If you can't take care of an animal, don't get one. Anger here.

[Robb]

My feelings toward my girlfriend's sister today teetered on murderous. :grr:

As I'm driving into work, I see her dog, 8-month old Mal/wolf mix I distinctly told her was going to be a high-maintenance dog and she got anyway ... I see it trotting down the highway on the center line.

This is the fifth time this week (that's 5 out of 7 days) she hasn't secured that dog. And it heads down the highway toward my house, winding up outside howling at my dogs, safely in their kennel and as disturbed as every other well taken care of dog in the neighborhood.

So screw it, I call the county cops. I know them. I say hey, dog at large on the highway, go get it. And I go to work.

I find out when I get home today that the dog made it to my house and sat outside howling. The teenager got home, saw the dog, and put it in the kennel with the others. Sensible, I suppose. Called the owner and told her where it was.

AND DID SHE COME GET IT? NO! It's still here, 11 hours later. I've now given it dinner and cleaned its pee off two household items.

This is not the dog's fault. I have no anger toward the dog. But I have PLENTY toward his "owner," who apparently just called the teenager (the phone is never for me, why should I answer :D ) and told her to ask me for my FREAKING COCONUT SHRIMP RECIPE!

Teenager left, the owner is supposedly going to call back in 15 minutes, as she's at the GROCERY STORE rather than TAKING CARE OF HER DOG.

Fear for her. Fear for her when she calls here. :grr:

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. Is it too late to find a good home?

:(

I can understand people that can't afford or don't pamper their pets or who end up in unfortunate situations where they can't afford to take care of the pets. However, people that are freaking lazy deserve to be tasered.

:(


Poor puppy. I kind of hope some nice family finds it on its next trip out. probably very unlikely.

[barb162]

2. This kind of behavior is more common than you may think

Sick fuck bastards get tired of their dogs and cats, they take them in a car somewhere and kick them out of the back seat and the dog (or cat) is sitting in the road crying (what did I do wrong). I do shelter work. These are often the best damned animals you have ever seen as I know people who adopted them and they are PERFECT well-behaved animals who never ever should have been tossed like garbage..

[driver8]

4. Those people are not humans...

anyone who would do that to a living creature is a piece of shit.

The poor, discarded dog or cat doesn't understand why their "family" abandoned them...leaves them to fend for themselves.

Barb, bless you for the work you do. I am thinking of getting involved with the shelter where we got our dog. I don't think I could work at a "kill" facility -- that would tear me up. Our local shelter is a "no kill" and always needs help.

[flaminbats]

16. God bless you!

Qui auxilium dat verus est amicus..he who gives help is a true friend.

Almost all of my dogs and relatives' dogs were dumped. Imagine being left behind without food, water, or any hope. You can chase cars, follow complete strangers, and search for a home. But many of the strangers only throw rocks at you, you get hit by a passing car, or a dogcatcher arrives to have you put to sleep.

Only a heartless, dishonest, and worthless monster could stoop to such lows, driving a living being to the other side of town then just drive away! Yet every dumped dog I own has given me more love, loyalty, and happiness than I have ever received from a human. Dogs are living pets, not wild animals or free toys to merely be thrown aside once we no longer need them! Dogs are our responsibility, not cute furry things to be locked away in the pound or left behind to wander on the street.

We all can solve this very simply, everyone should have their pets fixed! We have a shortage of responsible owners, but we shall never have a shortage of pets. Too bad our government just doesn't give a crap.

[Robb]

3. Well, I suck.

She called and the teenager was still here, so I didn't go off on her. :(

Now I'm alone, and I want to call her back and chew her out, but I'm wussing out.

Damn.

[ahem]

6. Call her back.

The pup deserves better, and the owner needs some tough love.

You can do it :hug:

[friesianrider]

7. I agree ahem!

You can do it, Robb - do it for the pup, who can't speak up for what he needs. :hug:

[flvegan]

8. Nah, you don't suck.

Not in the least.

[friesianrider]

5. You are 150% right.

People like this have NO business getting a dog. If you aren't willing to treat your pet similarly to how you'd treat a child, DO NOT GET IT. Just don't. My pet peeve is people who "move" or "have a baby" and need to get rid of the dog (read: dump it at a relatives/friends/shelter).

She deserves you bitching her out, and I hope you do. It sounds like the dog is lucky to have someone who cares for it - you!

Good luck - please let us know how it goes. :hug: Trust me when I say I have been there, done that and understand you completely. People like this irritate the shit out of me too.

[flvegan]

9. Bingo. Here it is...

friesianrider is 100% correct here.

[driver8]

21. Hell, some people move and just leave the dog behind!!!

I have heard of this more than once. This guy I work with rescued two dogs that an owner had left behind when he moved. He moved out of a house and left the dogs in the yard like a piece of furniture.

My friend said he took the dogs home, cleaned them up, fed them and they now live with him. He said they are awesome dog, too.

[BikeWriter]

10. That really sucks. That animal needs lots of exercize and attention.

[Tallison]

11. Props for distinguishing b/w

what the dog does and his owner's irresponsible behavior. It's heartbreaking when people fail to grasp the difference.

[friesianrider]

14. Excellent point, Tallison.

Most (if not all) animal problems are a direct result of irresponsible owners.

[zigster]

12. My next door neighbor....

Owned a dog. But he had it penned up by the side of the house (the side that my bedroom window overlooks). My neighbor never played with the dog, never took it for walks, never allowed it inside the more spacious backyard. Oh, he kept it fed and watered and cleaned up after the dog, but never played with it. As a result, the dog barked at anything and everything that moved, mostly out of lonliness. I felt bad for the dog. Especially in bad weather. The neighbor had no shelter for the dog out there. No dog house. When it rained or snowed, the dog would rub his nails on the side door and whine untill someone opened the door to let him in. One time I heard the dog whine and bark in a strange way even though it was a very nice day. I looked out my bedroom window and noticed that the dog had somehow gotten his leash hooked on a part of the fence and was slowly strangling to death (no doubt he got into that position when he was barking at someone). I threw my clothes on, raced downstairs and outside, and went straight to the dog to try to get him off the fence but whenever I moved my hands near his head to try to unhook his leash from the fence, he barked at me ferociously. Though the dog barking at me was out of sheer fright, I have no doubt that he would have bitten off my hands. So I went to the dog owners front door, rang their bell to let them know that their dog was hanging on the fence, being slowly strangled by his own leash. They got him off the fence and never put a leash on him again. But as usual, they never played with the dog or let him in the house, except in bad weather.

Then my neighbor sold his house and moved away. This new neighbor had TWO dogs, and penned it by the same spot where the previous owner penned up his! And JUST LIKE the previous owner, he never interacted with his dogs. Feeds them, cleans up after them, but rarely if ever plays with them. And these dogs bred a couple more dogs. Thankfully this one has a few dog houses built out there, BUT he exapnded his house which took away some of whatever little room the dogs had to roam around there. So now I've got several dogs under my window barking at everything and anything that moves.

And to top it all off, I've got 4 cats dumped on me by people who decided they didnt want them anymore (which have cost me thousands in vet bills over the years). Two dumped on me by my sister. It seems that she cant say no when someone dumps a cat on her. Then days later she decides that she doesnt want a cat to take care of, dumps it5 on me. Then turns around and gets another cat dumped on her by another "friend". Then AGAIN decides that she too doesnt want a cat and dumps it on me again. (I havent got the heart to dump these cats in a shelter or anywhere else. So I wind up adopting them)

[friesianrider]

13. You're a good person, zigster.

You are wonderful for keeping those kitties. I had my very wealthy uncle dump his two cats on me because apparently throwing down some food twice a day was "getting to be too much" for his do-nothing wife who had a maid, nanny, and no job.

It sucks when people think of pets as furniture which can just be bounced around from house to house until someone decides it fits their lifestyle. You are a wonderful person for taking them in, and giving them the lifelong home they deserve. They think the world of you, I've no doubt :)

[zigster]

15. Thanks :-)

Thats the best part. The cats give me unconditional love. No matter how stressful or bad day I've had, coming home to them puts me in a more relaxing mood.

[NMMNG]

17. Sounds like you have a heart of gold zigster

Although your neighbor sounds rather negligent :( .

Welcome to DU, by the way.

[NMMNG]

18. I agree with you Robb

People sometimes get a pet, then brush off things like medications, veterinary appointments, nutritional needs and the like. They don't take into account that a pet can cost thousands of dollars over its lifespan, if properly cared for. And if a person is not willing to properly care for the animal they shouldn't get it because that means they are not fit to own it. This isn't some toy, it is a living being that feels pain and emotions. It needs proper care just like a human being so if you're not willing to provide it then get yourself a chia-pet or a pet-rock. :rant:

[enigmatic]

19. Jesus

I absolutely HATE that shit; I've wanted strangle people who treat their pets like some sort of disposable property.

[Lorien]

20. A Suggestion; get her the book "living with wolfdogs"

or "wolfdogs, A-Z" (available at Amazon). A friend of mine has a malamute/wolf mix, and the dogs can be a SERIOUS handful if they don't receive proper care and training early in life.Either book is VERY candid about all that can go wrong, and offers clear, easy to follow instructions for training and care to avoid future problems.Your girlfriend's sister could be very enlightened by the read. If she decides that she hasn't got what it takes to properly (and safely) raise a wolfdog after reading the book, there are wolfdog rescue groups in most states that can help her to re-home the animal.

Thanks for caring; animals need advocates like you!

:hi: