Can We Keep Her?

Sounds like you all are a good loving family, exactly what that dog needs. I would go over to the owner's home and as kindly as you can, let them know how attached you've all become to the dog and vice versa, and gently ask if they would be willing to let you "adopt" the dog. Maybe they aren't taking care of the dog as they should because they can't for whatever reason and might be glad to let you take over the dog. Best of Luck!

My aunt knew the neighbor behind her was neglecting their dog and she asked them if she could have her and they said YES! They had bought the dog for their kids and nobody in the family was taking the time to love and care for her. My aunt and her dog are best friends and the dog is the love of her life. It was a happy ending for everyone. It is worth asking.

I think you should ask them if it would be ok if you guy's took care of the dog and kept her since they continue to not care.

Good Luck

Hi T.,

Well first I commend you for not only being a mom, but a single mom, working outside the home and going to school! Wow, that is alot of fierce determination:)
So, since you are pretty busy and you have a deep faith in the Lord, why don't you and your kids pray about it? Sit and in quiet meditation ask and seek your answer. Maybe this little doggie is coming to you for a reason...maybe to keep her, maybe just to provide her with some TLC until she goes back home at night. What about talking with the owner? Does he really want the dog? Do YOU really want the dog? Are all of you willing to take in this dog and take care of it with all you have going on? Are you willing to sacrifice time and money for her? Are your children willing to take care of her? The answer for the right thing to do is already in you. Just think about all options, the possible consequences for each option, and listen. You'll know the right thing to do, for the cute doggie, your family, and the owner.

PS...remember that even if you try to do the right and best thing, the owner just might be on a different energy level than you:) So don't be attached to the outcome, just do what you need to do.

In peace,
A.

I think I would just ask them. We had a similar situation with a cat and we just asked the people because the cat was always outside in the heat and she loved our house and kids. It turned out great and we love her!!

You say the dog looks dirty and with no collar.
The dog may just be dirty because he's getting out of the yard regularly.
No collar may mean he squeezes his head out of the collar to get away.
Or sometimes some animals just don't like a collars around their necks and will go to great lengths to pull it off.
Just because the dog gets out of the yard doesn't mean he doesn't want to be there. Some dogs are just naturally curious or active.
Give your neighbor the benefit of the doubt.
There are plenty of animals in shelters that are in need of a loving family like yours.
Be a kind and considerate neighbor and help them locate their dog when he does get loose or just give them a call................
"hey your dogs over at my house again" eventually they'll understand they need to make more of an effort to secure their yard or fencing.

T., this dog is SCREAMING for you to adopt her. She wants a family that loves her and spends time with her SO BAD! I would be willing to bet if you asked the owner if you could have her he would gladly let you. It doesn't sound like he loves her or takes care of her at all. She wants a home so bad and she has chosen your family. Follow your heart, it sounds like you and your family already love her back. You were all meant to be together, all you have to do is ask the owner for permission...good luck. Please keep us updated!

Tell your neighbor your kids have fallen in love with their dog and ask if they'd be willing to part with it. I did this once and they were more than happy to part with the animal.

I would ask the neighbor. If he does say yes...I would not hesitate to take the dog to the vet immediately. If she has been negelected in any way-maybe vet visits weren't a priority. I would make sure she is up to date on shots and clear her health before you let her love all over your kids. Better safe than sorry.

Yes, keep her. All life diserves to be loved and cared for---she came into your life for a reason. As a dog lover, I say, "keep her".

This is a tough one. My gut instinct is to tell you to keep the dog but at the same time, I feel that you need to discuss the option with her owner. Some of the things that come to mind are; 1.) yes, she has no collar so the pound could come along and pick her up 2.) she's obviously neglected both physically and emotionally or she wouldn't keep coming to you and your children 3.) how would you and your children feel if you found out that she had been struck by a vehicle? 4.) No, it's not right to teach your children to take something that doesn't belong to them, but it's a wonderful thing to be able to teach love and compassion. I could go on and on and on. I will just pray that your neighbor does what is right for the dog and allows you to keep her. Please keep us posted and good luck! :o)

T., I would ask your neighbor if you can keep the dog. It might be a relief to them. You can't just take his dog though. Not the right thing to do and not good karma.

Ask the neighbor if he would consider giving or selling the dog to you. Tell him what you told us....about how good the dog is w/ you and your kids and that you all love her and would take good care of her. You never know.....Keep us posted! No, it wouldn't be right to just keep her. I think you know that, but if she's being abused it should be reported.

First off, I really think you are a very strong person to work full time, go to school and take care of your kids single handedly. I would go to the neighbor and explain that the dog loves your kids and they have fallen in love with the dog as well. See if he is willing to give the dog to you?? We had a dog once that we cared for deeply, but she would jump fences as high as 8 feet tall or dig under the fence and roam our neighborhood. The only difference is we bathed her, kept her clean and walked her daily. We also kept a collar on her. I wonder if your neighbor is really the type to know how to take care of a dog. Maybe you can help them out by caring for her when she is with you and bathing, walking a such, and just let her go home at night and all. She definitely needs some love and care though. If the person is not willing to do something, I would get the animal activists on him for not taking care of a dog that is looking for help around his neighborhood. They may take the dog from the owner so that you can adopt her legally. Just think long and hard about what you choose to do and do what feels right in your heart of hearts. The answer is there within you, you will know when the time is right, what to do.

D. P.

Ask the owner's if they are willing to part with the dog. They are obviously not out looking for her. Some people have pets that they really don't want but don't know what else to do with them so they keep them and leave them neglected. Sad but true.

did you ask the owners if you can keep the dog? a similar thing happened to me and we returned the dog. then i made my husband go back a couple days later to ask if we could keep the dog. we offered them money too. they talked it over and finally said we could keep the dog and didn't make us pay.

Ask the neighbor if he'd be willing for you to take the dog.
Give kindness to the dog, but do not take the dog without the owner's permission.
Do to your neighbor what you would like done to you.
The wisest man alive said that. His advice is always the best.

C.

I would talk to the owner and tell him how she has adopted your kids/family and that you would love to have her if he would be interested in doing so. You could also suggest that she come for "play dates" to spend time with your kids - and maybe seeing how she is loved by your family, he would be open to sharing her with you - or even letting you have her.

I definitely wouldn't just keep her - that's stealing, and wrong on many levels!

Best,
C.

You are correct that you cannot take someone else's pet. Personally if I felt that I could care for the dog, I would let the neighbor know that there are three options:

first that she needs to keep her dog in her yard (don't want the kids to see the dog get hit by a car, etc.) and you'll mind your own business.

second: that if she can't take care of the dog, that your family has discussed it and you'd be happy to take care of the dog and she can come visit if she'd like.

third: if she can't handle taking good care of the dog and isn't willing to give it to you, that you will call animal control who will take the dog to the pound. (after a certain period of time you can adopt the dog)

good luck, it's always hard to not have out right confrontations with neighbors yet you do want to set a good example to your kids.

Depending on your relationship w/ your neighbor, I would have a straightforward conversation w/ him. Tell him that your family has fallen in love with the dog, and since it's over at your house a lot anyway, would it be okay if you took over ownership. Say that it would be a great learning experience for your kids, and they would appreciate it.

If that doesn't work, you could call the city anonymously and report him to the proper authorities. But I don't think you should just take the dog without some kind of conversation w/ the owner. It sends the wrong message to your kids.

Good luck!

Tell the owners that your kids have fallen in love with her and you wanted to know if they would consider selling her to you.

Why don't you offer to purchase the dog from the owner?

I had a similar situation happen to me this past spring. The dog kept showing up at my house. The first time we bathed her and put flyers up and it took a week for the family to come claim her. The second time, I called the number that the family had called us on and I told them that we would love to have her if they didn't want the dog. The kid told me that his brother was abusing the dog, hitting it and that was why it ran away. So I told him that if he was being abused that I would take it and care for her. I didn't hear from him again. Shortly thereafter, the dog showed up again and I drove her back to the house. To this day, I am not sure I did the right thing. I no longer see the dog and I really don't think that the dog lived there long after that. So, I would definitely call animal control and find out what your options are. On one hand, you want to include the family, but on another, you may go around that situation. The family may not be caring for it. Obviously, the dog has adopted you!

HI T., I would go to the neighbor too and just say that the dog was back at your house again and you guys really love it and would love to keep it and see what he says. I wouldn't just take it, that is not a good example to the kids. Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

I would talk to the owner. He obviously has no idea or maybe he doesn't care when his dog is roaming the neighborhood. Maybe he wouldn't mind giving him up. You never know. Maybe offer a him some money for the dog. But don't just keep the dog without him knowing. That is the wrong message for your kids.

Personally, I would talk to the owner and let them know that you have fallen for her...and that she keeps coming back to you and your family. Ask them if you can keep her. Let them know that you are a loving family and that the pup will go to a good home. You never know... they may not be able to care for her and they may not know what to do. Also let them know that you have cared for her in the past... and that she seems to respond to you and the kids very well.

offer to buy her. i would die if someone didnt return my dogs but i do take much better care than that. they are always in the house or on a leash but maybe the neighbor would appreciate someone to care for the dog.

Offer to buy the dog. Outright.

If that doesn't work, email me. I can give you the phone number of the rescue league that we adopted our dog from. Also a sweet heart dog, and roamed her neighborhood. They'll work with you get get the dog a proper home.

Good luck!

It really bothers me when people want pets and/or children yet have no sense on taking care of them. It angers me when either are abused. It sounds to me like this little
creature knows where to find love and seems to want to love your family in return. If the Neighbors are not going to care for her, than I would guess that this little angel was sent to you for a reason. I say, GO FOR IT. If this were a child in question, I'm sure authorities would be called in. See where I'm going with this? It's not like you went to someone's house and took their pet.

Two things I'm thinking... ask your neighbor if you can keep her. Just explain you've fallen in love with her and see what he says. Otherwise, love her as she is, when she's there. Care for her "as if" without taking on possession. Sort of a lesson in Univeral, non-attached Love. :)

ask! ask the owner if you can adopt the dog as your own. More likely they'd be relieved to not be responsible for her anymore (esp in these days for many people)

Technically, you must report her to the Animal Control. She may have a chip and the proper owner can be identified. If no one claims her, perhaps you can adopt her.

This happened to us about a year ago, and the dog had a chip in her- they did find the owner. (she was a chocolate lab).

End of story... we ended up getting a black lab puppy around Christmas time and she's adorable.

Good luck-
toni

Well i have a story along these lines. There was a black & white cat that wandered our neighbor hood. It was always in my yard we weren't sure if it was a stray or just a neglected neighbors cat. It ran between my house & two across the street so we figured if it had a home it was one of theirs. One day my hubby went to our dogs yard to feed the dogs & saw our mastiff with what he at first thought was a stuffed animal in its mouth. Then it moved, it was a black & white kitten that the black/white mamma kitty had had in a bronco my husband is fixing up. It was in july when it was awfully hot the kittens had no water we took the kitten inside & checked the bronco for more we found 2 more then had died of heat stroke. We nursed the one live kitten to health and our daughter fell in love with it. Her cat had to be put to sleep earlier due to it jumping our fence & getting mauled by neighbor dogs. We couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of the cat. For all we new its mom was either neglected or a stray. Well one day one of the neighbors across the street stopped me on my way into my home to see if i had a black/white cat. I told her we had a kitten who we never let outside. Turns out they were looking for the mamma kitty who her daughter had befriended (was not there's to start with but had assumed same as me it belonged to one of the three homes it was always at) her daughter missed the cat terrible but the mom had allergies couldnt have one. I explained about how our kitten was her cat & we had always thought maybe it was there cat. Few days later the lady stopped me again claiming how if i thought the momma cat was hers i should have brought her the sick kitten. In essence i stold her kitten in her opinion. I how ever am an animal lover so we kept the cat & my neighbor can jump off a cliff for all i care. So if the dog keeps coming around not being taken care of then 1st if u know the owner for sure ask if you can take the dog. 2nd take it to the pound if that doesn't work and then adopt the dog. No animal should be neglected by its owner.

Although many people consider pets their "family", legally they are considered a possession that someone owns. For this reason, YOU CAN NOT KEEP HER. If you do want the dog, as many others have suggested, ask the owner if they are willing to give the dog up. If the dog is that important to you, offer to pay the owner a small fee for relinquishing the dog to you.

Go to your neighbor and tell them that you and your kids have fallen in love with the dog and ask if you can keep her since she keeps coming over to you house. Maybe the neighbor really doesn't want her, but doesn't want to take take her to the pound.

I think you should go to the neighbor (without the dog) and tell him how much you and your children love the dog and see if he would consider letting it stay with you...like you said he's not doing anything to keep it there...but it would be very awkward if you kept it knowing it really wasn't yours. He'll probably be glad to not have to "take care" of it anymore!

No it is not ok to keep him, he know where he lives he just likes to rome around and you could cause a big fuss over keeping him... which is not worth it. just love him and if he needs a bath give him one. maybe one day he will be yours.

Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:24 NKJV

I would suggest that you go talk to the neighbor and let them know that your children have fallen in love with the dog. Offer to take the dog and let them know that they are welcome to come visit her anytime. You may find that they are just not capable of taking care of the dog anymore and don't know what to do.

talk to your neighbor. if you just keep her, it's theft. and depending on her breed, you could be getting yourself into a whole lot of trouble.

if he says no and you honestly suspect neglect (which I would suspect since he isn't keeping her inside, especially since he's aware she gets out), you should call the SPCA. They have an office located at the Animal Welfare League. Some shelters that take in abused and neglected pets might be able to call you when they are up for adoption and then you could legally take her. And even if they don't contact you, you can check in with them on a daily bases.

T.,

I am a dog rescue. I would go talk to the ppl & ask if they want the dog since they dont seem to want to keep her secured or id'ed. THey may just turn the dog over to you.
Do you live in Johnson Ranch? is it a white lil dog w/ a blue coller no tags??? if so I have found it & bathed it had ticks & they dont care about it.

When you see her again take her to the pound or to the SPCA. They will take care of her and if the owners dont claim her after a certain amount of time you can adopt her. I dont think that it would be a good idea for you to just "keep" her because I think that you will be sending the wrong message to your kids and what if the owners discovered her missing and they remembered that you had brought her back once then come knocking on your door and see that you have thier dog? I think that could turn ugly, im not sure if you could get charged with stealing or not but why would you take the risk when you have kids? like I said that could turn ugly. Good luck

You definitely shouldn't just keep her as your own without talking with the owner. That would technically be stealing no matter what condition the dog is in. It may be awkward to do so, but you could approach the owner and say that their dog has been at your house every day for X days, that she is a very sweet little dog, and you wonder if they might consider letting your family adopt her. If they refuse, you kind of have to respect their wishes, but if she truly looks neglected, then you can contact the local animal control to report the owners.

Be aware that if she looks dirty and uncared for she's probably not vaccinated and could even be sick. Since it's the responsible thing to do, you would need to have a vet look her over and get her vaccines updated when she becomes a member of your family. You could potentially be getting yourself into a lot of veterinary bills. Also consider that some dogs are "jumpers" or "diggers" and while she may be a very sweet dog, she might also just be bad about getting out of the yard. You never know.

Best of luck! I'm sure you'll figure out a good way to deal with things. :)

Unfortunately, no you can't keep her. If you really feel that she is being neglected, and if you feel bold enough, ask the neighbor if you can keep her. Explain how she visits often and your kids love her. Unless you see some physical harm being done you can't keep her. Even then, you should call animal control or something.