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The doghouse

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Original poster

Would you?

18 replies

Oops4 · 28/02/2018 21:58

Okay so I know this isn't a big deal but it bothered me a bit so wondered what others thought so I know if I'm being ridiculous!

So, ddog 2 managed to dig her way out of our garden (fence has now been heavily reinforced, wee madam!) and went a wee jolly. We realised very quickly and she didn't get far before being found by a very nice person. I'd say it was roughly 30 minutes between her escaping and us getting her back.

The thing is, in that 30 minutes the nice finder took her home, bathed her and fed her. Now I can understand if you find a poor bedraggled stray dog and no owners can be found you might do this but our dog was literally gone minutes. She has had recent surgery and still has a wound that ideally shouldn't have been that wet and is a breed that shouldn't be bathed unless absolutely necessary. She also ended up with awful diarrhoea all night presumably from what she was fed. I am obviously very grateful that she was found and looked after, I know it could have been so much worse. But I just have this niggling feeling that they over stepped the mark a bit given how short a period they had her.

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BiteyShark · 28/02/2018 22:22

Presumably they wouldn't have known that she had only just escaped. For all they knew the dog could have been on the run for days.

Honestly I would be grateful that she hadn't been run over or got injured or never found again that I wouldn't care whether they had fed my dog cake and gave her a hair cut.

Original poster
Oops4 · 28/02/2018 22:35

Fair point. I am genuinely grateful and this really is just an out of curiosity question. I just found it a bit odd. Ours had a collar and tag on and we knew within about 10 minutes who had her but had to wait get hold of them. If I found a dog I would have a look for its owners, put some pics on social media and take it to get scanned, just can't see my first thought being to take it home and bath it. Perhaps wouldn't have crossed my mind if I hadn't had to spend the night cleaning up diarrhoea 😕

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BiteyShark · 28/02/2018 22:43

The other thing to think of is you don't actually know what state she was in when she was found. In her bid for freedom she might have been covered in mud or been rolling about in poo. As they took her into their house I would have just thought they considered her to be dirty, cold and hungry having just been found. They probably thought they would make her clean and comfortable giving her a bit of food. You also don't know if her diarrhoea was caused by their food and not something she ate before they found her. I know my dog would make a beeline for anything food discarded on the pavement and could do a lot in a few minutes if he ever escaped.

I know you think it's odd but I can think of many reason why someone, especially if they don't own dogs, would do what they did and would consider it to be kind.

MarthaArthur · 28/02/2018 22:43

No Op im with you thats weird, unless the dog was covered in dirt makes no sense. Hope dogs ok now and feels better.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 28/02/2018 22:57

I think it sounds like nice people who were just perhaps a little overenthusiastic.

If I found a stray dog (has happened 4 times before!) and couldn't promptly identify and reunite it with its owners (never happened) I'd probably give it a small meal too and if it was filthy I'd be bathing it before it was allowed into my house. I don't know about yours, but 30 minutes is more than enough time for PestDog to become unacceptably dirty and need a bath. Admittedly I wouldn't bother if I knew the owners were going to be around in 20 minutes, but...

Original poster
Oops4 · 28/02/2018 23:15

Yeah I'm sure that's all it was, think they were just crazy dog people 😂. But with a number on her collar I would probably have tried phoning it before popping her in a bath! We can see their house from our house and she really couldn't have been more than a little bit mucky. I'm also not sure I'd be rushing to pop a strange dog in a bath but maybe that's just me 🙈 Oh well, no harm done (apart from to my kitchen floor) and I'm 100% as sure as I can be that she won't get out again!

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mollied · 01/03/2018 12:32

If I found a dog the first thing I would do is check the dog tag and phone the owners straight away it would not be my first thought to feed and bath it!

pigsDOfly · 01/03/2018 13:39

No, not something I'd do. If dog was mucky I'd probably give it a rub with a towel if it seemed okay with that, but a bath? No.

Would most definitely not feed it. As the owner of a dog with a sensitive tummy I'm very aware of the possible consequences of feeding a dog the wrong/different food.

I imagine they thought they were being kind but I think it's a bit odd to start taking over a strange dog like that to start playing 'dog rescuers'. Why wouldn't you just phone the number or take it to a local vet?

Hope her tummy is better soon.

Twooter · 01/03/2018 13:51

It is odd - you’d normally be phoning people or walking it around to see if anyone recognised it. Did they not know she was yours if you live so close?

mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork · 01/03/2018 14:24

She'd dug her way out under the fence, I assume she was pretty muddy.

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 01/03/2018 14:29

Bit odd. I found a stray dog yesterday and immediately checked its tag and rang the number. Wouldn't have occurred to me to bath it, but then I was on my way to work

userxx · 01/03/2018 15:34

I find it odd. I've found a number of dogs overs the years but never decided to put them in the bath!!

BlueKarou · 01/03/2018 16:19

I would have called the number on the tag, might be tempted to give them a small amount of kibble depending on how stressed they seemed at being with a stranger, or if they seemed a flight risk. Bath would be last thing on my mind unless said dog was completely dripping in mud or worse. Even then, it would be much further down the list after calling the tag number, checking for a chip (I have a scanner), calling vets, checking Dog Lost, etc.

GeorgeTheHippo · 01/03/2018 16:23

I think it's slightly odd. I wouldn't feed a dog, they only eat once or twice a day don't they. Definitely better to ring the number on the collar first.

Topseyt · 01/03/2018 16:40

Assuming that the dog was wearing a collar, and that said collar had a tag on with the owner's details, then contacting them would be my first port of call, not bathing or feeding them, although I would offer water.

Collars can come off though, tags can break off or go missing, or become unreadable over time. Some people don't keep collar and ID on the dog, despite requirements under UK law. In that case a vet or animal warden is needed to advise and to scan for a microchip.

I would be reluctant to feed a dog I don't know well unless it looked obviously half starved. You just don't know if the dog has any specific dietary needs, perhaps due to medical conditions.

However, I guess these people were coming from a place of kindness and just went overboard. I'd let it slide and just be relieved to have my dog back.

Aprilmightmemynewname · 01/03/2018 16:44

Maybe she was Mrs Bucket (Bouquet) and was so only happy to have a very clean dog's arse on her chaise lounge. ...

mustbemad17 · 01/03/2018 16:50

I pick up loose straying dogs all the time. First stop is always the local vet. I wish people would hold off feeding dogs tbh because so many now have issues. If your dog was tagged why on earth did the finder not call you immediately?! Very odd behaviour imo

Original poster
Oops4 · 01/03/2018 18:48

Thanks all, glad to know it's not just me that thinks it's a bit odd! I'd never say anything, they did mean well and did keep her safe after all. Glad it wasn't my other dog though as he has really bad food intolerances so does make you think twice about feeding strange dogs as you never know. 😊

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