What can I do with this dog?

[SparklyUnicornPoop]

I feel awful about this so please don't flame me.

I agreed to look after someone's dog and I don't think she is going to come back and collect it, I can not keep the dog, I don't know what to do with it, I feel terrible but the poor thing is miserable.

I met the owner in the summer last year, she walked the dog along the same track that I did around the same time most days, we saw one other regularly and occasionally chatted, eventually we ended up walking together fairly regularly.
she seemed nice and I enjoyed our chats, in August I had a chest infection and she offered to walk my dog for me, she collected him from my house and I was really grateful.

On November 5th she called me and said she had an emergency, she needed to go somewhere for a couple of days and had nobody to watch the dog, she seemed really desperate and I agreed to have him, since she helped me out i felt as thought i should return the favour. she dropped him off and said she would call me when she got home.
A week went by and I heard nothing from her, I had sent her a couple of text messages asking how she was but she didn't reply, I tried to call but it went to answerphone.
It was nearly two weeks before I heard from her, she apologised and said was dealing we a family emergency and would be back as soon as possible, I asked for a rough idea of when she would be back but she said she didn't know.
By the second week in December, over a month since she left the dog with me, I hadn't heard anything more so I tried to contact her again, I heard nothing, I've tried almost daily to contact her since then and up until now I not had a reply to any messages of voicemails.

I feel terrible but I can't keep the dog, he doesn't get on with my dog and is very temperamental.
He is some kind of chihuahua/jack russel/pug mixed breed, he is very yappy and at first was fine but has become quite aggressive, i believe it is an anxiety thing, i think he finds the noise of the children very stressful and after a few days of being here began to growl at them, as a result i've had to keep him confined to the kitchen.
He has only gotten worse over time and now growls and snarls at me quite often, he has even snapped at me and tried to bite me a few times.
It can be really scary when he is like that but I don't blame him, I know he is unhappy and i feel terrible that he is so anxious and miserable.
I have tried lots of advice online but nothing seems to help him.
I find myself constantly sushing the children, telling them off for running around the house and trying not to upset him, which isnt fair on anyone.

I've been telling his owner since Christmas that if she doesn't come and collect him I will have no choice but to assume she has abandoned him and give him to a rescue place, she has still not replied.

I have no other way to contact her, I have tried.
I don't know where she lives, I thought I had a rough idea but I'm not even 100% sure of the area anymore, ive had a drice around wheee i thought she lived but not found her car.
I've looked for her on facebook but she's told me before that she doesn't use it and I cant find anyone that looks like it might be her.
I'm not even sure if her surname is definitely what i think it is.

This week I started trying to find a rescue place, to mostly get advice about what I can do, there are only five locally (within an hours drive), one doesn't take 'small' dogs, one is only breed specific, one only takes strays from the dog wardens and the others are full.
those that would advise me basically told me I had to either keep the dog or find someone else to take him in myself.
I don't know anyone that can look after him, and there is no way I am going to advertise him on facebook etc as one suggested.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
i've already had him scanned hoping his chip will give me the owners address but he isn't chipped.

A friend suggested taking him to a vets and telling them i found him wandering in the street and let them deal with him, she thinks they will have experienced will handling lost or abandoned dogs and it will be the best option for him, but I don't like the idea of lying and abandoning him like the owner already has.

What would you do in my situation?

I'd ring your local dog warden and tell them the dog has been abandoned. They should then be able to scan for a microchip and see if they can contact an owner from there (to prove your story), and find a place in the pound for it from there.

Imagine if the previous poster bothered to read the thread they would see he isn't chipped.

I would rehome the dog tbh.

Don't pretend it's lost or abandoned. It will go to the pound and if not claimed will be pts.

I’d contact the Dogs Trust and see if they can take him , if you give him to the dog warden he could well end up pts .

Him being PTS is the last thing I want.

He is definitely not microchipped, I've had him scanned by the local vets and by someone from one of the rescue centres, both said he isn't chipped.

I will contact dogs trust, although I'm fairly certain the nearest DT place is in a city nearly two hours away.

This is awful. Similar happened to a friend of mine - the woman said she needed to go into hospital for a couple of days but was actually in mental health unit for 3 months! My friend fell in love with the dog but when the woman suddenly reappeared she was devestated.

I honestly don’t know what to suggest. Can you put something up on local FB pages asking if anyone knows the owner? Dog belonging to x (with photo) unable to contact her etc?

Can you withhold your number then ring her to try and talk to her? Alternatively leave her a voicemail saying that you are making arrangements for the dog warden to collect the dog but that the dog is likely to be pts - ok I know you aren't but it might flush her out.

Disgraceful behaviour on her part. She doesn't even seem interested in how her dog is. If it were my dog I'd be wanting updates all the time, saying thank you all the time, sending you money for the dog and other goodies for yourself and keeping you updated as to my situation.

Have you spoken to your local warden? A good dog warden has probably dealt with similar situations before and may be able to offer some advice. A good warden will also have links with local rescues.

I too would leave a voicemail saying you're having the dog put to sleep. That should flush her out.

But it has been abandoned

I can't imagine any family emergency that would stop me replying to a text for that length of time so I think as you feared she probably isn't planning on returning to get the dog.

Poor you and poor dog. Leave one last text and voicemail saying you are contacting the dog warden to say he's been abandoned as you cannot keep him any longer.

This happened to my dad. A year later, the owner returned home. She'd been locked up. She knew she might facing time but promised my dad she'd be back in a few days.

My dad kept the dog.

In your case, contact a rescue, not the dog warden. The dog is effectively yours now.

Do you know her full name? And the dogs name? If so then get onto Facebook and join all the local selling pages, community pages etc and make a post asking if anyone knows a woman by the name of [her name] as you are concerned that she has been uncontactable for some time that you are trying to contact her as a matter of urgency relating to her little dog and if anyone has her address you would very much appreciate them getting in touch.

This is heartbreaking OP. I don't see what else you can do but make arrangements to find another place for the dog. He's making your family and your own dog unhappy. Local Authority dog warden's advice may be helpful.

Thank you for all the replies (and for not flaming me for not wanting to keep the dog)

to answer questions/points made...

I am not sure what her surname is, I thought I might have known it, but I'm now I don't think I was right.
When I was trying to find other ways to contact her I posted on the local 'town info' facebook page, it has lots of members (more than the selling sites) I basically said I was looking to contact 'Jane Doe' and gave a description of her and her car, and where I thought she lived, I said I needed to contact her urgently that I'd lost her number and it was important.
A few people commented and asked why I was looking for her, I explained that I was looking after her dog and couldn't get hold of her and it was urgent, but nobody said they knew her, a few people commented who lived in that area and said they didn't know anyone around there by that name or that description, which is why I don't think she really lives in that area. the fact that not one person said they might know her makes me think i was wrong about 'doe' possibly being her surname too.

I'm hesitant to contact the dog warden myself because when I took the dog to the local vets to be scanned initially they told me that since the dog isn't chipped and its living with me I am responsible for it and need to get it chipped, as its an offense for a dog not to be chipped I will be held responsible if I don't get it done. I told the vet that I would get it done if I couldn't contact the owner within a month, but I don't want to chip the dog, if I do I'm basically taking ownership of it and I don't want to do that, but I also don't want to risk being fined for having an unchipped dog living in my house.
I'm afraid they won't believe me about the owner abandoning the dog and will hold me responsible for it.

This is mainly why my friend wanted me to take it to a vets (that don't know me) and say I'd found it, so I couldn't be held responsible for it.

I've left her several voicemails/texts telling her I'm going to take the dog to a rescue place and that because of overcrowding/the time of year/its aggression it'll likely be PTS, but its made no difference, she still doesn't answer/reply.

Can you try to contact some rescues that are further afield? Some have surprisingly wide geographic remits e.g. Many Tears in Wales does weekly runs along the M4 to connect their dogs with new owners and foster carers.

Did the rescues that are full give you an estimated time before a place might come up? My local one also does a home from home scheme where the dog stays with the owner while being advertised by them, and they vet the new owner

Yes I’d just try further afield.

Poor dog. I don’t blame you at all, you’re in an impossible situation, I blame the owner.

Battersea would take him if you are anywhere near. They have centres at Windsor and Brands hatch as well as London

Can you post a picture of the dog on a local Spotted page, say that you've found it abandoned or something, and ask if anybody knows the owner? You might find they tag her, or maybe a family member if she's not on FB. Happens all the time here with lost dogs.

Are there other vets in the area who might know the poor little dog, if you take him in and show him to them?