There's a dog in my house

[Freezby]

There's a Labrador in my house and I don't know where it's come from. DH appears to of left the back door unlocked by mistake, but it was shut? He's at work and knows nothing about it, I've just got home from work and I have acquired a dog. Collar but no ID tag. What is going on?! How did it get in?! Can labradors open and close doors? My little King Charles cavalier spaniel seems to think he's his new best friend so has obviously enjoyed this unplanned play date (thank god a friendly dog decided to break into my house and not an aggressive one) no idea how long this lab has been here but house has been empty besides our dog since 11am. Someone please tell me how this is possible. I'm baffled. Waiting for DH to get back with the car so I can get him to a vets before they all shut and see if he's chipped.

This is a nice thread

It may not even be the lady with dementias dog.

What a mystery.

Amazing

I really want this to happen to me.

Obviously it’s sad for the lady but it sounds like the dog couldn’t have found a nicer home to have a day out! You and your dh sound lovely.

@ChrisjenAvasarala How lovely and sad at the same time. Yes dog does look very well taken care of by somebody atleast. So sad watching people lose themselves to dementia, my mum stopped us seeing my grandpa once he got to a certain point and I remember being angry at the time and now I'm so glad all my memories of him were when he was lucid and happy and himself.

My Labrador can definitely open doors including kitchen cupboards in order to steal food

This just reminds me of a canine version of the Tiger who came to Tea- except it’s the Dog who came for Dinner.

Hope it all works out OP!

Hey op I know it's probably been suggested but if you take the dog to the vets they will scan it for an Id chip. What s nice surprise finding a gorgeous dog

Yup, several of my Labs can open doors. They have also all been exceptionally greedy, so beware of over feeding!

Oh op you and DH sound lovely. Beware the Labrador trick of sucking in their sides and making their eyes look all big so they look like they’re starving. Remove all chewable stuff out of reach esp anything made of leather

I'm glad that the dog looks well. She must be still looking after it. My mil with dementia kept feeding her next door neighbour's cat and it got quite fat. She thought it was hers and the cat was greedy, so kept going round. It was a toughie!

Hope that the police can help. It might be an idea to keep an eye out for relatives or carers and asking for a contact detail in case of any problems. If she's wandering around outside looking for her sister it sounds like she may be at the end of the time where she's safe to live on her own. My mil actually persuaded someone with a car to "take her home" back to where she used to live and was constantly wandering - that was when we found a home for her so she was safe.
Points Re Labradors - two of mine could open doors (one shoved, the other could do latches) but neither would shut it behind them. They were all very good with my mil when she had dementia (we still take one occasionally to visit her in her care home) and seemed to calm her.

My mates labrador learnt how to open a pizza box, eat the pizza and close it again without anybody noticing.

Oh how sad for the lady. Have you still got the dog?
It’s a sad thing to read for the lady
But omg i have a lab cross springer (she’s odd she’s the size of a spaniel but the coat shape and behaviour of a lab her dad all lab her mum a springer cross lab). She would be loving life of a random friendly dog appeared. The cat would not.

I do hope she’s ok, so glad your dog had a lovely play date

My Lab can open doors
She would literally be anybody's for a bit of food...
I would imagine a lab is microchipped, this usually gets done by the breeder before they are sold so I think if you take it to the vets tomorrow you should find out who he belongs to.

Using my boy as a placemark!

You and your DH sound lovely OP

It could be that she has a uti or something which is making her more confused than normal, so whilst without an infection she can function independently, with an infection she displays worrying behaviours. Also people with dementia tend to have worse symptoms in the evening. Regarding carers she may have had them in the past, often on discharge from hospital the elderly will be discharged home with carers, but these carers are only there for a few weeks until she can manage by herself again. You have done the right thing calling 101, it’s likely that she needs medical help of some sort. Have they told you when they are planning to visit her? If it’s not very soon, I would be tempted to ring your GP, they are likely to know her and could at least contact her NOK.

Sounds like she loves her dog, and bet he loves her too. Really hope she doesn't have to lose him

We still haven't heard anything back from the police but we've been put in touch with her daughter as someone on the local Facebook group had her details so I gave her a call. She had gone over to check on her mother an hour or so ago and was wondering where the dog was. She was very happy to hear about DH going over to see if the dog was hers as she said her mother had been quite distressed saying there was a man in the house and she wasn't sure if her mother was hallucinating or if something more sinister had happened. She was lovely, very apologetic. It was quite emotional. She said her mother's condition has deteriorated rapidly but she's lived in that house her entire life and seems to be more lucid when she's there. Her lovely boy is called Chessie (Chester) Shes coming to collect him now. I've told her to keep my details and if Chessie ever needs looking after to give me a call.

Well it definitely softens the blow of returning this lovely boy when he's obviously very loved. I'm still crying though!

Ahh I'm pleased to hear you spoke to the ladies daughter. Such a sad situation though. Sounds like with what you've been saying and all the night wandering looking for her mother, she probably shouldn't be living at home anymore. Poor lady.

Well done for looking after Chessie and for being such great neighbours.

oh i am so pleased that all is well that ends well

Aww, sounds like maybe the lovely Chessie looks after her. So very sad for that lady and her daughter :( but at least she's not alone in that house.

Sounds awesome!
My MIL used to have Labs (as do we) and she says one of hers used to be able to pull a door handle down.
Aww, I bet someone is really missed him/her xx

Do we think someone is stuck down a well somewhere? 🤷🏻‍♀️