Dog drama

[rgr33]

It seems to me you really want to do the right thing here. Based on the mental and physical condition of the dog when you first saw it, Is giving the dog back to the original owners really the right thing for the dog? For your kids? For your conscience?
I know what I would do, and what I wouldn't do. I think you do too.

 

[Garandman]

My mom doesn't want it but we would not mind keeping it. My 11 year old loves the dog and I like him as well. He hangs out with me in the shop anytime I am working out there. He is a little climber too when I was working on some wiring in the cab of my peterbilt he managed to climb up in there and laid down on the floor of the cab and went to sleep.

During the bad blizzard we had right after Christmas we let him stay inside.

Good pup I just don't want our family to grow super attached to him and then 6 months from now the neighbors see him and are like hey thats our dog.

I am thinking of going over there and talking to them. I don't want to put the dog in an abusive environment but I don't want a war with my neighbors either. If he had a loving home and was just lost I would be happy to give him back but at this point if I saw them beat this dog I would probably beat them.

It sounds to me like if they contact you, tell those folks, "I'm keeping the dog because you abused it. But if you want to press the matter we can pursue animal cruelty charges based on the condition of the dog when we found it."

 

[kevin37b]

If the kids like the dog , keep him or her . If you can , I know that is not always easy .

 

[newbury]

<snip> My 11 year old loves the dog and I like him as well. He hangs out with me in the shop anytime I am working out there. He is a little climber too when I was working on some wiring in the cab of my peterbilt he managed to climb up in there and laid down on the floor of the cab and went to sleep.

During the bad blizzard we had right after Christmas we let him stay inside. <snip>

Reads like a great dog,
BUT WE NEED PICS!

He went on to say he does some work for these people and after giving them the puppy he regretted it because they were abusive to it.

He probably won't tell them he found where it went.

 

[dmccarty]

It sounds to me like if they contact you, tell those folks, "I'm keeping the dog because you abused it. But if you want to press the matter we can pursue animal cruelty charges based on the condition of the dog when we found it."

Exactly.

And mentioned the cost for boarding and the vet...

Later,
Dan

 

[jerrybob]

It sounds to me like if they contact you, tell those folks, "I'm keeping the dog because you abused it. But if you want to press the matter we can pursue animal cruelty charges based on the condition of the dog when we found it."

Totally agree.......I would also tell the scumbag to stay the heck off my property. Glad you found the dog!

 

[skylarkguy]

Keep the dog, get it tags, the dog clearly has decided that you are his home.

 

[Mace Canute]

..........I am thinking of going over there and talking to them. I don't want to put the dog in an abusive environment but I don't want a war with my neighbors either. If he had a loving home and was just lost I would be happy to give him back but at this point if I saw them beat this dog I would probably beat them.

Absolutely nothing good will come from you going over and talking to them.

 

[oldpilgrim]

It sounds to me like if they contact you, tell those folks, "I'm keeping the dog because you abused it. But if you want to press the matter we can pursue animal cruelty charges based on the condition of the dog when we found it."

Keep it. This is exactly the way to handle it.

 

[ovrszd]

The Dec 18th we found a dog in my moms garage. She lives about two miles down the road from me in a rural subdivision. It is about a year old maybe a red heeler mix. Dog was skin and bones and very skittish like it had been beat. My mom knows all her neighbors and it was none if theirs so we brought it home. Primarily I didn't want my elderly widowed mom having to deal with the dog and we put it on Craigslist and such to try and find the owners . Time went by and we never heard anything or saw any signs or ads posted. The dog kind of grew on my kids and me and we basically took it in. We built a doghouse for it three days ago.


Well today this man calls and he saw the picture and he owns the parents to this dog and raised the litter and said he gave the dog we have to some people that live across the road and maybe a couple hundred yards down from us. He described their property and I know where it is but I have lived here five years and have never met them. He went on to say he does some work for these people and after giving them the puppy he regretted it because they were abusive to it. Heck if I move fast the dog cowers and runs away but he is warming up to us.

Anyway -what to do. If my dog was missing I would want someone to tell me they have it but on the other hand these people haven't exactly been looking and they mistreated the dog.

I can literally see their house from my front gate and this dog has been running free on our 20 acres he obviously doesn't want to go back nor have they been looking or they would have seen him from the road.

Haven't read thru this thread beyond this post. No brainer to me. Keep loving the Dog and move on like it's your own, which it is.

My Vet says, "If you are gonna have pets, take care of them. If you aren't going to take care of them, don't have them".

You qualify as the "taking care of" type.

My property is the local dumping spot for dogs. I've had 5 dumped on me over the last 12 years. All of them have became members of our family. The only dog I currently have was dumped at my farm. He wouldn't ride in a vehicle and couldn't stand to be inside a building. After 6 months of respectful treatment he now goes everywhere with me. Will sit in the Pickup for hours waiting on me to conduct "town" business. I have thanked God many times for whomever dumped him.

 

[Wagtail]

Firstly, I would keep the dog.

Secondly, my question regards the identification of the dog. Tags are one thing, and shows that the owner wants the dog returned if found, but the standard here is to micro-chip. A vet check will confirm this, especially when you take the pup in.

Therefore, no tag & no chip + the 'breeder' saying (if it is indeed that exact dog that he sold to these people) it's that dog, means = chip the dog + shots + tags and it's your dog.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would not keep the dog knowing the rightful owner is down the road a piece. It is his property and abuse allegations are just allegations. He probably wants the dog back but never read the craigslist post mentioned. You will end up really loving the dog and then find out the rightful owner neighbor wants him back, then what? Possibly ask the animal shelter or the police if anyone inquired about him.

I had a dog one time that was gone for a couple days and we searched all over for him. He ended up coming home if I remember correctly, but if neighbor would have claimed him it still would have been the neighborly thing to do is give him back to me. Then obviously I would keep better tabs on him.

PS Dogs can be located all over that a child will love.

 

[RobertBrown]

Since you know where the dog orignated.......It is most likely the brother of the one your neglectful neighbor lost......Thats why one could eaily mistake one for the other......they are twin brothers
Get it?
If your neighbor says anything you ask him where he got the dog......and then its like "Hmmmmmmmmm.... what a coincidence....cause thats where I got mine".

 

[AchingBack]

I would not keep the dog knowing the rightful owner is down the road a piece. It is his property and abuse allegations are just allegations. He probably wants the dog back but never read the craigslist post mentioned. You will end up really loving the dog and then find out the rightful owner neighbor wants him back, then what? Possibly ask the animal shelter or the police if anyone inquired about him.

I had a dog one time that was gone for a couple days and we searched all over for him. He ended up coming home if I remember correctly, but if neighbor would have claimed him it still would have been the neighborly thing to do is give him back to me. Then obviously I would keep better tabs on him.

PS Dogs can be located all over that a child will love.

You must have missed where the OP said the people he gave the dog to was abusive to it, and he regretted having given it to them. Animal abuse is a crime in most states. If he wanted the dog back he might have taken the opportunity to visit the OP who would have told him where the dog is currently living, happily it seems.

 

[dragoneggs]

Firstly, I would keep the dog.

Secondly, my question regards the identification of the dog. Tags are one thing, and shows that the owner wants the dog returned if found, but the standard here is to micro-chip. A vet check will confirm this, especially when you take the pup in.

Therefore, no tag & no chip + the 'breeder' saying (if it is indeed that exact dog that he sold to these people) it's that dog, means = chip the dog + shots + tags and it's your dog.

possession (and proof) is 9/10ths of the law... they used to say

I would not keep the dog knowing the rightful owner is down the road a piece. It is his property and abuse allegations are just allegations. He probably wants the dog back but never read the craigslist post mentioned. You will end up really loving the dog and then find out the rightful owner neighbor wants him back, then what? Possibly ask the animal shelter or the police if anyone inquired about him.

I had a dog one time that was gone for a couple days and we searched all over for him. He ended up coming home if I remember correctly, but if neighbor would have claimed him it still would have been the neighborly thing to do is give him back to me. Then obviously I would keep better tabs on him.

PS Dogs can be located all over that a child will love.

Even if it was (allegedly) abused?

Since you know where the dog orignated.......It is most likely the brother of the one your neglectful neighbor lost......Thats why one could eaily mistake one for the other......they are twin brothers
Get it?
If your neighbor says anything you ask him where he got the dog......and then its like "Hmmmmmmmmm.... what a coincidence....cause thats where I got mine".

A white lie?

 

[ovrszd]

I would not keep the dog knowing the rightful owner is down the road a piece. It is his property and abuse allegations are just allegations. He probably wants the dog back but never read the craigslist post mentioned. You will end up really loving the dog and then find out the rightful owner neighbor wants him back, then what? Possibly ask the animal shelter or the police if anyone inquired about him.

I had a dog one time that was gone for a couple days and we searched all over for him. He ended up coming home if I remember correctly, but if neighbor would have claimed him it still would have been the neighborly thing to do is give him back to me. Then obviously I would keep better tabs on him.

PS Dogs can be located all over that a child will love.

I respect your point.

Since the owner is "down the road a piece" wouldn't it be fair to assume if he cared about the dog that he would have came knocking on doors to ask residents to keep an eye out for his missing dog??

If my dog was missing that's what I would do. Craigslist would be the last place I'd look.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
If my dog was missing that's what I would do. Craigslist would be the last place I'd look.

I'd be posting photos on telephone poles!

 

[Silvic]

There seem to be a lot of good points that have been made. I know if any of my seven dogs went missing that I would stop at NOTHING to find out where there were or what happened, but that is me and dogs are a big part of my life, such as it is.

The abuse accusations are just that, accusations, and the man who made them looks like he might have known what he was talking about considering the condition of the dog, but it is not proof or factual information. Not knowing what the law enforcement is like in your area. (in my area it is said by the cops themselves, "If it does not involve drugs, guns or death we don't investigate"; don't even get me started) having a discussion about the situation might be a good idea.
If you have a tiny bit more responsive a legal investigative system or an animal control unit that is not grossly incompetent I would approach them with what you have for information. Tell them the condition of the dog when found, where found, and all the data including the accusations of abuse and ask them what they recommend. You might and I repeat might get a reasonable answer that will help you not have a problem in the future. At least you will have tried and there will be a report on file that might protect you in the future if the neighbor gets snitty about wanting his dog back.
Never said if you posted flyers in your neighborhood or your Mom's neighborhood just saw the reference to "Craigslist and such". I know in my area (semi to full rural) flyers go up within hours if an animal is missing or is found. If flyers have been put up in the area of your neighbor then they clearly have no interest in recovery of the dog.
The other thing is, not knowing the age when the dog was given to these folks or the age of it now, after a couple of years it would likely be nearly impossible for the guy who supposedly gave it to these folks, to ID from a picture the dog he gave those folks so it might not even be the case.
In a perfect world having animal control approach these folks to see if it is their dog would take you out of the threat zone and would remove any future issue from occurring. The problem is getting them to do that. If not for the accusation claim I would say do it yourself but with that hanging overhead, animal control might be a very useful tool.

 

[davesl708]

I would not keep the dog knowing the rightful owner is down the road a piece. It is his property and abuse allegations are just allegations. He probably wants the dog back but never read the craigslist post mentioned. You will end up really loving the dog and then find out the rightful owner neighbor wants him back, then what? Possibly ask the animal shelter or the police if anyone inquired about him.

I had a dog one time that was gone for a couple days and we searched all over for him. He ended up coming home if I remember correctly, but if neighbor would have claimed him it still would have been the neighborly thing to do is give him back to me. Then obviously I would keep better tabs on him.

PS Dogs can be located all over that a child will love.

I think the condition the dog was found in goes beyond allegations and is evidence of neglect. Returning a dog to that environment is abuse in itself.
Keep the dog and enjoy its company. Forget about the neighbor unless you see they have more dogs.

 

[Threepoint]

Clearly quite a few dog lovers on this board. :thumbsup: No question that the best outcome would be for the dog to stay in the OP's loving home. But Deere Dude is unfortunately correct. The dog is legally still the property of the true owner, and until those rights are terminated, there is the risk that the owner will try to assert a claim in the future. At best, your family will lose the dog, and at worst it could get really ugly, as it did in the case of good friends of ours a few years ago. Their adult daughter took in a ragtag stray and nursed it back to health in their home. Weeks later the true owner learned about it and, wait for it, actually accused the family of theft and pressed charges. Family had to hire a lawyer to get the case dismissed.

So here's another approach for the OP to consider. Every local jurisdiction I know of has a procedure for dealing with lost and abandoned animals, and rehoming them when possible. Following that procedure will legally purge all prior ownership claims and convey clear title to the adopting family. So here's what I suggest Call the local municipal animal shelter and ask what their policy is for adopting out strays. Typically, it is to take a stray in, evaluate it and hold it for minimum period, say, seven days. If noone inquires about it within the holding period, it becomes available for legal adoption.

If this is indeed the policy in the OP's jurisdiction, I would take the dog into the shelter, say you found it in poor condition and nursed it while putting an ad on Craigslist that has gone unanswered. Leave your contact information and make it very clear that you want to sponsor the animal and adopt it if the true owner does not show up at the shelter. Call every day after that to ask how the little guy is doing. Heck, go in for a visit every day if you can make the time. Working in a municipal shelter can be very dispiriting for folks that love animals. I can pretty much assure you that the staff will be impressed by your concern and be eager to see that the dog ends up back with you after the mandatory waiting period. You may need to pay a modest adoption fee, but consider that it goes to a good purpose. And, you'll end up with documented clear legal ownership of the animal. You'll never need to worry about an unwelcome visit from a prior owner asserting a claim.