If you found a lost dog...

[PilsnPinkysMom]

You found a lost dog, thin as a rail, no tag or collar. You took him in, nursed him back to health and reached out to local vets, shelters, animal control to find his original owner. You even posted flyers around town, but nobody claimed him. After a few months you accepted that this dog was now your responsibility. A few months turn into 1.5 years and this dog is now a part of your family. One afternoon you're out driving around town with your pup when and a car pulls up next to you at a stoplight. You hear a child scream, "MOMMY! It's our DOG!! OUR DOG!" The other car motions for you to turn into a parking lot and you do. The woman, flabbergasted, says, "Sir... That's our family dog. I KNOW that's our dog." The dog is indifferent toward the woman but is playing like crazy with her two kids. What would you do?

I just found out that this happened to my uncle yesterday afternoon. He took the woman's contact information but point-blank told her, "No, ma'am, I'm sorry. This is MY dog." I'm quite conflicted... I really don't know what I would do in this situation, but I can't imagine the feeling of finding my missing pup and knowing I can't get her back. At the same time, my uncle has bonded with this dog in an incredible way- they're attached at the hip and the dog has a great life. Is there a "right" thing to do?

 

[davi_el_mejor]

The right things to do were already done. Unless the dog is microchipped, tattooed or has very distinguishable markings of which the "old" family has photos, then they are SOL. It's unfortunate for the "old" family, but your uncle was correct when he said it's his dog.

 

[Tuckins1]

I think that under the circumstances the dog belongs to your uncle. If the family was so worried about finding it, why didn't they alert the shelters and animal control? They should have been more diligent about looking for it...

 

[Rhea]

I agree that your uncle handled it correctly. It's his dog. I'm sorry for the family, but if your uncle looked for the owner at the time and has now bonded with the dog, it's his dog.

 

[Liane]

I agree: it's his dog.

To me, the fact that the dog was indifferent toward the woman is pretty telling. The kids might have loved and bonded with their family pet, but she clearly didn't (as further evinced by the fact that nobody knew she was looking for the dog and she herself doesn't seem to have bothered to tag, tattoo, or microchip the animal), and the adult is the one who's responsible for the animal. I don't feel bad for her at all, and if I were in that situation, I personally wouldn't be convinced that she could be trusted to prevent it from happening a second time. I DO feel bad for the kids, but there's no easy answer there. They're not the adults, and it's not their responsibility or their claim.

Your uncle did everything right in trying to locate the owner, caring for the dog, and saving its life by nursing it to health and giving it a loving home. The dog has bonded with him. It's his now.

 

[Maisie]

The dog belongs to your husband. It would be awful for him to have to hand it back now. If it happened to me I would refuse point blank to hand the dog back to someone who obviously didn't search for a missing dog.

 

[charbie]

Very fitting after the recent thread about Baxter, my sister's "new" dog.
I agree, its your uncle's dog. In fact, the vet who is helping my sister care for Baxter also told my sister that even if it was due to unfortunate circumstances, they had not taken proper steps towards the recovery of their pet. I know this: we had a dog who got out of our yard a number of times even with an invisible fence. But we never, and I mean never, gave up until he was home. I'm talking door to door, canvasing the neighborhood.
There are many ways of identifying animals now...with the invention of microchipping, it is your own irresponsibility if your dog is lost and does not turn up. I'm saddened for the family that lost their dog, but seeing as he wasn't "kidnapped" I see no reason for them to try and claim this dog as their own.

 

[yssie]

Another agreement that it's your uncle's dog now.

It really sounds like she had plenty of options to handle this possibility - tag, microchip, actually putting in an extended *search* - and didn't think it worth it to take advantage of any of them. The dog deserves owners who care enough to bother, and she and her family clearly don't fit the bill.

 

[Prana]

uncle= 1
supposed previous owners= 0

It sounds like your uncle wants to do the right thing, which he has obviously already done, but honestly, if my dog went missing, I would find him no matter what. I would put up flyers, call neighbors, track him like man tracker, hire search parties, get in a helicopter, use night vision goggles call the national guard and do whatever it took to find him. I feel like anyone who truly loves their pet would do the same. The 'supposed' owner lady didn't seem like she had any feelings about it, so I would just say that it's their loss. They've probably already 'replaced' the dog anyways.

 

[purplesilk]

If your uncle microchipped the dog, the dog is legally his own.
That’s what happened to me: a neighbour had a dog, he never took much care about the animal which had the natural habit of wandering alone around the town; everytime I found the dog out of my neighbour 's enclosure, I did take the dog back home. One sad day, during its wandering around, the dog was knocked down by a truck…
…better for both your uncle and the dog to stay together.

 

[katamari]

That is rough. Legally, without any sort of identification, there would be no way to actually prove it, which, to me, makes it your uncle's dog now. Honestly, despite how much we might think our pets look unique to us, there really isn't a ton of variation in the way dogs look. There is too high a chance that the identification is wrong. And, the behavior is in no way unique enough to serve as an id, either.

 

[April20]

I agree with everyone else. There is no way to prove that this dog did belong to that family and even if it did, by this point it no longer does. End of story.

 

[TooPatient]

I agree: it's his dog.

To me, the fact that the dog was indifferent toward the woman is pretty telling. The kids might have loved and bonded with their family pet, but she clearly didn't (as further evinced by the fact that nobody knew she was looking for the dog and she herself doesn't seem to have bothered to tag, tattoo, or microchip the animal), and the adult is the one who's responsible for the animal. I don't feel bad for her at all, and if I were in that situation, I personally wouldn't be convinced that she could be trusted to prevent it from happening a second time. I DO feel bad for the kids, but there's no easy answer there. They're not the adults, and it's not their responsibility or their claim.

Your uncle did everything right in trying to locate the owner, caring for the dog, and saving its life by nursing it to health and giving it a loving home. The dog has bonded with him. It's his now.

Exactly.

He provides the care the dog needs -- this woman did not.
If she had, your uncle would have found her or she would have found him.

And how do they "know" that the dog was their's anyway? I'm sure there are dozens of similar looking dogs in the area who wouldn't pay much attention to the woman but play with her kids!


Absolutely, without any doubt --- That dog belongs with your uncle.

 

[violet3]

i'm torn like you are ppm. I can't imagine losing my dog - it would absolutely crush me. but then he is microchipped and tagged...and i would do my best to find him. i think the dog SHOULD stay with your uncle, and if i were the original dog owner, i would try very hard to accept that fact. Sounds like he's really bonded to your uncle and that's what's best for THE DOG. It's not like it's been a month - it's been more than a year.

playing the devil's advocate, however, i'll say this. My dog was MY DOG long before my husband moved in or we got married. My dog is irrationally connected to my husband - if we were to find him, he'd be all over my husband and probably ignore me originally. Does that mean i don't love or take care of him? no. It means for whatever reason, he's connected to my DH more than he is to me. It's a large conclusion jump to say the woman doesn't care about the dog because the dog went to play with the kids and ignored her.

I do think the dog should have been microchipped...and ultimately should stay with your uncle.

 

[Gypsy]

I can't imagine losing one of my cats. And we almost did one time when Frodo got out. That said, loving my animals as I do... if one of them did get lost my greatest wish would be for someone like your uncle to find them and love them. If I found them again I would want them back, but after a certain amount of time has passed I think it would be selfish of me to want the animal back. It has clearly been readjusted to it's new home and is happy. And the animals happiness is what matters to me.

It would shatter my heart if Duncan got lost. But if I found out a YEAR later that he'd found a great home, as much as I would want him back... that would be for ME, not for him. And I think the issue is, what's best for the dog. And IMO what's best for the dog is to stay where he is, it is his home now.

Mine are all microchipped though.

 

[CJ2008]

I agree with what everyone has said...it's your uncle's dog...and like Gypsy said, staying with your uncle is what's best for the dog, too, for many reasons...

Will we get to see pictures?

 

[Autumnovember]

If I ever lost my dog, I would make sure to check EVERY SINGLE shelter in my area and do whatever else possible to bring my dog back home...and I wouldn't quit after just a week. I think most pet owners who love their pet would do the same. Out of curiosity what breed was it? There are a lot of dogs out there who look A LOT alike so I'm wondering if there was something distinctive about the dog that made this person claim it as their own. I would have a very difficult time giving the dog back after nursing him back to health, paying vet bills, etc.

 

[Amys Bling]

Ok- 18 months later- after being nourished back to health... It's your Uncle's dog. After finding the dog in that condition, and then doing the right thing and checking every shelter, putting up flyers, etc. I would say that -no offense- this owner apparently didn't take great care of the dog and didn't exactly look hard enough. If my dog was lost I would be missing work to scour the area....I had him chipped, his collar has his name and our phone number on it, and he has two dog tag. Not to mention a rabbies and pet tag all of which are linked ot our name and address.

I don't know how they can claim it is their dog and expect after 1.5 yrs to get the dog back.

 

[gemgirl]

I didn't want to answer your question right away because I wanted to put myself into the shoes of the family that lost their dog first. But after thinking about it for a day, I have to agree with most of the ladies. That sweet pooch is your Uncle's dog now. Eighteen months is a really long time. That poor man has emotionally bonded to that dog and the dog to him. It would be heartbreaking to me to tear those two apart now.

The child saying that he recognized the dog is no proof that it's the same dog, nor is the fact that the dog seemingly ignored the adult but played with the kids. LOTS of dogs go right to children. Kids are more their size. My Vet always said that kids are automatically perceived as friendlier to dogs. They're less threatening.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I didn't want to answer your question right away because I wanted to put myself into the shoes of the family that lost their dog first. But after thinking about it for a day, I have to agree with most of the ladies. That sweet pooch is your Uncle's dog now. Eighteen months is a really long time. That poor man has emotionally bonded to that dog and the dog to him. It would be heartbreaking to me to tear those two apart now.

The child saying that he recognized the dog is no proof that it's the same dog, nor is the fact that the dog seemingly ignored the adult but played with the kids. LOTS of dogs go right to children. Kids are more their size. My Vet always said that kids are automatically perceived as friendlier to dogs. They're less threatening.

How old are the kids? In a 1.5 year time-span a child may not even remember exactly what the pet looks like and because it looks similar enough, may conclude it IS the family dog. Once my kids and I passed by a black/white cat and one of my boys insisted it was our cat (who we gave away) Luna even though I know it wasn't her b/c she lives in another city.