[cllockhart]

I need a little advice from someone. There is a woman who lives a couple blocks away from me in my small neighborhood who has a very tiny (maybe 4 lbs) dog. She leaves this dog outside in her backyard all day long. Her fence is not a fence that can contain a dog of that size, it is only a small picket fence. The dog can easily get out of it and she does every day. I find her at my house a few times a week and I feed her and then return her home. When she is at my house she gobbles up all the food I give her and I am just worried she is not being fed enough at home. I am also very worried that someone is going to hit her as she roams the streets. I have talked to her about the fact that the dog gets out but she won't do anything to keep the dog safe.

I am just wondering where I should go from here. The dog doesn't wear a collar and is not spade either. All of this really worries me. I just don't know what to do. I have decided that I am not going to take her back to her owner one more time just to let her get out again. I know mistakes happen and dogs get loose sometimes (my little doggie has managed to get out once before :-( but I am not going to wait for this dog to get hit by a car before doing something about it! I just need to know what I should do next time I find this little girl at my house...

Please help!

[cllockhart]

I need a little advice from someone. There is a woman who lives a couple blocks away from me in my small neighborhood who has a very tiny (maybe 4 lbs) dog. She leaves this dog outside in her backyard all day long. Her fence is not a fence that can contain a dog of that size, it is only a small picket fence. The dog can easily get out of it and she does every day. I find her at my house a few times a week and I feed her and then return her home. When she is at my house she gobbles up all the food I give her and I am just worried she is not being fed enough at home. I am also very worried that someone is going to hit her as she roams the streets. I have talked to her about the fact that the dog gets out but she won't do anything to keep the dog safe.

I am just wondering where I should go from here. The dog doesn't wear a collar and is not spade either. All of this really worries me. I just don't know what to do. I have decided that I am not going to take her back to her owner one more time just to let her get out again. I know mistakes happen and dogs get loose sometimes (my little doggie has managed to get out once before :() but I am not going to wait for this dog to get hit by a car before doing something about it! I just need to know what I should do next time I find this little girl at my house...

Please help!

[Aurora_Bell]

If the dog is running free, you can always call animal control, the thing is they will take the dog, place him in the pound, and if the original owner does not claim him in X number of days, then he goes up for adoption, and hopefully he will be brought to a no kill shelter. You can also talk to the animal control officer and maybe see if they would speak with the owner of the pup.

It's a tough situation, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Good luck with what ever you decide! :)

[Cat1864]

How old is the dog's owner? If she is elderly or infirm, does she need help trying to make her fence puppy proof? Would you be willing to help with labor if it turned out that the animal is well cared for other than where it is kept during the day?

I would contact animal control or talk to the owner again. Keeping the dog could be seen as stealing since you know who her owner is.

I would not continue to feed her when she shows up. One, some dogs will eat like they are starving every time they see food so you can't use it as way to know how much she is getting fed. Two, it encourages the dog to run away from home to get extra food. Giving the pup more incentive and a reward for getting out is not helpful to anyone.

[cllockhart]

The owner is not elderly and she has 5 teenage sons that live at home and 2 sons that are in middle school. So she has plenty of help fixing her fence. I don't necessarily want to keep the dog myself but I know plenty of people who would love him and care for her much more.

[Aurora_Bell]

You can't steal a dog. I understand how frustrated you are, but you can not steal some one else's pet. I suggest speaking with an animal control officer to see if they will speak to your neighbor.