How long are your dogs 'your's'?

[CatStina]

Wouldn't it technically be possession of stolen "property" to have a dog that belonged to someone else? I, too, would be pissed to find out that a "rescue" had found my dog and not even tried to find me. He is microchipped and ALWAYS wears a collar with tags. If they wanted to, they could find me. If they didn't even try, they stole him. I would pursue legal action if they refused to give him back.

[Shakou]

I guess I'm on the other end of this. Charlotte was found as a stray in Nashville, TN 5 years ago when my husband was traveling through the area. He was staying with some friends at their house, when Charlotte came trotting in through the open front door like she owned the place, lol. She was emaciated, filthy, beat up from fights with other dogs, but still in really good spirits. She came and went from the house as she pleased over the course of a few days, eluding animal control who made a few attempts to catch her and failed, and soon my husband started getting attached. So when his friend was getting ready to drop her off at animal control there himself, my husband decided to step up to the plate and adopt her. Which is lucky for her, because we later learned that while there is no ban on Pit Bulls in Nashville, they aren't adopted out from animal control, regardless of how good their temperament is...


Now that we've had her a while, it's become pretty clear that she wasn't a stray all her life. At some point, someone owned this dog and loved her very, very much. For one thing,she's old. Probably somewhere around 10 now. She loves and respects people probably more then any dog I've ever met, particularly kids, which makes me think she was brought up around some. Also, after an exam done by our vet, we found out that at some point in her life, she had one of her back molars extracted....NOT a cheap procedure.

So given all that, it's clear she once belonged to someone that actually cared. I've often wondered how it was she came to end up with us. She wasn't fixed when my husband found her (infact, it appeared that she had just had a litter of puppies), and she had no collar. Also, it was right after a major flood. I sometimes wonder if her previous owners miss her and wonder what ever happened to her.

If they ever found us and asked for her back, I wouldn't return her. She's part of our family now, and we love her with all our hearts. I would have sympathy for them however, and send them pictures and allow them to visit her when we travel through the area, if they really wanted too. If we ever ended up losing her or Ma'ii, and we found them years down the road with someone else, of course I'd want them back, but if the new owners loved them as much as we do, and refused to do so, I'd just hope they'd give me the same mercy, and allow me to keep in touch and visit on occasion.

God, now I need to go hug my dogs, lol.

[Shakou]

I also wanted to add that in the case of Katrina, I would have NEVER EVER left my dogs to fend for themselves while I took cover in a shelter.

[Julee]

I don't think people who abandon their animals in cases like Katrina DESERVE to get them back. Period.

[crazedACD]

Originally Posted by Airn

I think of the big issues was the lack of organization in the whole thing. Nothing was done with the pets until people started seeing dogs on roofs and thought "Oh, what do we do about the animals?" It ended up being a big mess.

Everything about that storm was done horribly. The people and the animals suffered like they really shouldn't have in the year 2005 in the United States. Weren't there people dying from lack of care in the Dome? AFTER the hurricane? Makes me sick.

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

In a disaster like Katrina, I wouldn't leave my dog. But also as Sassafrass said...many of those groups did more harm than good.

I wouldn't leave my dogs willingly either, but there were several cases of people being made to leave their dogs at gunpoint. One woman with a poodle was very vocal about it.

Don't forget St. Bernard's parish too...the dogs that were left in the school and were all shot. It seems the blog with the pictures has dried up now, but I will never forget that. It's actually making me tear up right now...geez. And the cops that were shooting dogs in the streets.
This is the story..it's graphic (no pics) http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3265151&page=2

Originally Posted by -bogart-

Pets are Property , Period.

Yes people do not get there pets / spayed , make them live outside , and feed them crap . These things happen a lot down here. Just because a person does not take the same level of care you do , does not give a "rescue" organization the right to take your pet and give it away.

I don't think she is saying they should be legally given away, but hopefully the previous owner would take it upon themselves to realize those dogs are being better cared for in the house, with vet care, etc.

[Flyinsbt]

Originally Posted by Julee

I don't think people who abandon their animals in cases like Katrina DESERVE to get them back. Period.

Many, if not most, of those people didn't want to leave their pets, they were put in an intolerable position. If you're trying to get your children to shelter, and you're told you can't bring your dog, do you let your kids die?

The situation was handled horribly. The only good that came of it is that it became obvious that in an evacuation situation, there does have to be provision made for pets. So hopefully, that exact situation would not repeat. But I can still easily see situations where a person might get separated from their pet in case of disaster. ie; I work 25 miles from my home, and live on a peninsula with limited routes to access. And traffic is bad in my city at the best of times. In case of a disaster, I could easily see it becoming impossible for me to get home to my dogs. I would certainly be trying, but what if I failed? What if they close down the roads that allow access, and won't let anyone pass?

My dogs are mine, and I would always want them back. And painful as it would be, if I adopted a pet who it later turned out was separated from it's owner due to circumstances beyond their control, I would return it. Because I'd know that I would want the same.

[AdrianneIsabel]

It truly depends for me, we had a dog stolen as a kid and it was subsequently sold. The new owner was seen by my mom several years later. The timelines matched and the dog seemed to recognize/be the same. My mom however didn't take the dog back, it was happy and the new owner had done no wrong. I'm not sure if I would make the same choice but I don't think she did wrong by the dog.

[Julee]

Sorry, I don't go with that. If a hurricane is coming, why are you trying to bunker down and put yourself and your pets in danger? Get the hell out of there. It's not a matter of leaving them or staying with them in the path of danger, both are equally bad IMO. It's get out and save both of you.

[-bogart-]

Originally Posted by Shakou

I also wanted to add that in the case of Katrina, I would have NEVER EVER left my dogs to fend for themselves while I took cover in a shelter.

The thing is . a lot of people had no choice . well stay and watch there children die? is that better?
There where A LOT of people who did just that , stayed with the dogs and drowned in there own attic.

Evacuate? yeah well that takes money , and when you are living paycheck to paycheck it is hard to drop everything and leave town , if they had a car to leave town in. There are no easy answers .

I do know some rescue did it right after Katrina , others stole a lot of pets.

[-bogart-]

Originally Posted by Julee

Sorry, I don't go with that. If a hurricane is coming, why are you trying to bunker down and put yourself and your pets in danger? Get the hell out of there. It's not a matter of leaving them or staying with them in the path of danger, both are equally bad IMO. It's get out and save both of you.

Do you realize that the flooding in New Orleans was caused by the Levees failing hours after Katrina had passed? So if the ACOE had done there job properly The city would not have flooded and the people who had stayed would have been ok?

If there is no way to leave what choice is there , start walking on the interstate and sleep in the ditch and steal food?

Thankfully now we have a system in place to help.