Found a stray...

[Labradorks]

I was walking the dogs last night around 8 or so. If it's dark I walk them down and back a particular street that has good sidewalks and lots of light. It's about a mile and there are houses on one side and a big park, community center, and school on the other. The park has a fenced-in dog park area that is unlit.

I walk by one way then turn around to walk back home and I see a guy walking by himself from out of nowhere. We pass. And then I hear barking from the dog park -- barking that I did not hear 10 minutes before (and the dog park is 6 feet from the sidewalk). I look and see a black dog at the gate. No person. I'm calling out "Hello? Is anyone there?" and looking for a human. Then I call out toward the guy walking alone and he doesn't acknowledge me. I see the guy get in a car and drive away. Weird.

Then, a woman across the street from the park pulls into her driveway and is getting groceries so I let her know that someone dumped the dog and that I was going to take my dogs home and come back with my phone, a leash, and a collar, and could she please keep an eye on the dog. She says she will.

As I'm walking the dogs back to my house, a woman pulls up to me in an SUV with a huge doberman barking it's face off in the back. She gets out and tells me that she and another woman were at the dog park and see this black dog running around loose in the park so they corralled him into the dog park to hold him as they could not take him home. She says she's going to go home and check Craigslist. OK...

So, I take the dogs home, grab my phone and the leash and collar and walk back to the dog park. I tell the woman across the street what I know and that I will handle it. I get a better look at the dog, it's a purebred black Lab, poorly bred and intact. Super sweet though. I stick my hand in the gate and pet him while I wait for someone to come by and say "That's my dog!". Finally after about 30 minutes I collar and leash him up and walk him around. I can't take him home because I don't have a place for him and my house is so small and now I have a cat who is not afraid of dogs and I have to work the next day so I can't deal with him.

I decided to call the County to come and get him and deal with it. However, the County does not have after hours pick-up. Great! I texted my trainer who usually has about three foster dogs plus her three. She offers to put him in a wire crate in her garage overnight. It's my best option. As I'm walking to the trainer's house (ironically she is my neighbor but we did not know that for years), I call another friend who has been thinking about getting another dog but is freaking out about getting a puppy and she prefers field Labs but it's hard to find well-bred field Labs around here. I jokingly told her I found her next dog and she offers to come and get him and deal with him since she doesn't work today.

My friend shows up and I offer to take him to my house and test him on Sam to ensure he is not dog-aggressive before she takes him home as she has another dog. He pretty much ignores Sam. She takes him home and I call my trainer to let her know she's off the hook.

I posted an ad on Craigslist and my neighborhood app last night. Nothing yet.

We talked this morning and while he did whine about 15 minutes per hour in the crate, he has not peed in the house. He loves to play ball, ignores her dog, and has destroyed at least six toys. He's got one broken canine tooth, the tip is broken off, not worn. He's not a big eater but drinks like a fish (nerves). Also, we both noticed that his nails are super short, like someone dremels them regularly. But his nails are also higher up than most Labs, more like a boxer. He has weird teeth (his upper canines are like twice as big as the lowers, even the one that's not broken) and a strange bite. He's got that extra skin just on the front of his neck that looks like a goiter. The rest of him is really sleek and he doesn't seem to have an undercoat.

He went to the vet this morning and no chip. Dang it! Also, three to five. He may have an old injury or hip dysplasia in one of his hips.

I really hope his owner comes through...

[labsnewfy]

Thank you for taking him. So very scary to think of what could have happened to him if you hadn't taken the time to find him a safe place to stay. My Tootsie had a lot of loose skin on her neck too.

[Labradorks]

Just got a call from his owner. Ironically his name is the same as my friend's dog who kept him overnight.

It's crazy to me that I didn't get a call until nearly noon the next day! Perhaps they do not have internet. I received a call and the only place I listed my number was on the County's found dog report online, but perhaps she called the shelter.

The loose skin is actually from an area that fills with fluid then goes back down, but the skin stays the same. It was a woman and there was a screaming baby with her and a husband in the background saying "Are they giving the dog back or what?" "Why are they asking questions?". So, I didn't get to talk much because the screaming baby was so incredibly loud.

My friend is dropping the dog off today and being outspoken, I'm sure she's going to ask why the dog was loose and why it took them so long to find him and why doesn't the dog have a chip? She might scare them into being more careful!

[Sue-Ram]

Hope your friend also tells them what you and her had to do to make sure their dog was going to be safe for the night.

[POPTOP]

Thank you so much for helping him find his home. Hope your friend does express her concerns.

[xracer4844]

Stories like this are sad - do dogs have to be registered where you live? I'm assuming he obviously didn't have tags or anything on because you had to get a collar...I wonder how the dog got out without tags or a collar or anything on. I always feel really bad for lost dogs, as it's usually not their fault for becoming lost. Thank you for helping him!!! A lot of people wouldn't look twice.

[Labradorks]

Talked to my friend and, well, the woman's idea of dog ownership is certainly not like any of ours. And my friend did let her know of about some low-cost options for vaccinations, chips, and neutering in our area. That's the best we can do... Hopefully she heeds her advice.

[Snowshoe]

A whirlwind read for me. Lost, found, new home, old home, maybe not so good old home. Hope you find out how he came to be alone at the dog park. Hope your friend can make an impression on his owners.

Oh, and, Yay You.

[Maxx&Emma]

Thank you for helping this poor dog. I hope your friend was able to educate the owners, sadly I have a feeling the advice went in one ear and out the other.

[KenZ71]

Crazy stuff. Many still think of pets as possessions not family.

The short clipped nails sounds like the only sign someone cared about him.