Glad the dog has a great, forever home with you !
[QUOTE=NorCalDressage;7580942]
Her “wall” was not public. Just some photos - about 15 were public.
She’s a dobie, BTW :D[/QUOTE]
And so is mine! 
A totally natural girl, with floppy ears and a long tail.
[QUOTE=vacation1;7580698]
Interesting thread. . . The quick, harsh assumption that the original owners were “lesser” makes it pretty clear that a lot of people are thinking of themselves with great satisfaction - we’re good owners, we’d NEVER breed a dog that wasn’t an AKC champion or a superlative duck retriever, etc. We’d NEVER not find our lost dog in 5 months. We’d NEVER lose our dog. Yeah, well, maybe.
.[/QUOTE]
Well, yeah. That’s exactly what I was thinking.
I would never breed a dog who was not proven.
I have never lost a dog, in over fifty years of owning, training, competing and showing, for more than an hour.
And five months? Really? You think that’s somehow defensible? No matter what the reason, it means there are things in the original owner’s life waaaay more important than the dog. So? It’s lucky for the dog the OP has her now.
I cannot.believe. the shelter worker chickened out and contacted you. She must’ve been new. Most shelter workers I know develop a real antipathy towards “OMG lost poopsie for like five months and now I want her back” types real quick.
So happy for the dobe bitch that she’s with you. I had one of those once. Wonderful girl.
[QUOTE=SaturdayNightLive;7580643]
I hate irresponsible pet owners more than probably anything else on the planet, so take that for what it’s worth…
Keep the dog.
My husband, my parents, my in laws, and myself would all have to be DEAD before my dog went somewhere where her whereabouts weren’t known every single day. No way is she gone for 5 months and I don’t know about it (unless I’m DEAD).
Mom in the story had two kids not in the hospital, and she didn’t farm them out to some rando. How hard would it have been to make sure the dog has food and water and gets outside a couple of times a day?
Sorry, but I call BS on the whole story. Good on you for standing your ground, OP.[/QUOTE]
Early this year my sister had a stroke and spent a month+ in the hospital. She had just moved cross country 3 days before. Her DH is not all fond of her cats. Had my mother not gone out there immediately, her cats could have been gone very easily. “Oops left the door open, sorry” Sister was not really capable of much for quite some time and making sure the cats had food and water would have been impossible for her, if she even remembered. Her memory was shot for some time after the stroke. It took almost a week to realize she couldn’t see because she didn’t have her contacts in, not because the stroke screwed with her vision.
Does my sister’s jerk of DH make her a crappy pet owner? If so, WTF??
This is not the story of the OP, but before you go and throw stones, you better hope to God you never live in a glass house. Your glib assertions of superiority could change quickly if something unexpected happens to you.
[QUOTE=red mares;7581751]
Early this year my sister had a stroke and spent a month+ in the hospital. She had just moved cross country 3 days before. Her DH is not all fond of her cats. Had my mother not gone out there immediately, her cats could have been gone very easily. “Oops left the door open, sorry” Sister was not really capable of much for quite some time and making sure the cats had food and water would have been impossible for her, if she even remembered. Her memory was shot for some time after the stroke. It took almost a week to realize she couldn’t see because she didn’t have her contacts in, not because the stroke screwed with her vision.
Does my sister’s jerk of DH make her a crappy pet owner? If so, WTF??
This is not the story of the OP, but before you go and throw stones, you better hope to God you never live in a glass house. Your glib assertions of superiority could change quickly if something unexpected happens to you.[/QUOTE]
Why on earth would you marry someone that would accidentally on purpose “lose” your pets while you’re in the hospital?!
Does doing so make you a bad pet owner? Not really. It does make you a terrible judge of character though.
I think it’s cute that people keep trying to come up with scenarios where it is okay to be neglectful enough of your pets that they disappear for 5 months before you notice.
Sorry, not buying it. But good news! My opinion doesn’t matter, so if you can sleep at night and look yourself in the mirror, keep on keeping on.
Be very careful with the information you give them, OP. You’ve gotten a lot of good advice here. I’ve personally dealt with a similar circumstance. I used to work at a dog daycare that worked closely with several rescues in town. One of my coworkers, a good friend of mine, agreed to foster a Chihuahua whose owner wanted to give her up to one of the rescues. The owner had gotten a new Chi puppy (an apple Chi, where her old dog was a deer Chi) and no longer wanted her older dog. Said she was a mean dog, and not good with other dogs. The woman was SUPER flakey, and continually made plans that she didn’t keep (“I’ll drop her off at the daycare on such-and-such day”). For months this went on, until she finally called up and said she wanted the dog gone tomorrow (don’t they always?). Thankfully, my coworker hadn’t gotten another foster in the meantime, and took the dog home. The woman went through all the paperwork with the rescue and disappeared. The Chi was not at all “mean” or “bad with dogs”, and was actually a very sane, somewhat pretty girl. My friend fell in love, and adopted her herself. The Chi adjusted well, got over some bad habits, and became kind of a spokesdog for the daycare. I’ve never been a little dog person, but ended up adopting a Chi/Italian Greyhound mix myself after seeing what a fun dog she was.
Months later, the old owner showed up at our daycare. She asked after the Chi, and eventually asked if she could have her back. It was made clear to her that that wasn’t an option, but that if she wanted to see the dog, she was often at the daycare. Months later, she showed up again, wanting to see her and asking if she was up for adoption. It was a really uncomfortable situation for everyone, and the woman acted VERY strange. She’d talk about how unhappy the dog looked, and how the dog obviously missed her (when in reality, the poor girl cowered when she walked in). She continued with these random visits for maybe a year. Just when we thought she’d forgotten (supposedly she moved away), she’d turn up again. The woman claimed she was having some mental issues when she gave up her dog (which I can believe, she clearly did have existing issues), but that doesn’t mean she has some right to come get her back when she feels like it. Especially after telling us that she’d never wanted a deer Chi anyway. It was a really bad situation. We literally had a system in place where one of us would casually stand between her and the door (cleaning the windows or whatever other excuse). Even some of the other dogs owners commented on how she sometimes looked like she was about to grab the dog and run. Never was I so thankful for our dog owners who were big burly men who were willing to hang out with us whenever she was there during pick up. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gotten violent with us.
Anyway, that was my long winded way of saying be very, very careful. There are a lot of crazy people out there.
[QUOTE=SaturdayNightLive;7581768]
Why on earth would you marry someone that would accidentally on purpose “lose” your pets while you’re in the hospital?!
Does doing so make you a bad pet owner? Not really. It does make you a terrible judge of character though.
I think it’s cute that people keep trying to come up with scenarios where it is okay to be neglectful enough of your pets that they disappear for 5 months before you notice.
Sorry, not buying it. But good news! My opinion doesn’t matter, so if you can sleep at night and look yourself in the mirror, keep on keeping on.[/QUOTE]
Wow. Must be nice to live in a perfect world where you know exactly what will happen in every given situation. News flash…shit happens…to all kinds of people. Even those that think they are the perfect pet parents may one day find themselves in a situation where they are not in complete control. But I guess that could NEVER happen to you…
I was simply trying to point out that situations may not be what they seem at first glance.
PS. I sleep just fine…and I like to think the person looking back at me in the mirror tries to see both sides of a story.
[QUOTE=SaturdayNightLive;7581768]
Sorry, not buying it. But good news! My opinion doesn’t matter, so if you can sleep at night and look yourself in the mirror, keep on keeping on.[/QUOTE]
Honestly, I’m wondering how you can look at yourself in the mirror. The light reflecting from your halo must be absolutely blinding.
Like asb above, I try to see both sides of a situation. There have been lots of times where it’s kept me from jumping to conclusions and looking like an @ss. But people like you make me look great when they do, so keep at it.
[QUOTE=red mares;7581972]
Honestly, I’m wondering how you can look at yourself in the mirror. The light reflecting from your halo must be absolutely blinding.
Like asb above, I try to see both sides of a situation. There have been lots of times where it’s kept me from jumping to conclusions and looking like an @ss. But people like you make me look great when they do, so keep at it.[/QUOTE]
You’re taking the whole conversation awfully personally. It’s an internet bb.
After thinking about this, are you positive the dog you adopted is the actually the former owner’s dog? With the age discrepancy, and the flaky story, I’m wondering if the dog you have is even the dog they used to have.
That thought occurred to me as well… I mean, no offense to Rottie owners, but, um, they all kinda look alike :lol: It’s not like it’s a Whippet or a Beagle or a Collie. Rotties have a standard black with tan eyebrows and points, not much variation. Like Black Labs.
If my husband let my cats loose while I was in the hospital I’d go directly from the hospital to divorce court. That’s awful.
I think the dog is a Doberman, but I agree that there are a few color variations, but many look rather similar from a picture. I really bet this isn’t the original owner’s dog, and that they are harassing the wrong person. I would be totally enraged that private information was given out by AC.
[QUOTE=enjoytheride;7582731]
If my husband let my cats loose while I was in the hospital I’d go directly from the hospital to divorce court. That’s awful.[/QUOTE]
My sister is OK and the cat’s are fine. DH still doesn’t like her cats. She still doesn’t like his pug. Just throwing a situation that could well have occurred, worst case (like we needed things any worse). BTW, DH now thinks the toilet leaks b/c one cat wets next to it.:lol:
I’ve been to a couple funerals/wakes where there was a lot of
“I’d never…”
“There’s no reason for…”
“I can’t believe…”
and some pretty nasty things were said. When the truth came out, things were not as all as they appeared. There were many old bats who ended up eating a lot of crow and humble pie. Lesson learned.
[QUOTE=JanM;7582897]
I think the dog is a Doberman, but I agree that there are a few color variations, but many look rather similar from a picture. I really bet this isn’t the original owner’s dog, and that they are harassing the wrong person. I would be totally enraged that private information was given out by AC.[/QUOTE]
Given that this dog is a purebred Doberman and given that she was found running loose (and apparently wasn’t micro chipped) I, too, wonder how anyone knows that this dog once belonged to this family. If the dog was a very unusual looking mixed breed or a breed with more unique color patterns, then it would be easier to prove. However, Dobermans tend to look a lot like other Dobermans of the same color pattern.
Except you’re wrong…according to the OP’s post on page 3 the mother was in the hospital. Just thought I’d point this out since you felt the need to get all snarky with me that my scenario had nothing to do with this situation…
Sounds to me like my scenario might be very similiar…if indeed this is the same dog.
The sob story sounds a little fishy to me.
Then again, I am still looking for my hound; who disappeared over one year ago.
Well cared for much loved pets do get out. Just because someone finds their dog months after it was lost - does not mean they just discovered it was missing or they did not care.
Some people look for lost/stolen pets for years - and never get closure.
That owner is lucky. At least they know their dog is ok. After this much time it’s kind of ballsy to ask for the dog back. Then again… if I found Atticus I’d ask for him back too. I’m sure the local shelters are sick of me sending them photos.
I can see both sides of it. But given your story I’d guess that the dog is better off with you. I can only hope that if my Atticus is in someone’s home, that they love him as much as I did.
[QUOTE=red mares;7582946]
My sister is OK and the cat’s are fine. DH still doesn’t like her cats. She still doesn’t like his pug. Just throwing a situation that could well have occurred, worst case (like we needed things any worse). BTW, DH now thinks the toilet leaks b/c one cat wets next to it.:lol:
I’ve been to a couple funerals/wakes where there was a lot of
“I’d never…”
“There’s no reason for…”
“I can’t believe…”
and some pretty nasty things were said. When the truth came out, things were not as all as they appeared. There were many old bats who ended up eating a lot of crow and humble pie. Lesson learned.[/QUOTE]
I’m not trying to say that I am better than anyone else, but if I were charged with caring for a pet while someone was ill, it wouldn’t really matter whether I liked the pet or not - I’d do everything in my power to take the best care of that animal that I possibly could and if the animal did get lost, I’d be horrified and looking absolutely everywhere to find him or her.
I actually once cared for a family friend’s dog while he was in the hospital. He didn’t want to call an ambulance because of the dog, so we drove over and drove him to the hospital and took the dog home. I cared for the dog for several months. She was older and very much a one person dog. I took great care of her because it was the right thing to do. I can’t imagine one spouse being careless with the other’s pet while a spouse was incapacitated. That doesn’t sound like a good relationship to me, and I hope you are selling your brother-in-law short on this. That doesn’t sound like the way to treat someone that you care about. In the case of my own family members, if they were injured or sick and needed help with a pet, I’d always be willing to help. If they were in an accident and a pet was lost, I’d be willing to drive to shelters to help look. A friend’s dog was lost a few months ago, and everyone she knew was searching the area, photos of found pets at the shelter, etc.
Perhaps the lady in this case did not have anyone to help - we don’t know. However, if I were in this situation with a 7 year old dog, and someone did adopt her and she had a good home, then honestly I’d try to be thankful that the dog wasn’t killed by a car and had been adopted instead of euthanized. It isn’t reasonable to expect shelters to keep dogs for months before adopting them out, and it isn’t reasonable to expect adopters to give dogs back after they’ve had months to become attached and provided care to an animal with the expectation that the animal belonged to them.
[QUOTE=JSwan;7582997]
That owner is lucky. At least they know their dog is ok. After this much time it’s kind of ballsy to ask for the dog back. Then again… if I found Atticus I’d ask for him back too. I’m sure the local shelters are sick of me sending them photos.
I can see both sides of it. But given your story I’d guess that the dog is better off with you. I can only hope that if my Atticus is in someone’s home, that they love him as much as I did.[/QUOTE]
Your post reminded me of the Judgment of Solomon (from the Bible). I hope you find your dog.
Dobes… I have two red dobes. One 7 years old, the other a pup at 5 months. At 50 feet its hard to tell which is which unless they’re standing side by side. Beside the size difference, the different markings are subtle.
