[EvonsRorgon]

What would you do?

my husband was getting ready to leave tonight and he told me not to take Peanut on his evening walk yet because there was a stray am bully about 2-3 years old out side and it was very scared and was going up to each house looking at it as if he was trying to find his house. i came out (without Peanut) and the dog looked at me and he took off running. i usually don't try to approach strays but i thought what if it was Peanut lost and scared. well this dog took off running towards the main street so my husband and i got in our car to follow him to get ahead of him to try to shoo him back into the neighborhood where he could at least be safe from the main road. well he go to the main road and again i tried to approach him enough to gain his trust so that he would go back in the neighborhood and again he looked at me and slunk down and ran. we tried to call a/c but since it was 6 pm the office was closed so there was nothing we thought of to do and thedog disappeared so we drove where we thought he would have gone and did not see him in the road so we figured he might have found a safe place to go and we turned around.

fast forward about 30 minutes. i decided to take Peanut on his nightly walk with my sister in law and neice. we are inside the neighborhood (a good safe part deep in the neighborhood away from any main road, actually 2 dead ends and an island) we seen this dog again. i stopped and sat Peanut down and waited to see where this dog was going to go. he looked at us and then ran across the street from us and sat at one of the neighbors houses on the grass. so we continued to walk. i felt okay that he was where he was no cars would get him and i couldn't do anything i had Peanut. well we are walking a few feet and a man and his wife complimeted Peanut and were very nice. they then seen this stray am bully and asked if he was our dog. i told him no he seems to be a stray. he then asked if he had a collar i said no. so he started to whistle to the dog. the dog looked at him then slunk down and ran. the man and his wife then started to walk towards the direction of the dog. i didn't see if they got to him. inside me i am hoping they were able to get him and gain his trust.

ethically, i feel like i failed this dog. i feel i should have done more to help this dog out. i just didn't know what to do for a dog that was scared and didn't want to be approached. i feel that if this had been Peanut i would want some one to do more to help him to get back to me. but this area is known for people to dump stray animals so i feel that this could be this guys case. i walk and run in this area a lot and know most of the neighbor's dogs and haven't seen this guy before but thats not to say he hasn't been running scared for a few miles trying to find his way home. should i have done more? i just feel really bad that i didn't catch this guy and try to find his home. i keep worrying about him now that he doesn't make his way on to the street. he seemed like had he not been in a scared lost situation he would be a very friendly happy guy. i am hoping i see him again so that i know he is safe and maybe i can try again to get him or call a/c during buisness hours.

anyway, what would you do?

[remstaling]

I would have done the same thing you did. And you did not fail the dog, the previous owner did. Try calling AC in the morning and see if they can't catch him.

[AALee]

I would pretty much have done all you did, and little more. When I see/find strays, I will help them if they want to be helped, but endangering myself in traffic etc, is (now) over the top for me. I think I would still call A/C in the morning and report it, if he is scared, he poses a threat. Don't beat yourself up, you would have done alot if he had come to you. I know the feeling in your gut of "I didn't do enough", but really you were willing to try, and that's more than most do these days.

[flowersnewaho]

^ ^ ^ Ditto,.. what mstngchic said,.. although if your AC is anything like ours they usually don't come out unless the dog is caught then confined or threatening someone.

[EvonsRorgon]

thanks. when i walk Peanut tomorrow morning i am going to see if i see him again and if i do i am going to call AC again and wait til i know they are coming.

i usually don't feel this way about strays but seeing a dog of similar age and similar breed to Peanut makes me feel like what if it was Bubs I would die to have him in that situation.

i do have to say seeing that guy like that made Peanut get extra lovins. it makes me feel so bad for that guy he had a home for few years now he is without his home ad family.

also, inside me i am hoping that the man and his wife i seen gained his trust and maybe they could take him home. if he was a dump i hope they keep him and have him apart of their family. i don't know them or ever seen them before but they seemed to care about this guy and tried to get him. seems more then his owners were doing (as of right now) no one seemed to be looking for him and no signs. i kind of want to check craigslist and see if there are missing posts for him and if so kind of tell them where he has been seen.

[remstaling]

You could cook up some hotdog and try to lure him with that if you want...

[AALee]

thanks. when i walk Peanut tomorrow morning i am going to see if i see him again and if i do i am going to call AC again and wait til i know they are coming.

i usually don't feel this way about strays but seeing a dog of similar age and similar breed to Peanut makes me feel like what if it was Bubs I would die to have him in that situation.

i do have to say seeing that guy like that made Peanut get extra lovins. it makes me feel so bad for that guy he had a home for few years now he is without his home ad family.

also, inside me i am hoping that the man and his wife i seen gained his trust and maybe they could take him home. if he was a dump i hope they keep him and have him apart of their family. i don't know them or ever seen them before but they seemed to care about this guy and tried to get him. seems more then his owners were doing (as of right now) no one seemed to be looking for him and no signs. i kind of want to check craigslist and see if there are missing posts for him and if so kind of tell them where he has been seen.

Checking CL is actually a really good idea, and my avatar is of Murray (bubby to me, lol) he was a stray dumped on our dead end road almost 2 years ago. So have faith, good things can happen.

[EvonsRorgon]

Checking CL is actually a really good idea, and my avatar is of Murray (bubby to me, lol) he was a stray dumped on our dead end road almost 2 years ago. So have faith, good things can happen.

i am going to check. i wasn't sure if that was a good place but never know right?

i love that you call your boy bubby!! i also call Peanut bubba which has evolved to bub(s) then recently it again became bubby..he really gets excited with that name

[AALee]

i am going to check. i wasn't sure if that was a good place but never know right?

i love that you call your boy bubby!! i also call Peanut bubba which has evolved to bub(s) then recently it again became bubby..he really gets excited with that name

LOL. Yeah it cracks people up to hear me calling a 90 pound dog that.. haha, but it fits him. He knows when I call him that it = all good things,and you are right, you never know, and it certainly can't hurt to check CL.

[EvonsRorgon]

**okay i just checked craigslist and didn't see anything but i did make a found posting and gave the area he was seen in since i couldn't catch him. i just hope he gets home safely and doesn't get in the street. we have some very busy roads around here and his safety is my concern.

[anconueys]

dont beat yourself up over that dog. you take care of yours...and thats all you can do.

[ftpsoft]

It's whoever had the dog in their care before it was ditched/escaped that's at fault - not you.
You did the best you could do and have your own dog to worry about. Though I do understand how you feel.
The same sort of thing has happened to me numerous times and it sucks but all you can really do is be responsible, logical & caring, as well as encourage others to do the same.

[tsaaapla]

Sucks when that happens, I have a soft spot for strays but usually if they're scared and I can't win their trust I try to forget about them because there's nothing else I can do, as our AC never really responds to calls. I've had to shoot aggressive strays before too, so I'd definitely call AC... if he's scared he might get fear aggressive and hurt someone.

[Blahhhshsh]

Its sad when this kind of thing happens. That Chocolate Lab I found and turned in a couple months ago has been on my mind. I really hope he found his people or some other nice people came in to the shelter adopted him.

You leave them running loose and hope for the best if you can't catch them. You take them to AC and hope for the best if you can catch them. Its heartbreaking for other dog owners or dog lovers to see a stray and wonder whatever happened to it.

[EvonsRorgon]

he was seen again around 10 pm by my husband in the same place i last seen him so i know he is at least staying in the safe from cars part of the neighborhood. my husband left a little water out for him (no food) because he had been running a lot and thought if he left some water out for him he could maybe relax.

my husband thinks that because he was in the same part of the neighborhood and that he came back in from the main road that maybe he does live around here and i just never seen him before maybe he is a backyard dog.

i haven't been out yet today so i don't know if he is still out. i didn't get any emails from anyone looking for him
i keep thinking if i did gain his trust there is nothing i can do. i can't bring him home. there is no way i want to bring a dog with unknown health history and unknown temperment around where Peanut and my young niece live too.

ugh. i wish more people especially in this breed were more responsible. i fear that if something happens they will make something such as a mantatory s/n law happen in this area because of a stray (since that is the only type of bsl we have here). or someone wakes up to see a sleeping stray in their yard they may think aww look at the homeless dog but if they wake up and see a stray pitbull in their yard especially a terrified one (he seems that he would be very friendly if he wasn't scared) they may panic.

---------- Post added at 10:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 AM ----------

update**

I just took Peanut on his am walk and i did not see the dog anywhere but i did stop and talk to one of my neighbors and he said he seen a dog that looked similar to Peanut but lighter color and i told him that was the same dog i seen. he told me when he seen him he was driving on the main road and seen the dog crossing traffic against the green light (one car had to slam on its breaks to avoid him) and seen him coming into the neighborhood. he thought of calling AC but knew it was after hours and was going to call 911 but didn't think they would come to a stray dog. i told him if he sees him again to call AC because they will get him off the street and if he has a chip they will scan him and get him home if he escaped.

i hope someone sees him and gets a hold of AC. i feel a little better though knowing others seen him and are going to do the right thing if they see him.

i know this seems dumb but it is bothering me. i feel so bad for this dog.

[ftpsoft]

It's not dumb.
Last week I tried my hardest to get this loose Shar Pei mix that was running around near a busy street. I got him away from the roads (just like you did) but he growled when I grabbed onto his collar so I wan't taking a chance, and AC was closed for the weekend. I still wonder what happened to that dog and feel a bit guilty, even though it's not my fault or responsibility.

[voksveta]

It's not your fault nor is it dumb that you are still thinking about the dog's safety, I would be the same way but you can only do so much.

[EvonsRorgon]

thanks you guys. i haven't seen him again today. i can only hope someone got a hold of him or the listing for a found dog i put on craigslist worked. i do have other people in the neighborhood looking out for him as well and they will call AC for him if they see him.

just a little while ago my sister in law told me she just seen a chihuahua mix looking dog wandering around. i don't know if they are related to each other and are looking for their way home or not. i just hope things work out and they are not dumps. i feel happy though i have some neighbors looking out and have them ready to make a call for stray dogs if found again.

if i find out more i will update.

---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:47 AM ----------

well i have checked on our AC website. he doesn't appear to be picked up yet (they update every 30 minutes) and he is not on the deceased list (thank god).

i feel like i am putting too much into this since he is not my dog and am not in the place to take in a new dog BUT i feel for him and want things to work out for him.

[EvonsRorgon]

i feel like a shitty person now. the dog was killed he is now on the DOA list for our AC they have him listed as 3 years old and he was killed right outside my neighborhood i wish i never looked i should have done more i feel like it is my fault this animal died. he was the same age as my boy. i am shaking right now. i failed this guy.

[AALee]

i feel like a shitty person now. the dog was killed he is now on the DOA list for our AC they have him listed as 3 years old and he was killed right outside my neighborhood i wish i never looked i should have done more i feel like it is my fault this animal died. he was the same age as my boy. i am shaking right now. i failed this guy.

NO YOU did not fail him, his owners did. Sweetie I feel so bad for you, but it is not even 1% your fault. So sorry this has hit you like it has. You are doing everything you can to ensure that YOUR boy is healthy, happy, and loved. Let that be the legacy that poor dog leaves you.