I stopped 3 minutes from my house and picked up a stray (probably dumped) dog this morning. He was so thin his ribs and spine were poking out, and he had some horrible skin condition. But he was so happy to see me he jumped right in my truck. I took him to the SPCA. I doubt he’ll get adopted, but before he’s put down, he’ll have food, water, shelter, exercise, and some people around. (And he won’t get run over like the shepherd someone dumped in the same place that was so scared of people no one could catch her.)
I know I did the right thing, because I couldn’t take a dog with nasty skin problems home to my dogs, and I can’t afford vet care for another animal (mine are all past due for their vet visits, too.) I cried all the way there and all the way back and have been in tears twice since then. Just like the day I volunteered at SPCA for work and walked doggies. I would love to be a volunteer, but I just can’t handle it. So I gave 'em $50. I’m such a big squishy wad of soft and useless.
Anyway, maybe he wasn’t dumped! Maybe his owners have been looking for him frantically, and when you dropped him off at the shelter they scanned his microchip and his family is even now ecstatic.
That’s a nice thought, Zsofia, but he was in bad shape, so he’d have to have been missing a looooong time, and I was there when they scanned for microchips. Nada. I still have hope for him, though.
You did something for him, TroubleAgain. That’s more than anyone else who saw him can say, and from your description, it sounds like he’s been on his own for a long time. Whether he finds a new home or not, you showed him some kindness.
My dog was going to be put down by his owner. He was only a puppy. I said, “no, I’ll take him”. I went to their house and saw him. he was chained on a 2 foot chain to a woven wire fence about 50 yards from the house. No one petted him or cared about him. Eight years later he is my best friend.
There are always people like me who go to adopt an animal and end up getting the “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” of the lot… so don’t torture yourself that he doesn’t have a chance of getting adopted.