[MrsGoo]

Today I picked up a sweet brindle boy that was set to be put down. This guy was dumped out in the country, and where he ended up, just happened to be some (ex) former family members of mine. She hasn't spoken to me in 3 years, but calls me out of the blue, because she has one of "those dogs" and he needs to find a home ASAP. She gives me 2 whole days to find somewhere for this guy to go, or she's having him euthanized. She won't even consider keeping him because he's one of those breeds.

I went over Wednesday to check him out, super sweet, very vocal, just wants a good home. He's covered in ticks, has a really bad eye infection, and starved for attention... So today, I pick him up and bring him home.... to my 6 dog aggressive dogs.... bring him in and dump him in the tub and start pouring soap and water on him. I scrubbed him as good as I could to try to get the ticks off of him, I bet I didn't get a fourth of them off.

I try to talk to him, reassure him that I'm trying to help him... and I start bawling. How can anyone do this to their dog. He's a good dog, he loves to play fetch, I taught him to sit with one hot dog in less than 5 minutes. He's extremely friendly and seems to be a good nature pup, happy, running around, trying to rub the ticks off his neck... you know, those really big fat gray ticks. I couldn't get them off of him without causing him to bleed more than what he was already from where he has scratched them off.

Once I got him toweled off good, I looked in his ears...... and my heart was crushed. This poor guy has so many ticks in his ears that you can't even see his ears for the ticks. They are all the way down into his ear canal. No way I can get them out without hurting him, and possibly shoving ticks further down his ear canal.

He will get a formal dip in the morning, and has a vet appmt to be neutered next week. From there.... I have nothing. I have no idea what to do with him. I know I can't keep him, but I want to make sure he gets into a breed savvy home. I'm not going through all this just to have him end up being a statistic on the news. I know I can't save them all, but I'm trying to help this one.

For now, for lack of a better name, I'm calling him Cooper. We kicked around the ideas of Hank or Jackson or even Jake... but I keep coming back to Cooper. It's distinguished, it fits him.... and I like hanging with Mr Cooper in the back yard.

I don't know if I can get pictures to transfer to here from FB.... it's late, I'm tired, and I'm emotionally drained.... but I'm going to try.

The main reason for this thread is so, maybe... someone that has considered dumping their dog, will think twice. I'm the one that gets to deal with your "trash"... I know people do it every day, and have for years.... this is my first experience to this degree. I've taken in dumped pups before, or gotten dogs that were already cleaned up by the time I saw them. This is my first really raw experience in seeing what people do to their dogs when they dump them.... the flea infestation, the massive amount of ticks, the fear of the dog not knowing where he is, or who you are... and the hopelessness in knowing that in the end.. you may not be able to do anything for him. If people would only realize what really happens when they dump their dogs. But they don't. They dump them, then drive away, and they never look back, never go back to check on the dog to see if it's ok, if it found shelter, food, a home, or if it ended up a statistic lying on the side of the road.

Well, just so you know.... your dog ends up starving, covered in more ticks than is humanly possible to remove in one day, he's scared, he doesn't know me, he wants his family back... but instead, his head is filled with memories of his family.... the family that pushed him out of a car, and never came back for him, no matter how many nights he sat diligently waiting for the sound of your car, the slight light of your headlights coming back for him... he thinks you will return one day for him, for he would never leave you like that... he would never abandon you in the middle of nowhere, and just....... leave. He would come back for you, he would keep looking for you, he would return for you. For in his eyes, you are his world, the sun rises and sets on your shoulders, he would do anything for you.... he would bravely die for you. But he doesn't see it as bravery, he sees it as loyalty, and he is loyal to you till his dying breath. He will always remain loyal to you, because he knows one day, you will return for him.....you have to return for him..... don't you??? Do you not have the same loyalty to him as he has for you? He vowed the first day he say you that he would be by your side for all the days of his life, that he would bravely do whatever you asked of him, that he would be your companion, your best friend, your ally. He knew the instant he saw you that he would spend his entire life loving you and pleasing you and being your number one true fan....... what???? Did you not see that same loyalty when you looked at him? Did you not devote yourself to being the best human a dog could have, did you not vow to him that you would always take care of him and that he would never want for anything, that he would always be fed and loved, and warm and dry?