How long are your dogs 'your's'?

[Airn]

I recently watched a movie. I believe it was called 'Mine'. It was about Hurricane Katrina dogs that were displaced during the storm. Nearly a year later the owners are still looking for them. It followed the case of 4 people wanting to find their dogs. All of the dogs had been 'adopted'.

It made me wonder, how long is a dog your's? If your dog got lost/stolen, how long would you look for it? And would you expect to get it back? What if you 'adopted' a dog that had an owner looking for it? Would you give the dog back after a year?

I realize that a natural disaster such as Katrina probably has different considerations, but humor me.

What would you do?


Sorry for crappy poll options. Figured a poll should go along, but wasn't sure of the best options to give.

[CatStina]

I've seen stories of dogs coming back after 10, 12, 13 years. I would not give up until my dog was home. When I was two, my cat Bongo was lost during Hurricane Andrew. Though I could barely remember him other than from pictures, I was still making lost cat posters when I was 7. I had already gotten a new cat, but Bongo was still mine and I still missed him. I was, and still am, stubborn. I would NEVER give up hope on my pets. If I found them a year later living with someone else, I would ABSOLUTELY expect to get my pet back. My pets are all microchipped (except the gerbils), and I have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of each of them. I have plenty of proof that they are MINE. I would get my pets back.

[JessLough]

It's hard.

I mean, I would always want my pet back. Always. But, after a year? After 2 years? More? Obviously, if they are adopted or whatever, the family that has them loves them. They've been taking care of them for that much time.

I haven't been in the situation, but I think that after multiple years... just knowing the pet is safe and loved may be enough. I mean, after feeling the hurt I felt, I don't know that I could force another family to go through that hurt. At least I would know that the pet was safe and loved.

Then again, if I were in the situation, I may feel different.


ETA: I mean, obviously, I would try to get the pet back. I guess it's more of I'd want it back, but... I don't know. I'm rambling.


On the flip side, had I kept Marlee, if somebody came looking for her a year later, I don't think I would have given her back.

[Lyzelle]

Zander will always be mine, and mine only. Forever. I'm sure I'll feel that way about our other dogs as well.

[crazedACD]

I would continue looking for my dog forever. If I found them at any point, I would ask nicely, and really hope I could get them back. If the family was unwilling, and the dog was being cared for properly and was happy...I would leave it at that. I would not pursue legal action.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by crazedACD

I would continue looking for my dog forever. If I found them at any point, I would ask nicely, and really hope I could get them back. If the family was unwilling, and the dog was being cared for properly and was happy...I would leave it at that. I would not pursue legal action.

Ok, she said it so much better than I

[Saeleofu]

I would ALWAYS want my dog back. They're chipped, I have proof of ownership, etc. It would be hard, VERY hard, to give a dog back after a year or two, BUT if I was shown proof of ownership (chip, tattoo, whatever) AND proof they have been looking for said dog the entire time (not just deciding two years later to post a Craigslist ad), I would probably give the dog back. Honestly, that was a HUGE worry of mine when I first got Gavroche. What if someone says he's theirs? But he had no chip, no tattoo, no collar/tags, nothing, so I most likely wouldn't have given him back anyway.

[Cinnamon00]

Tough question... I watched Mine too and I had a different reaction to it the second time I watched it. The first time I sympathized with the original owners and wanted them to get their dogs back because they were the owners first. Keep in mind that the first time I watched it: Cinnamon was alive. I bought her from a breeder and she was all mine, so I thought what if she got lost and someone "adopted" her thinking she was unwanted. Well there would be hell to pay if I was able to find the people who had my dog and didn't want to give her back to me... I would do anything to get her back, fight to the end if I had to. I guess that's why I sided with the original owners.

The second time I watched it I had barely adopted Luna, and you can say my view on this changed quite a bit. While I still wanted the original owners to have their dogs, I kinda switched band... I know how easy it is to bond with a dog especially with one you adopted. I'm not saying the bond is stronger than with a breeder dog, it's equal, it's just different... So I could see why it was hard for the "adoptive" parents to give the dogs back to their original owners. I know I couldn't do that....

So as you can see I'm torn... If this happened to me I don't know what I'd do. Luna is mine, she's legally adopted... I have papers that prove it but when I think that there might be somewhere out there that loves her as much as I do and might want her back... I just UGH. .

If It was the other way around I'd always want my dog back, always

[Laurelin]

I would always want my dogs back but gosh... it would be very hard for me to ask someone else to give up a dog they've had for a year+. I don't know what I'd do to be honest.

[Giny]

My dog, like a child, is my dog for life. I would never stop searching for them. But like Saeleofu mentioned, if they have been living with another family for a long time, and I'm reassured they are happy with they're other family, then I'd be content in giving over ownership. If it were to be the other way around, and I had found a dog and have had him for years and his old family found him, I hope they'd feel the same way.