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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

I've found a puppy in a plastic bag

262 replies

ayal · 13/04/2023 15:14

During a walk with my lab. It's looks like a poodle cross and go actually be in good condition.

I've called the vets and taking then in later. My next door neighbour has a microchip scanned and it's not chipped. No collar. Doesn't look to be in poor condition though.

Apart from the vets, what do I do?

I've fallen in love already!

OP posts:
FoodCentre · 13/04/2023 19:40

GoodChat · 13/04/2023 18:12

@TwoCoffeesandAMilkshake no but if the dog is left in a carrier bag AND not chipped I wouldn't be hugely surprised if they were.

Also how is such a small pup even in a position to be stolen, they should be with you at all times. Maybe I'm missing something but I think everything points to 'not stolen'

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 13/04/2023 19:44

A traveller group left a dog behind in a bin liner along with their other rubbish when they moved on from my area a few years back. So that's another possibility. The dog was found by one of DS's school friends and adopted by a local family and became a much-loved pet. (I am not casting aspersions on all travellers. Just that particular group.)

Thelittleweasel · 13/04/2023 19:46

Dogs in plastic bags are - to put it kindly - "not expected to survive". I doubt any "owner" will be interested and could face criminal investigation if in UK

suzettenoisette · 13/04/2023 19:49

FoodCentre · 13/04/2023 19:40

Also how is such a small pup even in a position to be stolen, they should be with you at all times. Maybe I'm missing something but I think everything points to 'not stolen'

Show quote history

Yes, you're missing something. It's possible for kids to get lost and stolen even if the parents pay attention so it's possible for a puppy too. It's not that hard to imagine.

Wife2b · 13/04/2023 19:50

Here for the pic

ReadersD1gest · 13/04/2023 19:51

suzettenoisette · 13/04/2023 19:49

Yes, you're missing something. It's possible for kids to get lost and stolen even if the parents pay attention so it's possible for a puppy too. It's not that hard to imagine.

Show quote history

It is, really. Children aren't routinely kept on leads, puppies should be.

suzettenoisette · 13/04/2023 19:52

kagerou · 13/04/2023 19:32

I used to work in animal rescue and have come across lots of dumped animals. My guess is he was either dumped by a breeder because he's sick or one of their breeding dogs accidentally became pregnant by the 'wrong' breed resulting in an unpopular cross mix. Alternatively with that age he could have been dumped by someone who bought him without knowing how to care for / train a puppy who now just cba with him.

It is very very unlikely he got in that bag by innocent means or there is someone looking for him (stolen dogs are usually stolen 'to ordering are either sold on instantly, bred from, or used for dog fighting so I can't think of any circumstance where one would end up left in a bag)

If you do want to keep him go for it. But please be careful introducing him to your dog in case he was dumped due to illness. Ensure the vet fully checks him for transmissible illness , especially parvovirus and distemper which can be carried for a while before symptoms show and are truly horrible. Also have him check for things like heart issues that could have made him unsellable.

If at all possible I would also keep him separate from your dog for at least 2 weeks and make sure your dog is up to date on vaccines as false negative tests are common with distemper and parvo before symptoms show

With all that warning out of the way he was lucky to have been found by you and I hope it all goes well

Just because it's unlikely doesn't mean it's impossible. A cat was found dumped in the trash not too long ago, it made the news. Cameras showed that the cat was dumped into the trash can by a stranger and the family had been looking for it and missing it terribly.

It's not good advice to tell people just to keep an animal they've found. Kind of shocked that his comes from a professional! I've adopted two dogs from the shelter and they always looked for possible owners first and also pressed charges when animal cruelty was involved.

FoodCentre · 13/04/2023 19:55

Yes, you're missing something. It's possible for kids to get lost and stolen even if the parents pay attention so it's possible for a puppy too. It's not that hard to imagine.

No, I think you're wrong, I asked if I'm missing something to not be rude. How do you lose a 4 month old puppy on a lead?

Children above 4 are allowed to walk, hence why they may get lost.

WiddlinDiddlin · 13/04/2023 19:56

FoodCentre · 13/04/2023 19:40

Also how is such a small pup even in a position to be stolen, they should be with you at all times. Maybe I'm missing something but I think everything points to 'not stolen'

Show quote history

Snatched out of someones hands
Stolen in a house break in
Stolen from a car break in whilst someone pays for fuel etc
Stolen from a garden whilst having a wee.

I know someone whose dog was stolen from the house whilst she was having a bloody wee!

All the above are true incidents and none are one offs either - so yeah, small puppies do get stolen, even when owners don't do stupid things like tie them up outside shops or leave them unsupervised in insecure gardens for hours on end.

FoodCentre · 13/04/2023 19:58

@WiddlinDiddlin you're right, but in the context of no micro chip, I'd probably go for a breeder who doesn't want the pup etc. Being stolen from a house is plausibly though.

MK19590 · 13/04/2023 19:58

I might be missing something here but I'm confused about the bag. A 4 month old pup wouldn't fit in a standard supermarket carrier bag surely? And even it was a larger bag the dog would have wriggled/clawed itself free? Unless the bag was tied in which case it can't have been there for long before the op found it because it would have suffocated

As pp have said you must inform police and shelter but as long as your home is suitable there should be no reason for them not to let you keep pup if an owner doesn't come forward

Novatherova · 13/04/2023 20:07

Couple of dogs have been stolen locally possibly for breeding. I know at least one was neutered though so it will have been for nothing.

None have turned up yet. Hope that either the pup finds their owner or if it has been abandoned you keep it and you both live happily ever after.

So jealous!! Enjoy xxx

SaysRelaaxxx · 13/04/2023 20:09

Genuinely thought you’d found a dead puppy in a bag

Waitymatey · 13/04/2023 20:11

It’s breaking the law to keep a dog without reporting it to the police. Finders Keepers is theft
@ayal - how would you feel if your own dog was missing this evening and you read something like this? You would be longing for someone to contact the police and post on Facebook so you had the chance of getting him back
Just contact one of the stolen/ lost Dog groups and they can handle the enquiries and make sure this poor pup gets back to his rightful owners

Backtobed · 13/04/2023 20:12

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 13/04/2023 19:44

A traveller group left a dog behind in a bin liner along with their other rubbish when they moved on from my area a few years back. So that's another possibility. The dog was found by one of DS's school friends and adopted by a local family and became a much-loved pet. (I am not casting aspersions on all travellers. Just that particular group.)

You say that you're not saying it was travellers, but you are though aren't you.

The chances of the dog the OP found just so happening to come from the same group of people as you are very, very small. Shit people are shit people but their race is irrelevant.

Waitymatey · 13/04/2023 20:13

@ayal - sometimes when dogs are stolen and they become too hot to handle they are disposed of in this way. Unfortunately this also makes you potentially guilty of handling stolen goods

CoffeeLover90 · 13/04/2023 20:14

I'm just following as I need to see a photo.

strawberriesarenot · 13/04/2023 20:20

It could have been stolen. My friend had a puppy stolen and then a message to say she would have to pay to get it back. She never got it back, although she did go to the meeting place and try to pay, but not until she'd told the police and got a discreet friend to escort her. Nobody turned up and she believes the puppy was dumped.

Awalkinthepark1 · 13/04/2023 20:24

The vet will advise you on what you should do next.

Greentree1 · 13/04/2023 20:30

Years ago a friend found a puppy in a bag that had been thrown over a fence onto a derelict site. He kept it, it had really big feet and grew up to be a lovely big dog. The people who dumped it obviously wanted to kill it as it was very lucky someone entered the site and found it.

winterchills · 13/04/2023 20:38

Poor baby! I wonder if theres more in the area that might have been dumped. Wonder where the mum is 🥺🥺

VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji · 13/04/2023 20:40

What cunt does that. theres rescues, even if they say they are full. Tie them to the gates or to a vets. Don’t leave it like that to suffer.

I hope the police take it seriously.

Ktime · 13/04/2023 20:44

What kind of bag was it? Was the bag tied?

ItsCalledAConversation · 13/04/2023 20:46

PinkFootstool · 13/04/2023 15:17

Report to the police in case its a stolen dog. Unlikely, but posible.

Your local council will have a dog warden, report to them as well. In the meantime enjoy being foster parent!

Quveas · 13/04/2023 20:48

My BC found an abandoned puppy, the vet reckoned about 6 weeks old. He was supposed to go straight to the rescue on Monday. Hmm... he died 16 years later...I know that because be never left...