A few weeks ago on my early morning walk with our two doggies (Daphne and Boris) we came across a wandering Staffie pup who took an instant liking to Daph and followed us home. No collar or other ID, we took him to the vet who at least detected a microchip. And we assumed they’d located the owners.
Yesteday the same. So off to the vet, who informed us that in fact the pup had recently been sold, and the new owners had not updated the contact details. But he assured us he’d get a phone number, somehow, and to wait for his call.
We brought the pup home for the duration. He’s a barrel of undiluted testosterone with balls as big as bullocks’ hanging between his legs. Poor Daphne was so tired of his amorous advances, she retreated to her kennel and snarled when he got too close.
Anyway, the vet finally rang, gave us the address, and we took the dog to his house. She reckoned the reason Kaydo doesn’t sport a collar and ID is that he refuses to let them put one on. He was absolutely fine when WE put a heavy-duty collar on him so we could put him on a lead. :rolleyes:
This morning, who should rock up to the front door but Kaydo, wondering if Daphne and Boris could come out to play. But today his owners aren’t home…we’re stuck with him until they return, whenever that might be. :mad:
For fuck’s sakes people…make sure your yard is secure to keep your dog in. We live on a fairly busy road (for a rural town) and he has no road-sense whatsoever. I’m sure you paid a lot of money for Kaydo, being a purebred Staffie, and I’m sure he’ll make a fine stud one day too…if he lives that long. He’s really a lovely boy, but if you don’t care enough about him to ensure his safety while you’re gone during the day, then maybe you should think about finding a new home for him.
A year-old anything whatever can’t be stopped for long by a fence rooted less than four feet deep. A vet (who makes little money from dead dogs) ain’t likely to be the avenue to argue for your rights to be free of an irritating and expensive dog owned by people s/he knows (which is only because s/he’s received money from them).
Your city, town, or county has an animal-services resource, even if it’s only the deputy who draws the short straw. Animals have no rights outside the property lines of their owners. You sound like loving pet owners, which makes you reluctant to assert your rights against poorly-protected animals. Sorry – the social contract demands you get over it, and tell your neighbor you’re not part of their war against everyone else.
While it’s overwhelmingly important to keep ALL dogs secure from cars, random idiots, and indiscriminate breeding, it is, if possible, even more important to keep bully breeds under control. AND un-neutered? The last thing staffie lovers need is ANOTHER dog fight blamed on a bully-breed dog, and the last thing animal shelters need is yet more unwanted pit mixes being born.
Tell them they have to (morally and legally, HAVE TO) get him securely contained before the sun rises again. Invoke Animal Control’s aid in this campaign.
Ohio law says that a dog running at large can be seized by the dog warden and impounded, and if the warden cannot determine the dog’s owner from the current registration list (as in, the dog has no collar or tags), the officer posts a notice at the pound describing the dog. After three days, it may thereafter be sold or destroyed according to law.
Dog wardens are busy people who don’t have time to check for microchips, being busy people and all.
These morons are fine w/ their dog possibly out there spreading his seed all day, as that’s someone else’s problem. If this was their bitch and the problems came home to be born on their carpet they’d be singing a different tune.
Neuter him next time he shows up. Their loss, the tossers.
There was a similar situation once by my dad’s house, but the owners ended up being gone for a week. During that week, the other neighbors (who volunteer with the local SPCA) took him, got him fixed, and then returned him to his owners when they got back. Owners, naturally, were upset, but neighbors simply shrugged and said, “You were gone so long that we assumed you had moved and left him. We thought we might have to keep him and we would never have an unaltered pet, as it’s so irresponsible.”
The real question is: did the people really think their dog could sit outside for a week on its own? Awful. Poor lil guy prob would be better off running away, getting caught, and put down at the shelter humanely than living with those bozos.
I love dogs, and I despise owners that let them wander at will.
The next time the Staffie shows up at your house, take him to the shelter. Don’t contact the owner. If you tell the shelter who he belongs to is up to you.
OP is in “Murray-Darling Backwater.” I was giving an example of the type of law that might apply if the OP cared to look for the applicable law that might apply in “Murray-Darling Backwater.”
Do you not have leash laws in Australia? In most places in the US, it’s not legal to let your dog roam free. Hit 'em in the pocketbook, that might convince them that letting their dog roam free isn’t a good idea.
This is how we got one of our cats. The family that previously had her thought that they could take off for ten days on a cruise, and an 8 month old kitten could survive just fine without shelter or regular food or water. We took her, cleaned her up, got rid of her fleas, and had her spayed and all that other good stuff. And we didn’t give her back. Right now, she’s about 5 feet away from me, playing with the ring around. She was a mostly outside kitty in her previous life. Now she’s inside only, and she has absolutely no interest in going outside. She likes to watch the birds and the squirrels, but she doesn’t want to go outside to play with them.
I do feel bad for the kids in the family. However, the parents have a habit of getting animals (and sometimes quite expensive animals) and then neglecting them, or even just dumping them. Grrrrr.
This. If you don’t want to take the dog to a shelter, get him snipped. I mean, if he ended up in a shelter, he’d end up either euthanized or neutered anyway.
It won’t have a negative impact on the dog’s health, and it will keep him from making more unplanned/unwanted animals. It should also reduce the likelihood of him getting into a fight with another dog next time (and with his current owners, you know there will be a next time) he goes wandering.
Plus, I’m willing to bet if you called up a few vet offices or shelters, they’d hook you up so the cost to you would be near free. Unfortunately, this isn’t the most uncommon situation for them to encounter.
If that dog kept showing up at my house, I’d assume he took responsibility for re-homing himself and he’d obviously chosen me. So I’d load him up, take him to the vet, get his happy bags lopped off, and keep his furry ass.
I mean, when a dog is trying to tell me something, I pay attention. That’s why I’m Dogzilla, after all. I speak Dog.
I think (and I’m not 100% sure of this) that if a dog or cat ends up at a shelter here, they don’t leave with their baby-making parts intact. I think the thinking is that if you are so irresponsible that your pet ended up in a shelter, you aren’t a responsible pet owner and cannot be allowed to let them breed. If you want to breed purebred animals, you won’t let them end up in a shelter.
If these people’s dog-owning plan includes letting their (intact!) dog run free without a collar, the dog needs to go to a shelter.
For the record, Staffies (Staffordshire Bull Terriers) are great little dogs with a lot of energy and heart. The problem here is on the other end of the leash – or would be, if one were being used.
