How long are your dogs 'your's'?

[Toller_08]

I've tried responding to this thread a few times... but I really don't know how I'd handle such a situation. I can't even imagine my dogs being away from me and lost and finding a different family. It upsets me just to think about it, nevermind if it happened.


I'd look for them for a long time. I still miss one of my dogs that died immensely and wish she was still here, and it's been many years now since she's been gone. Nevermind knowing that a dog I loved might still be alive and well, just lost... I don't know that I could stop looking. And if I found the dog, I'd probably bring proof with me that it was mine and hope they'd give me the dog back. I'd even offer to buy the dog back. Not sure if I would take legal action or not.

And if I adopted a dog, there's a good chance I would give the dog back to it's original family if they found out I had it. It would depend on a few things (how sincere they are, what kind of owners, if they'd actually been seriously looking or just stumbled upon the dog again somehow, etc.), but if it were my dog, I'd want it back, and I hope that I could offer the same courtesy to someone else and give a dog back.

A dog getting lost or stranded is a lot different than a dog that was surrendered or a stray. A lost dog is usually a very, very well loved pet. And it could happen to anybody. For me, I just don't know if it would be right to keep the dog forever. Even if the owners found it years later. I don't know.

Maybe it would depend on how long I had the dog vs. how long they've had it by that point. If I had it for a shorter time than they did, maybe it's more fair to let them keep the dog? Like I said, I don't know, and I hope it's something I (or any of us) never have to go through. It's heartbreaking to even think about.

[GoingNowhere]

Originally Posted by Toller_08

A dog getting lost or stranded is a lot different than a dog that was surrendered or a stray. A lost dog is usually a very, very well loved pet. And it could happen to anybody. For me, I just don't know if it would be right to keep the dog forever. Even if the owners found it years later. I don't know.

True regarding the "stranded" part, I suppose, but here, if a dog is found wandering at large, they're marked as a "stray." So theoretically, if Boo slipped out of her collar, bolted and was found by someone else that same day or whenever, when that person turned her into the shelter, she'd be dubbed a "stray without identification." (this is speaking hypothetically as if she were not microchipped, btw) It wouldn't matter that she's a well loved pet. It wouldn't matter that she's nicely groomed and well fed. She'd be labeled as a stray just like the mangy starving dog that was brought to the shelter without ID.

If she had a collar (without tags), she'd still be a "stray" there'd just be a different waiting period before she would be listed as adoptable.

Stranded is a bit trickier, I guess, because presumably, most people would assume that the intent was not to dump the dog, but rather to flee for personal reasons.

[Toller_08]

Originally Posted by GoingNowhere

True regarding the "stranded" part, I suppose, but here, if a dog is found wandering at large, they're marked as a "stray." So theoretically, if Boo slipped out of her collar, bolted and was found by someone else that same day or whenever, when that person turned her into the shelter, she'd be dubbed a "stray without identification." (this is speaking hypothetically as if she were not microchipped, btw) It wouldn't matter that she's a well loved pet. It wouldn't matter that she's nicely groomed and well fed. She'd be labeled as a stray just like the mangy starving dog that was brought to the shelter without ID.

If she had a collar (without tags), she'd still be a "stray" there'd just be a different waiting period before she would be listed as adoptable.

Stranded is a bit trickier, I guess, because presumably, most people would assume that the intent was not to dump the dog, but rather to flee for personal reasons.

That's true. I guess I worded it wrong. I was thinking stray more along the lines of probably born outside/kind of a reserve type dog we often get around where I live. Not necessarily feral, but they weren't anyone's pet. Nobody's looking for them or misses them.

[sassafras]

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.

Originally Posted by Julee

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

Another thing about Katrina is that a LOT of people did not intentionally abandon their animals... many, many people were told they would be evacuated for 2-4 days at most, left their animals with 2-4 days worth of food/water - and then when things got worse they weren't allowed to go back or couldn't get back. Or, as others have pointed out, they weren't allowed to bring their pets.

Katrina was really a turning point in how pets are handled in disasters, not only in terms of awareness of pet owners but legal obligations of responding organizations and governments. Prior to Katrina, there was no requirement for shelters to accept pets and no requirement for states to include pets in preparedness and response teams. As a direct result of the clusterf%#k that was Katrina, that has changed.

[GoingNowhere]

Originally Posted by Toller_08

That's true. I guess I worded it wrong. I was thinking stray more along the lines of probably born outside/kind of a reserve type dog we often get around where I live. Not necessarily feral, but they weren't anyone's pet. Nobody's looking for them or misses them.

yeah, that makes sense.

[Lyzelle]

Originally Posted by JessLough

I also think there's a huge difference between being lost due to a natural disaster and being lost because they got out of my house. For the latter, I don't think I'd be in any place to judge how responsible the other person was because, well, its MY dog that got loose.

Er....not every dog that gets loose is because some irresponsible owner just let them roan. Accidents DO happen. It doesn't make you irresponsible.

[Julee]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Er....not every dog that gets loose is because some irresponsible owner just let them roan. Accidents DO happen. It doesn't make you irresponsible.

This. My foxhound got out once and was gone for two weeks. Am I irresponsible? No. I wasn't even home. Despite being quite gimpy at the time, I was hiking and searching for her every single day, 10+ hours per day, spending tons of money on lost dog posters, posting everywhere on the internet, etc. I reallllly don't think that falls under the category of "not being able to gauge how responsible the other person was".

However, the person that lives two miles down the road? They had an intact black lab boy who got out at least two dozen times and came to my house over the course of two or three years. He always had fleas or some sort of skin condition, was underweight, etc. Sometimes had tags, sometimes didn't. Animal control just kept on handing him back, shrugging their shoulders, and leaving the situation alone. He was always here for multiple days, at one point up to two weeks. They'd always say they DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE HE WAS GONE. Finally, we turned him over to a different animal control, and haven't heard about him since.

THEY are irresponsible and would have no business asking for their dog back.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Er....not every dog that gets loose is because some irresponsible owner just let them roan. Accidents DO happen. It doesn't make you irresponsible.

To you. I would consider myself irresponsible for it -- and have. Since I would consider myself irresponsible, I'd not consider myself in a place to judge others.

Never did I say "you have no place to judge". I said *I* would have no place to judge

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by sassafras

Another thing about Katrina is that a LOT of people did not intentionally abandon their animals... many, many people were told they would be evacuated for 2-4 days at most, left their animals with 2-4 days worth of food/water - and then when things got worse they weren't allowed to go back or couldn't get back. Or, as others have pointed out, they weren't allowed to bring their pets.

This.

Originally Posted by sassafras

One problem with Katrina particularly is that many dogs were "rescued" and removed from the state improperly - without actually looking for the original owner or observing any kind of waiting period whatsoever. A lot of groups did a lot more harm than good in that respect during Katrina.

Personally I would consider my dog mine forever unless I willingly relinquish ownership. There might be circumstances where I would choose to relinquish ownership rather than fight a legal battle, but for the most part... If I find out you have them, I am coming for them. You can be sure of that.

And this.

Really, there are some very sad and very judgmental posts in this thread. I remember thinking at the time how sad it was that those animals were so quickly being sent all over the country. There was absolutely no time for people to look for their pets or possibly be reunited with them. Shelters all over the country were all over the media with how they had "saved the abandoned Katrina dogs". Except most of those dogs were not abandoned shelter dogs. They were people's pets, who had been lost or separated from their families. And people were lining up to adopt them in many places. I don't think anyone realized how bad things were going to get with Katrina until it was too late. Like Sassafras said, people left thinking they'd be able to return home in a few days. Even once it was obvious thinsg were going badly, families had no place to go with their pets and people were being evacuated from their homes, forcefully if they wouldn't go willing. I just can't understand being so judgmental of people in sure a dire situation, even if you wouldn't make the choices they made (and have the resources to not have to).

[Emily]

With some of the criteria being used here to determine whether or not people "deserve" to get their dogs returned, I know several loving owners and beloved pets that would never see each other again.

Including myself and Keeva... she has her reproductive tract and no microchip as of yet. I can only hope if she ever gets lost (god forbid), she ends up with someone less judgemental than many on this thread, or I'll never get her back.