Dumped dog

Prepare to be outraged.

http://bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=112427

These "people" are my neighbors. They live three-quarters of a mile through the woods as the crow flies. I've only spoken with them twice. The last time was last August. One of them men said he had only six dogs at the time because he'd lost the other six to an illness the vet couldn't save them from. He seemed very sad over this, said he'd spent thousands of dollars trying to save them, and I felt bad for him. I wanted to talk to him more but he'd come to farmers market and it was a busy day. They're quiet people who live back off the road. I saw them only once after that when they were out walking.

I thought he sold his last six dogs because they stopped barking late in the winter. They stopped barking because he starved most of them to death and was working on killing the rest. He either lied about having only six or he bought 24 more. I now wonder what happened to the dogs that died two winters ago. Eighteen dead huskies still chained to their barrels. I can't imagine. Twelve more dogs were dehydrated and starving. A friend saw them. Imagine walking to the edge of your property and seeing these dead animals chained to the barrels they lived in.

Before these people lived on the property two of them made twice daily trips here to feed and water the dogs. They walked through deep snow to get to the animals. I don't understand how someone goes from making such efforts to tend these dogs to starving them to death.

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Robin

I can't even fathom letting animals just starve to death! Why not just shoot them in the back of the head and have it over with? That's a whole lot kinder to the animal than killing slowly over the course of several weeks.

I took in a dog years ago who turned out to be a cat killer. A sweet dog, well behaved around children, got along with my other dogs - killed 3 cats in one week. If I was honest about the problem, no shelter would take her for adoption (I tried). No breed rescue (she was a German Shepherd - gorgeous dog) was willing to take her on. I couldn't in good consciounce take her to a shelter in a different city and lie about the problem - then the new people take this sweet dog home and she kills their cats....

So I took her to the vet and had her put down. I felt horrible about it, but I couldn't keep her and nobody would take her knowing the problem. It never even occured to me to just dump her on the road and leave her to her fate.

right now i live with 8 dogs (from great dane to pit bull mix) - all of them were abandoned; the most recent one found us wednesday. the ones who want, live inside. the house is always a mess, furniture's been chewed on, peed on. my dog food bills are higher than my grocery bills, my vet gives me a quantity discount - all dogs see him twice a year; unfixed dogs get fixed. why am i doing this? because these guys make me laugh every day, they love me, protect me, keep me from feeling sorry for myself, make me appreciate sunshine and mud. i'm very happy that others who care about what happens to these creatures are out there! (i'm working on a method to turn dog poop into gold)

Makes me angry too. And frustrated. My Nina was a dumped dog, and after several years of living in a secure and loving environment, she's still a pain in the arse at times with her fearful dependence. Call it post-traumatic stress disorder or whatever, but she's permanently terrified of being left behind or taken to be dumped. She still has a very hard time sharing my attention with the other dogs as well.

And I just got through a month of dumped dog care, a deaf herding dog/husky mix pup who was simply way beyond what I could deal with. I took her to the Humane Society after trying to get her placed with different rescue groups who don't take "owner surrenders" (i.e., they rescue from kill shelters only, like from the HS). The irony is that the owner probably hauled the pup out here from there to save the $20 to drop her at the Humane Society. So, someone got stuck with taking the same 140-mile round trip and paying the fee, and guess who. My animal-loving friend and responsible goody-two-shoes here did.

My first Great Dane, Tess, was being dumped because the owner, a nice druggie, "couldn't feed her anymore". Hunter, my Dane boy, was either picked up as a stray or dropped off by someone at a shelter in Oklahoma, from where he made his way to a Dane rescue in Texas, from where I adopted him.

Designer, I understand where you're coming from too, though. It's really, really selfish and unfair of the dumpers to expect us to pick up the financial and emotional bill for their "easy solution".

Same old thing, same old attitude... it's their dog and they can do what they want with it, and there's no law against it, and it's none of your business, and somebody else can pick up the bill. And if it bothers you, just ignore the dog and don't get involved. *SIGH*. That's the kind of thing they used to say about men who beat their wives and slept with their daughters. Changing attitudes in the Land of The Free is a s-l-o-w process. It always seems to take a slew of stupid laws to make irresponsible people change.

This isn't just a country problem--dogs are dumped all the time in the cities, too. My husky is a stray that my fiancee found roaming the streets of Baltimore as a puppy. Last year I took in a nearly starved rottweiler mix puppy I found in the middle of a Chicago slum neighborhood--fattened him up, and found him a home in the suburbs. This year I've been feeding two strays who hang around the local park--they're too scared to let me touch them, but they like my dogs, and always eat the food I leave. I think it's better for them that they won't let anyone touch them--around here, they'd probably just be taken to the pound and put down, or picked up and abused by some jerk or dog fighter.

And, I had exactly the same experience as Jen awhile back. I was walking down the median of a very busy street, and saw the most beautiful two young dogs, probably shepherd mixes, mostly black with rich tan markings, but they were dirty and thin. I didn't know what I would do with them, already living in an apartment with two big dogs, but they were the type of dogs that I love and I would've figured out something. I tried to get them to come with me, but only one wanted to. The other was too afraid, and the friendly one wouldn't leave without it. I didn't have anything with me (leashes, treats), so I decided to come back with the car and some bait. When I did, the fearful one was lying dead in the street, tongue out, eyes open. His companion was gone. I couldn't help crying, I felt like I was going to throw up because I was so sick with the thought that that poor, mistreated, abandoned animal could've had a chance if I'd come back sooner. I couldn't even go into the street to move him to the side of the road, or I'd risk meeting the same fate he did. Who would dump a dog in the middle of an 8 lane highway? Thinking of that almost makes me feel charitable to the people who take the trouble to go out to the country to do it.

I don't have any sympathy for these people. I don't care if there are no shelters in their county (not a problem in Chicago--there are dozens)--do the right thing and drive the extra miles to the next county. Dogs don't deserve to die alone and confused.

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And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb.. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.. They shall not hurt nor destroy In all my holy mountain For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.