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AIBU?

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Original poster

to want to keep the lost dog we found?

70 replies

Hoptastic53 · 19/03/2017 22:59

We found a lost dog tonight. She didn't have a collar on and was near a main road so I put my dogs lead and collar on and bought her home. She has been lovely, obviously we were extremely careful but she has been fabulous with our DC. She's very affectionate and happy and playful.

We posted on local Facebook pages but no one claimed her. Someone offered to scan her to see if she has been microchipped and she had, but the phone number wasn't working and the person who scanned her said she'd been returned to a different address when she was last bought to their attention. We tried there and there was no answer, the neighbours said they'd never seen a dog at that address.

The dog is a staffy and seems malnourished. The rules with the dog warden here are that if you're happy to keep the dog you can do for 28 days and then for good if no one claims them during that period. We'd happily take her on if she had nowhere to go but my only concern is our dog. He's a rescue so we're not sure precisely how old he is but he's at least 11 and possibly up to 13. He's a Jack Russel. So far they have been fine together outside but she hasn't been spayed, he tried to hump her and she growled at him, he growled at her and got off. There's been a few more growling incidents indoors but mainly they've ignored each other.

Obviously they're sleeping separately tonight and will not be left alone either together or with the DC but do you think this could be doable if the owner isn't located, or does initial agression show they won't get along?

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 19/03/2017 23:50

Aww Mary Sad

It's quite windy in a lot of places today, so perhaps a few fence panels are down.

Original poster
Hoptastic53 · 19/03/2017 23:52

No her nipples are fine. I'm going to try the house and neighbours and then vet in the morning.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hoptastic53 · 19/03/2017 23:55

Oh no Mary Sad

My DC have been great so far. I think they understand how upset they'd be if we lost our dog so they've been concerning themselves with making posters to find the owner but I think they're secretly hoping we don't Smile

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 19/03/2017 23:55

Get her details put up on the dog lost site , that way if she has been long term missing her owners may be able to find her .

CornflakeHomunculus · 20/03/2017 00:02

If you've not already it's a good idea to check DogLost for any matching lost dogs as well as posting her details up in the 'Dogs Found' section.

If she's genuinely malnourished (rather than just slim/a bit thin) then feeding her little and often is best for now.

ChocDee · 20/03/2017 00:03

Well fancy that! We also found a dog this evening!!!
He is utterly gorgeous and extremely handsome and is wearing a collar - but no tag.
He knows basic commands and he comes when I call him - we have named him Goose for now.

I am taking him down to the vets tomorrow if he is still outside in the morning. Currently he is crying by the back door wanting to be let in.

Husband and I are debating. We have two dogs and two cats. Dogs are fine but Donkey cat (who strolled in through our kitchen window a month ago) swatted him one. He ran away and seeked protection from DH's lap.

Spoke to neighbours and they had another dog turn up a couple of days ago. They think someone has done a dump and run...
Utter bastards!

We hope that is not the case and that we can locate the owner.

Yay! DH ha shuts told me to let him inside for the night!

to want to keep the lost dog we found?
MaryPoppinsPenguins · 20/03/2017 00:05

The dog was so beautiful! My DD's even named her.. Ariel Sprinkles Jakes Grin

to want to keep the lost dog we found?
Original poster
Hoptastic53 · 20/03/2017 00:10

They are both gorgeous Grin

OP posts:
GardenGeek · 20/03/2017 00:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

itsawonderfulworld · 20/03/2017 00:13

Re the humping, our dog was neutered at 13 months and still does this (we wanted him to be "done" at 8 months as a small breed but our vet at the time refused to do it; a few months later we swapped to a female vet who was very encouraging about having him "done" as she sees the results of a lot of fights/RTAs caused by un-neutered dogs in a small urban area).

ChocDee · 20/03/2017 00:15

Oh she is gorgeous!!!

Goose is now inside and sticking by me like glue.

Pony the cat is looking a bit perturbed by this evenings developments but that is all.
Donkey is still totally affronted.
Our two dogs are fine; though one of them is a bit growly because he is a jealous fucker.

itsawonderfulworld · 20/03/2017 00:19

Oh, forgot to add: our vet kept saying that we'd be "ruining" a lovely dog and to leave him to it. But other dogs were getting increasingly aggressive towards him (as our new vet said, because there is a large number of unneutered dogs in our large park, because of our first vet - she said she sees a lot of injured dogs in her practice because of this).

I'm so glad that we finally got our Jack Russell neutered at 13 months. He hasn't tried to bolt once since (7 years ago now). Nothing else changed.

giraffesCantReachTheirToes · 20/03/2017 00:23

Choc what are the dogs called? Rabbit and gerbil?!

ChocDee · 20/03/2017 00:32

Lol! No, they are normal names as we got them before we moved to the US and bought a farm.

I really wanted a pony but DH said I wasn't allowed a pony. So when he brought the cat home I named her Pony as a compromise.

Donkey came uninvited the through the kitchen window and I jokingly called her Donkey (short for Donkey the Queen Bucket of Purr) as we were going to locate her owners; which failed and then I tried to rehome her a couple of times which also failed and then I was in love.

Goose was also a joke that has now stuck....

CrikeyPeg · 20/03/2017 04:22

Please do try and find the dog's owner. Just because a dog is skinny/appears malnourished or uncared for doesn't mean they are, they could have strayed, got lost and been surviving rough or been stolen and then dumped. A friend of mine has had her darling pug missing for almost two years now and will never ever stop looking for him.

If you do manage to find the owners and they're a bit rubbish then you make up some lie about the dog escaping and last seen hotfooting it down the train track or whatever Grin

stonecircle · 20/03/2017 07:43

I think if the owners were that good they might have updated the contact details linked to the dog's chip...

Heathen4Hire · 20/03/2017 07:54

A colleague of mine works on the Metropolitan tube line. Both her dogs were found running free on the tracks (on two different occasions) and she rescued them and took them home. She informed the dog warden and advertised heavily on the web and in the neighbourhood for both owners. Neither came forward so she was allowed to keep them. They are very happy with her. Yes, you have to wait 28 days!

tigermoll · 20/03/2017 08:00

I'm curious as to how you can tell whether a female dog has been spayed or not? Surely it's different to being able to see if a male dog has been castrated?

(bit off topic, but could someone tell me Grin)

Sunnysky2016 · 20/03/2017 08:00

chocdee is he a ridgeback looks identical to my old boy! He's gorgeous

schoolofconfusion · 20/03/2017 09:12

Your only responsibility is to report to the dog warden which is law. You do not have to hand the dog over to them.

You should also contacts vets to let them know.

StarryIllusion · 20/03/2017 10:04

Wouldn't worry about the growling. They aren't being aggressive just working out the pecking order. As long as you report to dog warden that you've found her and are looking for the owner, I think you're alright to hang on to her in the meantime. Do be aware though that if the owner does turn up after the 28 days they do still have a legal claim to her so try to impress apon the children not to get too attached, she may not be staying forever.

isupposeitsverynice · 20/03/2017 10:13

Tigermoll I wondered that too! I hope someone can tell us.

stonecircle · 20/03/2017 10:28

It leaves quite a long scar. Clearly visible on my 14 month old rescue. Not so visible though on my 10 year old!

ChocDee · 20/03/2017 10:36

Hi sunny!
Goose is definately a mongrel I think. I did look at him yesterday and ridgeback did pop into my mind as well - so there may well be some of that in the mix.

He is clearly well loved - is very keen on inviting himself up on the sofa for a cuddle.

I am heading to the vets this morning so fingers crossed.

If all fails we will have to try and find a home for him. 4 animals is enough especially since Donkey was an accidental acquisition - we really cannot afford to have accidents like this!

We live fairly close to the animal shelter but I would feel awful handing him over there. All our animals are rescues so I really do not want to add to the problem and they really are such miserable places...

This is rural America...

Sunnysky2016 · 20/03/2017 10:39

:( if you were in the UK I would have homes him!! Gutted
There's def ridgeback in him x