see if it has been chipped. Then I suppose they will evaluate it for possible adoption, and if it is suitable, it'll be offered. If not, it'll be put down, I guess.
We did what we could, it was kind of out of our hands when we determined he wasn't going to work out for us. I learned today that he took a snap at yet another person who was trying to make friends with it. I fear that the dog does not have a very bright future unless it's owner shows up to claim it. I feel bad for the pooch, but again, my hands were tied on this one.

 

[bugmankeith]

You could always go on petfinder.com you can say about the dog, and mabye someone who lives close to you will want to adopt him. You can also put signs up in your neighborhood with a description of him. No photo, because then people can lie and say he's theirs. Mabye someone will call saying they lost their dog, and he could be their dog.

Put flyers up by a local animal hospital, that will get peoples attention. You can ask someone in the animal hospital if they want a dog. (a vet)

 

[zinto]

People always assume vets want all the stray critters - they don't. My neighbor is a vet, and he has been offered so many pets, it's ridiculous. He and his wife have taken in only a fraction of the pets they've been offered and it's still a zoo over there! The fliers are a good idea, and ask the pound if they've recieved a description of a lost dog fitting your stray's appearence.

My family found a stray as well. She's in this thread: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=72548
She went to the pound to be put down. After two weeks of keeping her, we determined she had canine distemper. It was sad. It got so bad that every few hours, she'd have a seizure...poor girl. I think putting her down was best. That wouldn't be a good life to have. (Sorry! Not trying to hijack your thread!)

 

[Sheri]

I think he's done everything reasonable to give the dog a chance. If it's snappy, it needs to be evaluated as a potential pet and if the owners are looking for it, they'll check the shelters.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Yes, we fed it, gave it water, and tried to make it feel at home. But it snapped at everyone that tried to have anything to do with it with the exception of one person, and I think it would have nabbed at her eventually. We had every intention of adopting it ourselves. It isn't as if we made no effort at all.

I couldn't have in good conscience passed it on to somebody knowing that it was a special needs dog. With patience and experience, someone might be able to make a good pet out of him, but I know of nobody like that who is equipped to deal with a problem animal.

This is a relatively small neighbourhood. Anyone here who is missing a dog would hear that he was found thru word of mouth, and it is unlikely that posted signs would have caught anybody from outside the neighbourhoods attention. And who would keep the dog while we waited and hoped for a response? The dog needed care. It was loaded with fleas. That was the first thing on our agenda before we discovered he was a potential biter. After learning that he was aggressive, I wouldn't have tried to pick him up and put him in the tub without wearing a suit of armour.
And what if he HAD bitten one of us? We had know idea of the dogs medical history, so he'd have to have been quarantined and the possibility exists that the victim would be required to undergo rabies treatments just as a precaution. The Humane Society has people who are trained for these possibilities and others.

So in short, I don't feel I need to offer any apologies for the outcome of this admittedly sad tale. I love dogs, but I'm not one to put their needs above the safety of others. That dog may have tamed down with some work, but I never would have trusted it. Besides, who knows? They may find the owner, or find someone who needs a dog with a little fire in him.

 

[Taceas]

You could always go on petfinder.com you can say about the dog, and mabye someone who lives close to you will want to adopt him. You can also put signs up in your neighborhood with a description of him. No photo, because then people can lie and say he's theirs. Mabye someone will call saying they lost their dog, and he could be their dog.

Put flyers up by a local animal hospital, that will get peoples attention. You can ask someone in the animal hospital if they want a dog. (a vet)

As sad as it is to even think about it, especially considering I am an animal lover, but some dogs aren't really worth the risk of being around a family. Not all dogs can be rehabilitated and properly socialized. It's just a sad fact of our world.

You can't wave a magic wand and expect them to get better. Most dogs can be helped, but some resist all help. Whether thats the fault of the breed(s) involved or the environmental factors it grew up in, no one knows.

There are enough dogs out there in shelters across the country with perfectly good dispositions that would be great in a home that Tim has describes his as being. I wouldn't conscionably adopt a dog like that out to anyone. Sometimes euthanasia is a kinder fate in some instances.

It sucks for the dog, as it looks to be a unique and adorable guy, but its a chance I wouldn't take on my family or anyone else's. Why waste the time and energy on a dog that is consistently aggressive when there are hundreds put down every day that are perfect in every way for a companion dog...but simply not enough homes for them.

Not trying to start a fight, just pointing out a flaw in your logic, imho. They tried everything reasonable that most people wouldn't have done, to me, that was enough.

 

[Stylopidae]

Am I the only person who noticed the flowers looked like joints?



I think I see some corgi, as well.

 

[bugmankeith]

Their not joints, their the flowers from "rose of sharon", and they curl up like that when they fall off. Mine look more like joints, since they are white, not purple.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Heh. A joint bush! I never looked at them that way. We do have a white Rose of Sharon also, but the purple one next to it produced the most blossoms this year.

This story takes a rather mysterious turn. One of our neighbours, upon finding out that animal control was called, got pretty upset with the neighbour that called them. She swore she was going to get the dog back, no matter what the cost. Nevermind that SHE couldn't keep it, she seems to be one of those types that believes that an animal should be left to roam rather than risk it being put down. I don't necessarily agree, I hate to see it happen, but we can't be over-run with feral animals either. But that's neither here nor there, really.

Anyway, she called the Humane Society and they had not gotten the dog. The guy that picked it up said he was taking it there to be scanned for a chip, but it would seem he didn't do that.
I think one of three things happened. A) My neighbour misunderstood the true destination of the dog and he was taken to the county pound instead of the humane society (this is the best bet in my opinion), B) The guy lied and said it was going to the Humane Society and then took it to the county pound, or C) The dog bit the guy and he took things into his own hands, sparing the county the cost of a lethal injection.

Like I said, I think "A" is the most likely scenario. I don't think we will ever know for sure. I hope it ended happily ever after, though.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Update.

Well, the dog that kicked off this thread sadly did not stick, but this one did....We just got her yesterday.

I think we probably kind of bent our desired size rule, but I think it'll be okay. I've been offered different opinions as to what size dog it'll actually end up being, most of the guesses run on the high side of the estimate ruler. Her mother was medium sized, but the identity of her father is open to some debate.
She's got fairly large feet, but I think her legs are a bit stubby so maybe that will make some difference. Oh well, with mixed breeds, you have to take some chances, I guess.

I hope it remains a reasonable stature as we have a small home. However we also have an adequate-sized, fenced-in backyard for a reasonably large dog to exercise in, so we'll deal with it whatever the outcome.

 

[bugmankeith]

Puppies are usually risk free because being so young you have a chance to train them correctly. Keep us posted on her, cant wait to see what she will look like as an adult!

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I agree. Of course you also have a wider opportunity to make some mistakes, I guess. But I get what you mean.
I'll post more pictures as she develops, plus the occasional obligatory "OMG! She is sooooo cute" snapshots.