My new dog has an owner, wwyd?

[linz2491]

Sooo, last year my beloved chi was killed. My kids have been waiting for her to basically be reincarnated ( longer story ).

I run a dog rescue. Last week on a euthinasia list a shelter sent us was a little chi who looks very similar to my little girl. I had them send her to me along with several other dogs. The shelter is in "the armpit of California" according to someone who lives there.
So anyway, I have had this little girl since Thursday, introduced her to my kids today who love her and are even calling her by our dogs name (even thugh I asked them not to)
Got a call. The dogs owner called TODAY looking for her. 10 days after she was picked up in the shelter. If I hadn't taken her, she probably would be dead by now. The person went out of town for a couple days and her grandma lost the dog. Still, 10 days is huge!!
The shelter worker who spoke to her was not impressed with the owner at all, said the dog was better with us anyway, had little sympathy for the owner.
I have no legal obligation to give her back. She is legally mine.
That said, if this is a loving home, I am certianally not going to steal someone's beloved dog away. She is about 5 years old, not spayed. Looks like she has had a litter but does not appear like she is a brood mare. Not that it matters to me, but she appears purebred but has MAJOR genetic faults which a real breeder would never breed her. (she has a huge overbite). She also in in need of obvious dental work. Beyond that she seems to be in good shape and acts like a purse dog (barks when you put her down).

I do not like judging homes. This stinks. In the thousands of dogs that have come through our rescue, owners have come forward after the fact exactly 3 times. Figures it would happen with my dog.

[cheezpoofs]

If someone already owns the dog and wants her back, you should return her.

[Angel89411]

If she has an owner, wouldn't you be required by law to give her back? Perhaps the owner lost their dog by some accident and misses her very much. How would you feel in their shoes?

[s@hmommy]

I couldn't imagine someone continuing to look for the dog after 10 days if they didn't really care a lot for the animal. I would personally give her back. Peoples initial impressions of one another don't really amount to much to me. Just because she didn't say the right things to the shelter worker does not mean she is a bad pet owner.

[linz2491]

Originally Posted by Angel89411 If she has an owner, wouldn't you be required by law to give her back? Perhaps the owner lost their dog by some accident and misses her very much. How would you feel in their shoes?

No, legally the dog is mine. Owners have 5 days to reclaim a dog before the dog is euthanized. This dog would have been euthanized on the 12th if I had not taken her. Morally is a different problem. We will be contacting the owner to talk to her to see what is up. This happened once where the people came forward for a dog we had. The dog was in bad shape. Turned out, the people had a bunch of Pitt bulls (this was a cocker spaniel) and one had bit one of the family members so all the dogs now lived outside. They did not get dog food, just scraps of food from the house. We said they could come for her (6 hours away) and we never heard from them again. The area she comes from is not known for good treatment of dogs. Regardless, this dog will be going no where unspayed. If this is a good home, she will have to come get the dog and pay our rescue rate for the spay but she can have her back. Our vet charges us less then $100 for the spay. If she had found her dog at the shelter she would have been paying double that at least in fines to get her out of the shelter.

[linz2491]

Originally Posted by s@hmommy I couldn't imagine someone continuing to look for the dog after 10 days if they didn't really care a lot for the animal. I would personally give her back. Peoples initial impressions of one another don't really amount to much to me. Just because she didn't say the right things to the shelter worker does not mean she is a bad pet owner.

No, she was not looking continually for her. The shelter would be the first stop. She didn't start looking for her until 10 days after she went missing. The dog was in the pound for 10 days. The could have killed her after 5. If I had not taken her, she would be dead right now. Chihuahuas are the #2 most euthinized dog in California. Pitts being #1
I do absolutely agree that shelters workers impressions don't mean much. That's why we will be contacting the owner myself.

[l_Kimmie_l]

No - I would keep her.

[lilannies mama]

I'd have to agree with if she has owners give her back. I'd be devestated if it was my dog. Although I feel bad for your loss of your dog to. It's a hard situation when you like the dog already

[wordmama]

My first reaction was just keep her. But then reading the story again, the original owner may have been out of town and only just found out her pup was missing. For all you know, she's been frantically calling around, trying to find her for days. Why not connect with her yourself before making any decisions. If she took the time to track you down, she obviously cares for the pup.

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[homebirthmom]

Id keep the dog since the dog would have been killed. and if the teeth are not in good condition, the dog was not being cared for much.
i would not feel bad if you can provide for the dog now.

would I be upset if I lost my dog? yep but I also would not wait 10 days to call on it. whether or not she was on vacation the grandma told them the dog was missing, 1000 miles away or not, I would be on the phone calling the shelters. they did not.

keep the dog. end. o. story.