HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

was just walking in the woods behind my house, and a male dog approached mine. he is extremely friendly to my dogs, but aloof and afraid of me. he is wearing a collar, but it looks old and ragged and has no tag. he followed us home, and my first instinct was to put him in our yard.

i left out food, but he just took a few bites and left the rest. he won't come near me, but does not seem aggressive at all. he looks like a jack russell mix.

to make this a little more complicated, i have to work from 8p-8a tonight. so i have about 3 hours to figure out what to do with this pooch. i am thinking i can lure him into my garage, so at least there will be a roof over his head for the night while i go to work. but i'm afraid it will be too cold.

advice PLEASE.

Message edited 12/10/2006 10:29:58 AM.

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog

You are a sweetheart for taking the poor dog in. I think you can either leave him in the garage, if you can get him in there, or leave the garage door open for him to go in himself if it connects to your yard. Please contact your closest animal shelter as that is where most people look first when they lose a pet.

I hope you find his mommy and daddy soon -- best of luck and since pup can't thank you, I do.

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog

update - so i (stupidly) thought i would try to lure the dog from my backyard to my garage, except the two are not connected. so of course, the first thing the dog does when i open the gate to the backyard is run out! i thought i had lost him. but just a few minutes later i found him, whining, outside the gate to the backyard as if he wanted to come back in. i let him back into the yard, and lured him into my house and then into my garage with a can of tuna and a lot of help from owen (who is irresistible to all species - see my avatar pic ).

as we all sat around with the can of tuna, the dog approached me more readily and even let me touch him a bit, although he was clearly skittish and terrified.

the way he is acting towards me, i'm afraid that this dog either hasn't been owned for a long time, or has had a terrible past.

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog

You are so kind to take him in I would contact some local shelters to see if anyone reported him missing. Good luck and keep us posted

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog

Wow...you are so good to take him in. I hope you can find a place for him. He may be skittish from being on the street.

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pics

here he is! looks mostly like a jack russell, i think. i was finally able to get in touch with a rescuer in my area, who went through the protocol with me. basically i will file a "found dog" report with the local shelters, but i don't have to turn him into the (kill) shelter, thank God. if no one claims him in 5 days, then i can move ahead and find him a home. just sent the pics to the rescuer and she is putting her feelers out already - she says finding a good home for a small pooch shouldn't be a problem. i am so happy and relieved

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Message edited 12/10/2006 10:29:21 AM.

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

Any updates?

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

funny you should ask! i was just coming on to post an update.

the good news: Howard is doing wonderfully!! in one week he has gone from not wanting to come near me to jumping on me and licking my face. i am able to put a leash on him and take him for walks. seems like his urge to be part of the pack is greater than his fear, so he has come a LONG way!! he is gentle and not the least bit aggressive. he gets along with owen SO well, and they are playing in the backyard as we speak!

the bad news: i am allergic to him so i am constantly doped up on benadryl and claritin. he is also wreaking a bit of havoc in my house right now, between harrassing sophie (can't blame him, he's not neutered and she IS adorable ) and howling at night because he is confined to the garage (he hasn't been cleared by the vet yet, and is also not potty trained).

so... all in all, he doesn't quite fit into my family. but he is going to make someone else a terrific pet! if he is not claimed by monday, then he will officially be mine to neuter and put up for adoption. i have a local rescuer helping me do this. a couple of people have expressed interest already

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

Posted by alexlynn7

funny you should ask! i was just coming on to post an update.

the good news: Howard is doing wonderfully!! in one week he has gone from not wanting to come near me to jumping on me and licking my face. i am able to put a leash on him and take him for walks. seems like his urge to be part of the pack is greater than his fear, so he has come a LONG way!! he is gentle and not the least bit aggressive. he gets along with owen SO well, and they are playing in the backyard as we speak!

the bad news: i am allergic to him so i am constantly doped up on benadryl and claritin. he is also wreaking a bit of havoc in my house right now, between harrassing sophie (can't blame him, he's not neutered and she IS adorable ) and howling at night because he is confined to the garage (he hasn't been cleared by the vet yet, and is also not potty trained).

so... all in all, he doesn't quite fit into my family. but he is going to make someone else a terrific pet! if he is not claimed by monday, then he will officially be mine to neuter and put up for adoption. i have a local rescuer helping me do this. a couple of people have expressed interest already

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

I think it's great that you are trying to help this doggy find either it's owner or a new home!! Give yourself some kudos!!

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

that is so great what you did for that dog! Hopefully he can find a loving home!

Re: HELP- just found a stray dog - Update below with pic

hey guys, thanks so much for the support and well wishes

unfortunately we had a little "false alarm" yesterday - a neighbor told us that a family down the road had lost their mini-pinscher type dog, and we were so excited cause we were convinced that howard was the one! we drove there to speak to them, and got our hopes up... luckily for the family, they found their dog already... but unfortunately for howard, he hasn't been claimed i am just so sad that he doesn't have a forever family... he is the sweetest little guy