As I was driving home only about a mile from my farm and in the road is this doberman. I’ve never seen her on any of the farms around here. She doesn’t have a collar on and she has a lump (possibly tumor) on her side. She came right over to me and she’s very friendly. She jumped into the back of my truck. I took her home and she ate ravenously. She walked into the house like she owned the place. She’s getting along with my four other dogs. I’d keep her in a heartbeat except I lost my job and I really can’t afford another dog (with the accompanying vet bills). I figure she may have been dumped.
She’s very sweet but has virtually no chance in the local dog pound. On one hand, with two cats, four dogs and a horse, what’s one more pet? On the other hand, I have no job and two mortgage payments. I have a soft squishy spot in my heart for dobes (my oldest dog is a doberman, and his health is failing. I figure he’s at least 14 years old).
What is the likelihood of you finding employment anytime soon?
If it’s looking good, I would definitely keep her.
If that’s not looking like an option, perhaps ring a Doberman breeder who may be able to put you in touch with a rescue group specifically catering for Dobermans, that way she is likely to get the best care.
I googled doberman clubs and came up with a slew of links, including this one, which shows links to club chapters in every state. Try getting in contact with one near you. They might be able to find a home for her.
Take her to a vet or animal shelter to see if she’s been tagged with a subdermal microchip on the off chance that she’s strayed from an owner who’s missing her. I know it’s unlikely given that she had no collar but I’d appreciate it if someone did it for me if one of my dogs lost their collars.
If it turns out she’s a stray then I’d find a way to keep her. Mind you, I’ve never been out of work but I understand things can be grim without a job, especially in America. Vet bills can be ruinous when money’s tight but dog people are often happy people albeit broke because of it and I think you probably know this. Good luck with finding work and your (potentially) new addition to the family.
Last night I tried t get the dog to sleep outside. She barked until I let her in. Then, when I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, I got back to find her firmly ensconced in my bed. I kicked her off and she spent the night sleeping beside my bed. She’s definitely been someone’s pet. I’ll ask around on the houses on the road I found her and see if I accidently stole her. Although I’m probably less than a mile away and she showed no sign of leaving last night or this morning. She barks at the cats - I’m not sure if she’s cat safe.
There are a many wonderful Doberman rescues in the US (assuming you are in the US of course!) and I can easily post on your behalf on one of the Doberman lists I’m on. I would need your contact info, location and permission to share your post.
My email is -> kakwik (at) canada.com if you wish to send the info there.
Thank you so much for taking in this girl. Sound like a typical bed-stealing Doberbrat!
gulo gulo - One of my best dogs ever was a bed-stealing dobe/pointer cross. I guess really I don’t want to give this dog up, I want to keep her. but I told myself no new animals as long as I was unemployed. And really, how many dogs is too many? Although I have had 5 dogs before…
I thought my next animal would be a second horse to keep my Irish company.
Is the lump on her side painful to her if you touch it? If not, it may not be a problem.
My dog has two fatty tumors, which are the size of golf balls. They’re somewhat soft, and movable. They cause her no discomfort. My vet says they’re best left alone unless they start bothering her.
Is she spayed? My vet says they show up more often in spayed females.
Dog Update - I took the dobie to the vet today. She tested negative for heartworm and got her shots. She wasn’t chipped. The vet said she’s 4-5 years old, and we can’t tell yet if she’s spayed - I’ll wait to see if she goes into heat. The lump on her side probably is nothing. The vet said to just keep an eye on it. If it changes she said she’d removed it for next to nothing. (I love my vet) So it look likes she’s staying. Any name suggestions?
I love the name Greta for a female Dobie.
Never owned a Doberman, but have known some very special girl Dobies.
One was named Zinfandel (Zin for short, very sweet when said with love.)
The other was Terra.
Have you put up any flyers (or ads in the paper. I know that “found” ads cost nothing in our local papers) to let people know you found her? I wouldn’t rule out her being someone’s pet because of no collar- my dog was half german shepard and her favorite way to escape was to get loose of her collar… some dogs are a lot more persistant/unmindful of the pain of forcing a collar you think is just loose enough so they can breathe up over their ears. Princess did it more than once when there was only a thumb’s width of slack in the collar, and I’ve got pretty small thumbs! I’d hate for you to find out a month from now that she’s someone’s pet if the owner found you by chance
Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ve decided to name her Grace. Rhiannon - Fiona was a close second.
elfkin - I live out in the middle of the country. As I was asking neighbors if they’d lost her, one neighbor said he saw the car dump her. Ratty old car drove slowly down the road, stopped, and sped off. A few minutes later she trotted into his yard. Bastards!
I’m glad you know for sure, even if it is a sad tale. One of my favorite cats was tossed out a moving car as a kitten - it was only by chance that my mom and a friend saw what happened and rescued her. She was a faithful friend for 12 years. I bet Grace will be a good friend too…even if it takes a while to warm to new people, eventually they seem to know they’re finally with loving owners, if that makes any sense
elfkin - Bonding is so not a problem. The problem is now, she’s been so traumatized she doesn’t want me out of her sight. The first two days I had to force her to go outside to go to the bathroom - she was too afraid I’d leave her out there, I guess. It took about four days before she’d willingly leave the back porch. Now she’ll go out, do her business quickly and run back in to lay down beside me. But she’ll gain confidence. All five of my dogs are rescues and they’re all pathetically devoted to me, right from the start.
