Name ideas?

[Sandysmom]

I have posted him in several lost pet sites and I know others have shared that post. I check the sites frequently to see if anyone is looking for him. He doesn’t seem the type to have just gone on walkabout as he’s been sticking very close to the house. He also doesn’t seem like the type to spook and run. I’ll take him in to the vet to check for a microchip when I go in to get HW meds.

The AC system is virtually non existent here. There is no AC in the rural areas. The sheriff is spread pretty thin so isn’t going to fuss over a lost dog. In the city, the Arkansas side has a shelter and one AC officer. They can barely handle city strays and the shelter has a high kill rate. The Texas side has 1 AC officer but no shelter. IDK what they do with strays. The Arkansas shelter charged $160/animal for owner surrenders so dumping is rampant.
I feel I’ve done my part to find his owners, other than looking for a chip which I’ll do. No one seems to be looking for him. If I see a poster or ad looking for him, I’ll gladly hand him over with proper proof of ownership. Meanwhile he’s fed, safe and warm.

[candyappy]

Rural areas like mine can have a lot of people who don’t put a microchip in their animals?

Hopefully he wasn’t dumped but people who are looking for their dog check online sites and call the area vets and AC ( if you have one) or humane society and shelters and put up( or look for) flyers .

Unless he was scared and really traveled far I would think you would have overlapped somehow by now.

It is deer season here and some dogs just go running scared when the shooting starts.

No matter what happens I am glad he found you. Sounds like either he will be reunited with his people or have new people to love and is safe.

[Sandysmom]

Same here @candyappy. I’ve never found a microchipped animal. It’s deer season here too and I’m surrounded by hunting properties. He hasn’t reacted to gun shots when we’re out walking. We were walking a few days ago when out popped a buck and doe right under the dogs’ noses. They all looked but no one took off after them. I was kind of proud of the dogs as 2 of them are hounds.

[S1969]

@Sandysmom

No one seems to be looking for him.

This is so selfish.

How do you know? What if he’s from 20 miles away? What if he was traveling and got loose on the side of the road? I can think of a million scenarios where you wouldn’t see a posting or ad for a lost dog unless you were actively looking for them. Which would include contacting local vets and having the dog scanned for a microchip.

Making the assumption that he doesn’t have a microchip is bizarre. Just because many people don’t, doesn’t mean no one does. Do your dogs have chips? Most vets recommend them, and they aren’t expensive…so it’s not unreasonable to think that he might be chipped. Why wouldn’t you check just to be sure?

I agree that I am very glad you are not dropping him off at a shelter. Thank goodness. But my heart is breaking to think there is a family actively looking for him and you might have their names right inside the dog at this point in time.

[candyappy]

@Sandysmom

I’ll take him in to the vet to check for a microchip when I go in to get HW meds.

@S1969 The OP plans to as per this post?

[S1969]

Which is when? It’s been a week.

[Sandysmom]

Probably tomorrow. I live in a very rural area. With the price of gas being high I plan my trips into town carefully. But I’ll be really shocked if he’s chipped.

[mommy_peanut]

Unfortunately, unless where you are going has a newer scanner, it may not read all chip frequencies.
Unless it is a very old scanner, even if it can’t correctly read the chip, it should still alter that one is present.

[Sandysmom]

Took Toby into the vet to check for a microchip. No chip found.

[rubygirl1968]

I’m not surprised. I’ve had at least 7 cats show up at my house and only one was chipped. (I’ve lost count at this point).

I’m glad he found you.

[CHT]

Sadly Toby may have been dumped by someone who was annoyed by him (if his owner let him run amok), so he may be miles from home - but it sounds like you are doing right by him and there is only so much you can do if the collar doesn’t have tags and the pup isn’t chipped. I hope you either find his people or he fits in well with your home!

[Sandysmom]

That’s possible or his people didn’t want him anymore. He was very well behaved on the ride into the vets. He just lay in the backseat or looked out the window. Unlike my coonhound who bays the whole way in to town and tries to climb in the front seat. Other than normal puppy silliness, he’s very well behaved. His worst habit is jumping up but we’re working on that and he’s getting better. He’s good in the crate, doesn’t roam and stays fairly close to me on walks. When a car passes us, he comes close to me and stays until they pass.

[S1969]

I’m glad you checked. I don’t understand why people don’t chip their dogs, but people are weird.

Dumping dogs isn’t a thing in my area. Like - never. It’s unheard of. Cats, yes, people often dump litters of barn cats for example. Very sad to think of dumping a mature dog that would be adoptable.

I was in FL recently and saw two big dogs roaming along a side road by a busy interstate when I was driving across central FL to go back to the airport. Nothing like that is seen in my area.

[candyappy]

@S1969

I’m glad you checked. I don’t understand why people don’t chip their dogs, but people are weird.

No need to? My dogs have a rabies tag. It has my vets phone number and if they can get close enough to the dog ( not likely with my 3) all they need to do is call my vet and give them the tag number and my info is right there.

This dog didn’t have a rabies tag @Sandysmom ? Just a collar no tags?

[Sandysmom]

@S1969, around here dogs are lucky if the get vaccinations and heartworm preventative much less a microchip. Some of the rescues microchip their dogs, my coonhound was microchipped by the rescue I got him from and I think one of the cats is. Dumping is rampant. When I was checking the lost and found groups, found dogs outnumbered lost dogs about 2 to 1 and most of the found dogs were dumped.
@candyappy, nope, no rabies tag. I’d have called the vet if he had one. My dogs have brass name plates on their collars or rabies tags.

[S1969]

Yeah but one of the top scenarios for lost dogs is somehow slipping out of a collar….which is not hard for many breeds to accomplish on a daily basis depending on their head shape.

And collars can be dangerous, especially with dangling tags. Just like non-breakable halters on horses. My dogs don’t wear collars at home but they do when we travel.

Also stolen dogs are unlikely to still have an original collar so it’s a way of proving ownership. Which I realise is probably not terribly common in an area where so many dogs are generally unwanted.

But it’s like $30 and lasts a lifetime. I just can’t understand not chipping a dog you want.

[Zu_Zu]

I love your new dog ! Bless you for giving him his forever home ~

[Sandysmom]

I think he’s settling in. I’ve had a lot of people on the lost pet sites say he looks like a coyote. One lady was certain he was a coyote and I was trying to scam or troll the site. Took a couple of people who know me to convince her it was for real. I call him my Dire Wolf.

[phantomhorse]

goodness help us all if someone figures out how to breed merle into coyotes!

[Jenerationx]

They’ll be the next $7k-10K rare color pet.