Adopted A Dog What Would You Do?

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

I could be wrong but if she has the dog scanned and it isn't microchipped and she then proceeds to locate the potential owner by placing ads in the lost section as well as the internet....I can't see how this is wrong, don't know whether one is legally expected to hand the dog in to the pound.....and even if this was the case it cannot be policed anyway unless the dog is microchipped and is scanned sometime down the track....

then I suggest you stop posting what you don't know about

and its not a good idea to encourage people to break the law in a public forum

[Greytmate]

I could be wrong but if she has the dog scanned and it isn't microchipped and she then proceeds to locate the potential owner by placing ads in the lost section as well as the internet....I can't see how this is wrong, don't know whether one is legally expected to hand the dog in to the pound.....and even if this was the case it cannot be policed anyway unless the dog is microchipped and is scanned sometime down the track....

then I suggest you stop posting what you don't know about

Yes.

The law on this is different in every state anyway.

[siks3]

The old owner bred the dog that we took in. She was a pup left over from their litter. The owner is happy it has a home so there is no ownership issues at all it is sad that the poor little thing has been treated this way she still hasn't told us why it was left behind.

I think the girl had a domestic violence issue and had to leave quickly. They had another three dogs that they took with them. I have all three dogs separated at this point in time because she has just had her worming medication. I only think she is pregnant and I will find this out on Monday as I am taking my other dog to the vet to get his wounds checked out.

[Esky the husky]

Say you found a wallet, just because the owner of the wallet was careless enough to lose it, does not mean the wallet and it's contents are yours to keep.

Same thing.

If you are keen to keep this dog, turn it into a rescue. Let them know that if it's owners aren't found you would like to be it's forever home.

Thats one less home a rescue has to find, and you will have gone through the correct procedures to make this dog yours.

[Moselle]

I could be wrong but if she has the dog scanned and it isn't microchipped and she then proceeds to locate the potential owner by placing ads in the lost section as well as the internet....I can't see how this is wrong, don't know whether one is legally expected to hand the dog in to the pound.....and even if this was the case it cannot be policed anyway unless the dog is microchipped and is scanned sometime down the track....

then I suggest you stop posting what you don't know about

and its not a good idea to encourage people to break the law in a public forum

I did make it clear that the dog should be taken to the vet to see if it has been microchipped. I also did say that I wasn't sure as to whether one is legally expected to hand the dog to the pound.....if that is the case then I would be doing just that but if it isn't a legal requirement then I would prefer to cover all avenues to make sure that it doesnt belong to anyone. What I meant by saying that this cannot be policed is that I shudder to think of the number of people that do lose their dog, microchipped or not, and never find it again due to someone not taking steps to locate the owners of the dog. I was multi tasking and I should have worded what I said more appropriately. In the middle of clipping my maltese and she is screaming murder, quite frustrating.....she is such a drama queen.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

it is an abandoned dog. if the owners wanted you to have it they would have signed ownership over to you.

all abandoned dogs need to go to the pound or council. how do you know that the owners wont come back later and say you stole the dog and you wont have any proof they let you have it?

[juice]

I think it is safe to say the old owner doesn't want her.

I would take her to the vet, to check for a chip anyway, and also to see how big the pups are.

Do you know what the other 3 dogs she had were? so you can hazard a guess as to the size of the pups.

I wouldn't dream or attempting to rear a litter, i think you are in over your head, and can only see the small cute puppy image

You need to realise what you are in for.

Personally, i would hand her over to a rescue, then adopt her back afterwards, or abort them now.

[Kirty]

I have in the past aborted pregnant cats that I've taken in. Its a horrible decision to have to make, but when I look at the pounds overflowing with unwanted cats and dogs and puppies and kittens, I know its the responsible thing to do. Yes, puppies and kittens are cute and it can be fun. But raising a litter is damn hard work. It is also very expensive and very draining for the mother. An emergency c-section (which is very common with these tiny dogs) can set you back over $1000. And then what happens with the pups? Will you desex them before they are rehomed to prevent this happening to anyone else? Sorry, I know it sucks but I would be desexing her ASAP and aborting the pups. If you can barely tell she is pregnant, they will be nothing more than tiny blobs.

[Rusky]

The dog was abandoned at a friends neighbors house. They had moved and the dog was left there for 3 days without food or shelter.

So I took her home and she is a sweet little dog and my akita likes her a lot and they get along well.

She is a very timid little dog.

I am going to let her have the pups and find them good homes.

She is a min fox terrier X Chihuahua.

good for you ! you can contact a rescue group in your area when the puppies are born to see if they will help you rehome them after 8 weeks ( call them earlier though) Congratulations for saving a poor wee dog.. get some advice for her pregnancy for her and the puppies to make sure she is getting correct nutrition, sorry can't help there but rescue will help you

[D & D]

The dog was abandoned at a friends neighbors house. They had moved and the dog was left there for 3 days without food or shelter.

So I took her home and she is a sweet little dog and my akita likes her a lot and they get along well.

She is a very timid little dog.

I am going to let her have the pups and find them good homes.

She is a min fox terrier X Chihuahua.

good for you ! you can contact a rescue group in your area when the puppies are born to see if they will help you rehome them after 8 weeks ( call them earlier though) Congratulations for saving a poor wee dog.. get some advice for her pregnancy for her and the puppies to make sure she is getting correct nutrition, sorry can't help there but rescue will help you ;)

Are you for real? :D :D

[Crisovar]

The dog was abandoned at a friends neighbors house. They had moved and the dog was left there for 3 days without food or shelter.

So I took her home and she is a sweet little dog and my akita likes her a lot and they get along well.

She is a very timid little dog.

I am going to let her have the pups and find them good homes.

She is a min fox terrier X Chihuahua.

good for you ! you can contact a rescue group in your area when the puppies are born to see if they will help you rehome them after 8 weeks ( call them earlier though) Congratulations for saving a poor wee dog.. get some advice for her pregnancy for her and the puppies to make sure she is getting correct nutrition, sorry can't help there but rescue will help you

Saving the bitch is one thing and yes it is good, but adding to the numbers of unplanned pups in the world is nothing to be praised for.

I fail to see why people encourage this.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

rusky have you asked any rescues whether this is what they will do...do they want those puppies dumped on them?

[raz]

The dog was abandoned at a friends neighbors house. They had moved and the dog was left there for 3 days without food or shelter.

So I took her home and she is a sweet little dog and my akita likes her a lot and they get along well.

She is a very timid little dog.

I am going to let her have the pups and find them good homes.

She is a min fox terrier X Chihuahua.

good for you ! you can contact a rescue group in your area when the puppies are born to see if they will help you rehome them after 8 weeks ( call them earlier though) Congratulations for saving a poor wee dog.. get some advice for her pregnancy for her and the puppies to make sure she is getting correct nutrition, sorry can't help there but rescue will help you ;)

Are you for real? :D :D

I know. Amazing really. If I thought someone had abandoned a car, I just cant claim it as my own and make future plans for it. It's the same thing in the eyes of the Law.

Edited December 4, 2010 by raz

[Staranais]

You haven't addressed this point, so I'm just a little worried about it - do you have money put by for an emergency caesar?

I'm not scaremongering, but I do think you should take the possibility seriously - it's not unlikely that a bitch this small with an unknown sire and an unknown number of pups could need a caesar. And if a caesar is needed, the vet will not necessarily let you have it on credit. If you don't have the funds, your only option may be PTS the bitch. So please think about that if you want to let her have the pups.

[Kaz]

Mmmmm could be a litter of mastiffx pups......ouch!

And all the puppies will have to be vet checked and microchipped before rehoming..........

Edited December 4, 2010 by Kaz

[Moselle]

I have in the past aborted pregnant cats that I've taken in. Its a horrible decision to have to make, but when I look at the pounds overflowing with unwanted cats and dogs and puppies and kittens, I know its the responsible thing to do. Yes, puppies and kittens are cute and it can be fun. But raising a litter is damn hard work. It is also very expensive and very draining for the mother. An emergency c-section (which is very common with these tiny dogs) can set you back over $1000. And then what happens with the pups? Will you desex them before they are rehomed to prevent this happening to anyone else? Sorry, I know it sucks but I would be desexing her ASAP and aborting the pups. If you can barely tell she is pregnant, they will be nothing more than tiny blobs.

I have also been faced with the decision of either allowing my dog to have puppies or to abort them, I chose the latter which consisted of having my dog speyed......mind you, the deed had only taken place 2 weeks earlier hence, as Kirty said, they were nothing more than just tiny embryos. In my case, I was living in Suburbia and had briefly stepped out to get a couple of items at the supermarket and the dog next door dug a HUGE hole under the fence and got to my little girl (cavalier) he was a border collie but even if he had been the same size my decision would have remained the same as I just did not want to have an unplanned litter. I was most upset that I wasn't told of what transpired until a week later and couldnt get on the phone to my vet quick enough to book her in. I don't think I would have had the pups aborted if the bitch was advanced in her pregnancy though.....BUT I was able to afford the cost for emergencies should she have required such; the risk of a C-section is very real and it IS expensive so you have to be prepared for that, you also have to make a point of being at home when whelping time is near, what happens if you are not home and she is ready to whelp and a pup gets stuck in the birth canal or she is unable to whelp for a variety of reasons? This could place the bitch's life at risk.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Moselle

[espinay2]

I know. Amazing really. If I thought someone had abandoned a car, I just cant claim it as my own and make future plans for it. It's the same thing in the eyes of the Law.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. The argument that you thought something had been 'abandoned' and as a result you decided to keep it will never stand up in the eyes of the law. Even worse is entering (tresspassing) on someone elses property to remove that 'thing'. Just because the 'thing' is a dog does not make the law any different.

The first thing that someone needs to do in this situation is to alert authorities that they beleive the dog (or property) has been abandoned. There is a particular legal process that needs to occur if the owner can not be contacted. If there is contact with the former owner, the owner needs to SIGN OVER the dog in writing (if they will not sign over for whethever reason, including can't be bothered, then the legal process regarding abandonment needs to occur).

Without the cover of this legal process there is nothing stopping the owner returning to claim the dog and/or the puppies or to sue for money lost as a result of the sale or rehoming of the pups (i.e. "I could have sold the pups for $X amount therefore you owe me that money"). Without the legal cover it could turn into a messy legal process where the person attempting to 'do good' ends up being taken to court and charged with tresspassing, theft, and any variety of other criminal or civil charges.

FOLLOW THE LAW FOLKS!!! In the end it protects both you AND the dog.

[Kaz]

Hope we haven't scared sikhs3 away.

Glad you posted for advice...... and you have recieved a lot of it (mostly good)

You are doing a great thing helping this dog. Everything will turn out ok in the end there are just procedures that have to be followed to make it so.

ETA don't read anything as a personal criticism. We are all learning new things every day - one of the reasons we all come to this forum

Edited December 4, 2010 by Kaz

[Danielle]

I know. Amazing really. If I thought someone had abandoned a car, I just cant claim it as my own and make future plans for it. It's the same thing in the eyes of the Law.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. The argument that you thought something had been 'abandoned' and as a result you decided to keep it will never stand up in the eyes of the law. Even worse is entering (tresspassing) on someone elses property to remove that 'thing'. Just because the 'thing' is a dog does not make the law any different.

The first thing that someone needs to do in this situation is to alert authorities that they beleive the dog (or property) has been abandoned. There is a particular legal process that needs to occur if the owner can not be contacted. If there is contact with the former owner, the owner needs to SIGN OVER the dog in writing (if they will not sign over for whethever reason, including can't be bothered, then the legal process regarding abandonment needs to occur).

Without the cover of this legal process there is nothing stopping the owner returning to claim the dog and/or the puppies or to sue for money lost as a result of the sale or rehoming of the pups (i.e. "I could have sold the pups for $X amount therefore you owe me that money"). Without the legal cover it could turn into a messy legal process where the person attempting to 'do good' ends up being taken to court and charged with tresspassing, theft, and any variety of other criminal or civil charges.

FOLLOW THE LAW FOLKS!!! In the end it protects both you AND the dog.

This is exactly right. I found an emaciated pony in a paddock once, found out the ppl who owned it were totally clueless in regards to horses and they had left the pony in the hands of their ten year old daughter to care for. The kid was feeding it a handfull of lucerne after school and that was it. The pony had no front teeth and could not pick grass, it was literally starving to death in a paddock full to the brim of good pasture. It was horrible. I called the RSPCA and they did absolutely nothing. I would sneak down there at night and feed her chaff with supplements (she was an old girl) and I would spray her with insecticide as she was bleeding due to the millions of buffalo flies biting her. This horse was literally a skeleton with a hide draped over it, her hips stuck out, her ribs stuck out and her eyes were sunken in an inch.

I wanted to take my float down there in the middle of the night and snatch her but I couldnt. It is against the law. It was probably not totally legal for me to feed her either, but i couldnt sleep at night knowing she was out in the cold and so hungry. One day she was not in her paddock anymore and I assumed she died.

I know its hard, but when the animal is not yours, you must abide by the law. Give this pup to a shelter or rescue and put your name down to adopt her if her owners do not claim her. Good luck.

[dognurse]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.