He followed me home...

[Courtney]

So I drive up to the house tonight and sitting next to the garbage cans out front was this.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1157/1357407745_19906e1071.jpg

Clearly, not a stupid dog! Of all the houses on the street to sit in front of, he certainly picked the right one. That, or he is a hellhound sent to protect the Antichrist. (it's a tossup, really)

Adam said he was sitting there when he got home too. How sad! I got out of my car and he let me pet him though he was not overly friendly and trusting. I let my dogs out and fed them, then got some ground meat and kibble in a bowl for him. I went outside and called for him and he came running from the shadows (HELLHOUND). I put the food down for him and he sniffed and ate it.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1021/1357404689_4a74b190c4.jpg

He really is a cutie. I think he is some sort of boxer/lab/border collie mix.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1107/1357410521_121e8d69a8.jpg

However, to add to the mystery, he is gone now - AND SO IS THAT FOOD BOWL!! SERIOUSLY!!! Did it go back into hell with him or what?? Did someone pick him up and take the bowl with him? Did he pick up the bowl? Really strange, no????

[Linus]

Uh, YEAH! Hellhound! The all black thing doesn't help his case either! And that one glowing eye - CREEPY!

He probably took the bowl with him hoping the manna from heaven would fill it up again where ever he is. :lol:

[Courtney]

Okay, he is sitting in the neighbors' yard. Just sitting there - hanging out. It is really sad, actually and breaks my heart. He looks so lost. I wonder if someone dumped him.

But if my neighbors have recently adopted a child or hired a surrogate mother (they are two men) - I am going to be very upset!!!!!!!!!

[catstamm]

Aren't you worried he will get hit by a car or something :sosad:
Does he have the food bowl with him ???:duh:

[Courtney]

Yes I am worried but as long as he sits in the neighbors' yard he is just at risk of hearing bad techno music and being woken up at 2am when they come home. Our street is very quiet and not busy, very low traffic. I reported him to Animal Control tonight. I feel terrible but what else can I do? I can't put him in the yard or bring him inside. The shelter is closed right now. He seems kind of content.....to guard Damien. Stray dogs are a huge problem in Dallas especially in South Dallas where I live. If I thought he belonged to someone (besides Satan) maybe I could do more but I am just kind of at a loss for the poor dude.

[catstamm]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Maybe he'll hang out since you fed him until AC can come and get him..... If you wake up to him sitting on your porch w/ the bowl....RUN :shocked:

[Rileybugg]

He is probably blind in that one eye. I have 2 that photograph like that. Oh I hope the poor guy wasn't dumped. I hate people.:please:

[Otto'sMom]

I wish I could help him. I loves me some misunderstood black dogs.:hearts:

[Tex]

Hopefully, AC will pick him up and he can find a brand new home!!:banana: Other than your front porch or driveway.........:rolleyes: .

[Otto'sMom]

Hopefully, AC will pick him up and he can find a brand new home!!:banana: Other than your front porch or driveway.........:rolleyes: .

Ah, happy endings. I once believed in them. Being picked up by animal control, which is a better fate than the being run over by a car, probably won't have the happiest of endings for a big black dog. Just let down by people over and over. *NOT YOU COURTNEY* at least you cared enough to feed him and make sure he didn't get run over.

[Courtney]

I know. I know what his fate is, but - the reality is this town is overpopulated and people suck hard. Our neighborhood isn't overrun but we do get stray dogs in from time to time. Our shelter, as crappy as it is, does a good job of getting the adoptables out to breed rescue or to their adoption program. (Odin is from there!) However I am not sure he falls in that category. I hold the belief though, that may be odd to some, that it is much kinder for him to die in a shelter with a kind word and a full belly, and peacefully with the needle, than alone and hungry and in a traumatic way on the streets. :sosad: :sosad: :sosad: :sosad:

[Chris]

Well - it doesn't have to be an either or (death by needle or death on the streets - i mean we would attack someone who said that about a doxie) - what about putting in a found dog ad - at least you have done your duty and tried to find the family whereas he could end up dying at the shelter. He could be all alone or then again he could have an owner who didn't neuter him so he's wandering about. And if they don't respond, maybe contact all breed rescues or i'll take his picture and post it around and see if we can't get an all breed rescue to help him or maybe someone out there will connect with him.

I guess i just have a soft spot for heinz 57 whatsit dogs.

I don't want to sound bossy or overly optimistic, so am sorry for that :(

[Courtney]

If he goes to the shelter as a stray he's automatically posted as a found dog and put on their hotline and whatnot for the city. They keep him for several days to try to locate an owner. However he was not around this morning. :( I thought about, what if I could have tied him to our fence....but it's illegal to do that (to chain a dog). Most all-breed rescues, just like breed rescues, require dogs to go through a legal stray hold period at a shelter first. The shelter he will go to if he gets picked up does have a shelter walker who posts dogs to rescues and they do get as many dogs out as they can. I'm sure I sound cold and heartless but if I tried to help every stray I saw I'd be helping 5+ dogs a week. This guy is only really on my radar because he was sitting smack dab in my front yard. I wish he had on a collar or tags, then I would have known he would have belonged to someone. It breaks my heart when I see them but....I cannot save them all.

[quavec]

Maybe he was the hellhound and actually got the wrong address? :scratch: :lol:

Seriously. It is possible he got out and after eating a good meal or two decided that his little adventure wasn't worth it and headed back home. That's my rose tinted view of your visitor :D

[Courtney]

I would like to think he went back home too. He was just so determined to sit and hang in our yards it was like he thought he belonged. It was not like he was wandering and freaked out. If he is home again tonight, I'll make a better effort for him than I have so far to get him somewhere safely. It is the least I can do!

[LexieLuvr]

Poor lost doggy! :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz:

[lotsadox]

You did the best you could, Courtney. That's all anyone can expect. And it's a lot more than most people do. :hug99: :hug99:

[Lee Anne]

Wow, what a frustrating situation! Thanks for helping him the best way you could. :sosad:

Poor guy... what IS it with black dogs? Why do people not like them as much? I was sitting with Froggy one camping trip and a friend mentioned he (Froggy) was sweet but that he (friend) would never adopt a black dog because he didn't like them. WHAT?!?! I just had that look on my face and said, "That's the DUMBEST thing that's ever come out of your mouth. Don't worry though.. you wouldn't qualify to adopt him anyway." :rolleyes: Big dummy...

[lotsadox]

Well, a lot of people are stupid and superficial. They have to have a certain color and a certain sex and a certain coat. I've always just kind of taken them as they came. :hearts: :hearts: When we found each other it was a match and that was that. Didn't matter what color, coat or sex they were.

[Frzframe]

You know I don't get the black dog thing either. :scratch: Shelters all over have a very hard time adopting out the black ones which is so sad. The Omaha shelter has a video that shows a black lab with a sign on the run drawn by a school kid that says "Black dogs need a home too" or something to that effect and when I saw that I cried because it's so true.

[Patt]

Thanks for feeding him. He's probably a little Hobo and will just move on to the next home for a hand out.

[Otto'sMom]

Dexter was just a black fuzzy mop when I found him, and he's the one that stood out the most to me. I just knew that he'd be passed over, and the whole trembling in my arms thing made me abandon any idea of not adopting him. There's a rescue out there for black dogs, I think it's called "Black Pearls" or something along those lines. :scratch:

[quavec]

There's a rescue out there for black dogs, I think it's called "Black Pearls" or something along those lines. :scratch:


Would this be it? BlackPearlDogs (http://www.blackpearldogs.com/)

[Otto'sMom]

Yep. It's a great resource.

[areese]

That seems so strange to me cuz I love black dogs the best...I am drawn to them first and have always had a black dog. Not big ones but solid black... I think black dogs are the most beautiful...

[Chris]

If he goes to the shelter as a stray he's automatically posted as a found dog and put on their hotline and whatnot for the city. They keep him for several days to try to locate an owner. However he was not around this morning. :( I thought about, what if I could have tied him to our fence....but it's illegal to do that (to chain a dog). Most all-breed rescues, just like breed rescues, require dogs to go through a legal stray hold period at a shelter first. The shelter he will go to if he gets picked up does have a shelter walker who posts dogs to rescues and they do get as many dogs out as they can. I'm sure I sound cold and heartless but if I tried to help every stray I saw I'd be helping 5+ dogs a week. This guy is only really on my radar because he was sitting smack dab in my front yard. I wish he had on a collar or tags, then I would have known he would have belonged to someone. It breaks my heart when I see them but....I cannot save them all.

No, i don't think you are cold. I just have a local AC where sometimes if a family is earnestly looking for a dog and the dog is really there, they don't always get reunited. I am glad that the animal control in your neck of the woods at least gives them a chance.

[StretchVonLongfellow]

Oh wow that's a crazy story! LOL I love that the bowl is gone, too:)

Hmmm what will you do if he returns?

[Courtney]

I pull up in the garage, get out of the car, turn around and guess who comes over from next door to greet me? Yep. The bowl is next door in the neighbors' driveway too along with another plastic bowl. Dunno if they are feeding him as well. He was friendlier tonight but GAH what do I do now!!!? I'm going to send an email to the neighborhood association w/his pic.

[Linus]

He ain't dumb. He knows where the good stuff comes from!

[Patt]

If it were me, I would just feed him. :scratch: I hate the thought of him going to the shelter since the pic you posted he could be mistaken for a Pit or Lab/Pit, ya'll know how people are about that breed. I know you'll do what's best.

[Rileybugg]

Any chance he can hang out in your garage until you can see if he has people looking for him or someone to take him?:scratch:

[Courtney]

Well, our garage has no windows or doors besides the main one so it's like an oven in there - not quite suitable for a doggie!

I sent an email to the woman who sends out mass emails to our neighborhood. I asked her to fwd my email and his pics to everyone to see if he belonged to someone. Instead she told me to go catch him and tie him up, and she could help me take him to the "pound" in the morning. I think she meant well, but I pretended like I didn't get the email because I think it would be cruel to tie him up. Then she sent me another email this morning saying, "did you get this resolved? By the looks of him in the pics you sent I would be afraid to approach him by myself." WTF BITCH! So I am totally ignoring her now. I am about to go home from work and I am sure he will be there. He disappears during the day. I am sure he is a street dog and a savvy one at that. I really don't know what to do about him now.

[Patt]

I sent an email to the woman who sends out mass emails to our neighborhood. I asked her to fwd my email and his pics to everyone to see if he belonged to someone. Instead she told me to go catch him and tie him up, and she could help me take him to the "pound" in the morning. I think she meant well, but I pretended like I didn't get the email because I think it would be cruel to tie him up. Then she sent me another email this morning saying, "did you get this resolved? By the looks of him in the pics you sent I would be afraid to approach him by myself." WTF BITCH! So I am totally ignoring her now. I am about to go home from work and I am sure he will be there. He disappears during the day. I am sure he is a street dog and a savvy one at that. I really don't know what to do about him now.Oh Courtney, I'm not surprised at her attitude. I can just see her face when she looked at his pic. YIKES, it's a big ugly black Pit Bull, and they are dangerous we must get rid of him! You better reply that it's been resolved b/c I'm sure she's thinking we can't have a dangerous animal roaming the streets of "our" neighborhood.

Do you have an All Breed Rescue in your area, I wonder if they would take him in? :scratch:

[Otto'sMom]

I really don't know what to do about him now.

You go online and find a large have a heart trap, purchase it and catch the dog. You then find out he has heartworms and after falling in love with him for being so sweet and brave for fighting so hard to live, you have to let him die because he just can't beat those parasites. Your heart gets broken and you can't look at strays the same again without wanting to save them all, then breaking down in tears because you know you can't.
:sosad:

[lotsadox]

Oh Courtney, I'm not surprised at her attitude. I can just see her face when she looked at his pic. YIKES, it's a big ugly black Pit Bull, and they are dangerous we must get rid of him! You better reply that it's been resolved b/c I'm sure she's thinking we can't have a dangerous animal roaming the streets of "our" neighborhood.

Do you have an All Breed Rescue in your area, I wonder if they would take him in? :scratch:

Yup, that would EXACTLY what she's thinking. :mad3:

[Courtney]

Okay, so I came home tonight and he is not here. :( There are plenty of all-breed rescues around. Most of them pull from shelters but now that I think of it I do know one rescuer who does in fact have a soft spot for the big black dogs. And I honestly do not think he's a pit. He is not built like one at all! Way too small and lean. But I can see where someone would say that.

Oh and on my 10-minute drive home tonight I saw two more strays roaming the streets. It almost makes me want to move to San Francisco or someplace where they value animals just a little more. grr.

[Frzframe]

You go online and find a large have a heart trap, purchase it and catch the dog. You then find out he has heartworms and after falling in love with him for being so sweet and brave for fighting so hard to live, you have to let him die because he just can't beat those parasites. Your heart gets broken and you can't look at strays the same again without wanting to save them all, then breaking down in tears because you know you can't.
:sosad:

Stop it your making me cry woman!!! :please: