So here is a small background. We moved into what we thought was the perfect neighborhood. We had 2 dogs at the time. In out old neighborhood we let our dogs out in the am and brought them back in at night. The only time they stayed in was when it was very cold or raining out. It worked for us and out dogs! In the new house the dogs found a way to get under the fence. My husband who was sleeping at the time (he works overnights) did not hear the door bell when the neighbor cam over with out dog, The nerghbor got mad and had out dog taken away by animal control. Less then a month later I gave birth to the most difficult baby ever. He never slept and cried all the time. Getting to the point....My sleep deprived husband and I gave up and locked the dog on the deck and told out selves we would build a large wooden fence and then the dogs would be able to have the back yard again, but until then they only get the deck. I scooped the poop off when I could and tried to keep them in the house as much as possible. We had a lot of run in's with animal control as out neighbor did not like out dog on the deck, but we never got a ticket. They would come and look and sugest things like making sure we have a dog house on the deck (we did this), make sure there is water (there always was)....etc. 3 years later and 1 more baby later we now only have one dog (our 13 year old lab died :( ) our poor spaniel is still stuck on the deck durring out side time. OK getting long so will get to the point. We have not had animal control at out house for almost a year now. Yeasterday we were all sick with high fevers and the whole bit and and my hubby steped in and took care of us. So he went over 24 house with out sleep, then came home slept 5 house and get up to take of the kids agian so I could go to work, He does not remember putting the dog out, but he must have as the dog is not in the house.... So when he went to go luv up the dog and feed him tonight he was no where to be found. My hubby went outside to look and noticed foot prints from the deck and around the house to the side walk. So we now know someone took out dog, but who???? If animal control took the dog, would they not have to leave a note??? There was nothing on out door or in out mailbox, and we did not get any calls...The dog had a tag on him. I am worried sick about him and now and questioning everything. It was cold today so did he get cold and was he getting sick..Is he ok???? Does animal control have him safe and warm in there building???? UG! Did my nasty neighbor come over and steal him??? What do you mams think? Please be nice as I have gotten sick already just thinking about the whole situation.
Do not jump to conclusions. Pretty unfair of you to assume anything. And guess what your "nasty neighbor" just may view your as the "nasty neighbor". You might take a look in the mirror before name calling.
If I was your neighbor and your dogs were barkers and animal control has been called for several years and you still haven't taken care of the situation, I would have let your dog out or taken him to a better home as well. I have neighbors now who leave their dog outside barking (but not for more than an hour at a time), and it used to be early in the morning right outside of our bedroom window. It's incredibly rude and a neighborhood nuisance to not control your pets and leave your dogs outside if they are barkers. If it goes on for years, I feel sorry for your neighbors.
Two questions of my own:
Why are your dogs not allowed to be inside the house with the rest of the family?
Why do you even have dogs if all you do is leave them outside?
I'm sorry that your dog is missing, but it sounds like it's better off somewhere else. Poor baby constantly left outside. If animal control has to visit your home even once then it's clear that something is wrong. Multiple visits is just a giant red flag that perhaps you are not meant to be dog owners at this time. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just being honest.
You can blame this situation on your neighbors all you want, but at some point you really should take some responsibility for what is going on with your dog. Feeding your dog and picking up it's poop doesn't make you a good dog owner.
It also seems that owning a dog is putting a lot of stress on you and your husband. Maybe just raising your children is enough for now.
I hope your dog is safe.
Peace.
I have to say that I feel sorry for the dogs. You really should have found them new homes years ago.
It is most likely that poor animal was whining at being left outside without food/water (I assume this since your husband was overloaded with work and sick family) and the neighbor came and got it....if the neighbor took it to animal control they may well not have a record of an animal being surrendered from your address - the dog probably does not have its tag on either. Unless you have it micro-chipped?
If you really want the dog back then you have to get up and go find it. Swallow your pride and go talk to the neighbor, go the animal shelter, etc.
But, do you really want the dog? You guys sound super busy - which many people are - so maybe you should retrieve the dog if it is in the animal shelter to avoid it being euthanized - then find it a nice home.
Well, I'm sorry that you're pup hasn't been found, I do feel sad. It does sound like the dogs are just too much for your family. We have 2 dogs & they are a part of us. We let them out to potty, play in the yard, go for walks but never all day/all night. We have neighbors that have 2 dogs & they just don't stop barking & it absolutely drives me nuts. AS SOON as my dogs start barking, I am out there calling them in. No one wants to hear that. Just because you're at work during the day doesn't mean everyone is. There are 2nd & 3rd shifters trying to sleep.
I'm surely not trying to make you feel bad but sounds like you just need to focus on the kids. I know kids & dogs are not the same but you wouldn't leave your kid locked in a room all day would you?
If you do get your dog back, I hope you take the time to let him/her have the last couple years of his/her life be inside, with your family!!!!
Good luck!
Call the police before the footprints are gone.
i am not trying to be rude here to any one else but yall are pretty darn rude to this person. how do you know if there was water out side or not? you DON'T! how do you know if he feed the dog before letting him out since the writer does not mention it? YOU DON'T!! i am sorry but it is her back yard if there is dog poop in it that is their problem.if you can't handle the smell wear a face mask or some thing or better yet go over ask if they need help specially if it is not normal for you to smell it real bad. have any of you that have put this lady down been any where NEAR her shoes? because if you have then you wouldn't be judging her or her family. do yall also not read the part where it says " we were all sick with high fevers and the whole bit and and my hubby steped in and took care of us. So he went over 24 house with out sleep, then came home slept 5 house and get up to take of the kids agian so I could go to work" it sounds like this family is trying to survive and that husband sounds like a great dad and husband. stop being so darn judgmental and try and see what this family is dealing with.
as for the poster B., call animal control and talk to them. if they say no ask what else you can do, also make posters and hang them up and TALK to your neighbor and find out for sure. if he says yes then call the police and press charges of either stealing or kidnapping. hope you find your family pet/member. hope yall are also feeling better soon
Why have a dog if you leave him outside??? Give him to somebody who can take a really good care of him.We have a dog and a cat and and a baby-yes,sometimes it's hard to clean but I'd never keep my pets outside.If it's too much for your family,get rig of them honestly,would be better for the dog,you and your neighbors...
I would start with calling animal control to be sure they didn't take the dog. After that call the police. Put up some signs around the neighborhood, maybe a different neighbor saw something.
With footprints and a missing dog, I would have called the police.
animal control is required to leave a notice before taking the dog, and they have to have reason to believe you are abusing the dog too. they can't just take it for no reason. As long as the dog has adequate shelter, food and water, and is not injured or otherwise obviously neglected, there isn't anything animal control would do. I would bet your neighbor had something to do with it. Call the police, file a report that your dog is missing, make sure they know about all the time the neighbor called animal control for no real reason, and see if they will investigate it. otherwise, talk to animal control and see if they have the dog, or if the neighbor had called them the day the dog went missing. good luck and i hope your dog is okay!!
First thing in the morning call animal control and find out if they have your dog. If they say no, ask them what you should do. Sometimes they will give you great advice on missing animals.
You can also go over to your neighbors and ask if they saw anyone in your backyard because your dog is missing. He may just admit to it! You never know.
I know when we had a dog go missing we had to go to all the shelters that animal control was contracted with to find our dog. They had record they picked up a similar dog but didn't know which shelter he was in. Ugh it was a nightmare....and it wasn't even our dog (he was back home, just decided to go out raising heck and come back when he wanted!)
I hope you find your dog!
A good friend of mine and neighbor also lets her dog out in the morning before she leaves for work and lets her back in when she gets home from work or the kids do when they get home from school. There have been multiple calls against her for her dog barking, and because I work close to home if it starts to storm she calls me to see if I can go shut her in the garage because she gets scared and escapes the yard. Now, to get to the point. Are you letting your dog in when you get home or before you go to bed, because there is a HUGE difference. If your dog is just shut out on the deck when you're at work then I can't really pass judgment because my dogs are shut in a room in our house when I'm at work. BUT if he's outside most of the time, including weekends, maybe the moms suggesting you just don't have the time to dedicate to this pet are right. A lot of this may stem from you feeling violated by somebody coming up to your house like that, and that is understandable.
I hope your dog is found and home safe by now. If not and if calling the police, Animal Control and your neighbor as others have suggested has been unsuccessful, there is a service you can pay for that will call a certain number of neighbors (kind of like an "Amber Alert" for pets) to report your dog missing and ask for help locating it. I just read about this service this week, but unfortunately I can't remember the name of it. I hope you could find it by doing some kind of online search. I do remember that it is approx. $85 for a certain number of neighbors or certain distance beyond your house, but for like $200 you can greatly expand the number of calls. If I remember the name of the service I will edit this response.
I remembered it already! It's www.findtoto.com.
We lived in a house without a fenced yard and my M. used to let the dogs out on the deck to potty in winter. The neighbor to the left phoned the police, health department, and animal control daily until she stopped.
I bet your neighbor took the dog and found it a new home.
Animal control would not take a dog without leaving a note. But someone could have let the dog loose, and then called animal control.
Put up a "lost dog" sign, with reward.
Also, call the pound and see if an animal meeting your description was turned in.
I had to live-trap a cat that was spraying the outside of my house. Very stinky! No collar. I put up "found cat" signs in the neighborhood. No one answered, so I took the cat to the pound. What other choice do we neighbors have?
Don't be too mad at the neighbor. When you moved in, did you introduce yourself and "your pack?" If not, next time you get a dog, make sure you've established good relationships with your neighbors. The rest of us have to live with your dogs, too.
Say your neighbor had an annoying dog. You'd want them to take care of it, and you really wouldn't care how they did it!
By the way- it appears that some people on this blog don't think that dogs should live outside and are picking on you. However, most dogs love being outside and plenty of breeds are well-equipped to handle the weather. I would never let a single dog live outside all by itself--it's too lonely and they bark and do OC behaviors all day. But if you have 2 or more long-haired dogs, and some nice insulated doghouses, they'd could live outside with their little pack quite happily--both mentally and physically. Some of us humans could stand to be outdoors a little more frequently, too :)
Sounds like someone felt your dog was being neglected on your back porch and wanted to rescue him. I can tell you love your dogs, but may not have the time do give them the attention they needed. Not saying your are a bad person. I don't feel a dog should live and go to the bathroom on a porch. Mine lives in the house and go on walks and get let out and come in when they are done. You dog may be better in a household where someone can devote more attention to him. I hope that you feel better, but I think that he is doing ok.
That's just awful. These doggies worm their way deep into our hearts, don't they? And then when they are gone.....a family member is missing.
You march right over to that neighbor and see if he took your dog, call animal control first thing.
I really hope you find him...
Your husband needs to go over to the neighbor's house and ask him directly if he has seen your dog or if he saw anyone come over and get the dog. Likely, it was your neighbor. I would also call animal control. Is it possible that you pushed the neighbor over the edge? If you left your dog outside maybe he came over and is keeping him in his garage and waiting for you to notice that your dog is missing.
I recommend that you find a good home for your dog once you get it back. It sounds like the care of your dog is just too much for you and your husband and growing family to handle.
Does your dog bark a lot? We have a neighbor with two big dogs and the owners put them out and just let them bark and it's very annoying. It often gets our dog barking if she's outside.
It sounds like you have a neighbor that's a little nutty, but he is your neighbor! Try to keep the peace with him.
I'm sorry sweety. Sometimes we love something that well we aren't the best for. Reading all you wrote I understand how much you love your dogs but it doesn't sound like they have the best life if the live on a porch and maybe someone with a large fenced in yard, or an acreage should have your outside dogs. Dogs weren't meant to not run free.
Animal control would contact you if they confiscated the animal or picked it up beings it had it's tags on it. In our area if they do though you do have to basically readopt your pet. Cost my sister 90 to get her boston terrier back that snuck out the back door. Just the way it is here.
But I'd guess either your dog ran away or was stolen by someone. I'm sorry. If you do get your dog back well think about how sometimes it's best when you love something to let it go free if we aren't the best for it. Just something to think about. I understand 100% that you love that dog. I have a big heart and use to try and safe tons and tons of animals. I thought I was giving them the best life . . . or better than they had. I later learned I was doing it for me and because I felt obligated to keep on what I started. I didn't have their best interest at heart really. Other people could offer them a better life than me. They deserve the best just like you and I do. Just something to think about.
Maybe the dog got loose.
As for the footprints, does someone have to come in your yard to check a meter or something?
I would call animal control. DON'T WAIT!
It won't look good if it takes you a while to call..... like maybe you didn't notice your dog missing.
Call the animal shelter as well.
I hope the dog is okay.
Don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you have your hands so full that you don't really have time to devote to your pet.
I mean, things happen, for sure. You've already dealt with animal control so you should just call them right away.
My mom had acreage. She had horses and dogs and chickens and goats. Obviously outside animals. They all had shelter though, plenty of food and water. The chickens were let out in the morning and put back in the coops at night. Living in the country, the dogs outside kept the foxes and racoons away from the other animals.
It's possible to have outside animals without any of them being neglected.
But they all have to be checked on all the time, like I said, with proper shelter, bedding, warmth, etc.
I hope you find your dog. But, you also might want to consider finding another home for it. Not that you are bad, but maybe a place the dog can have more room to run while out or be inside more.
Especially since you have a neighbor that calls animal control as much as they have.
Hopefully you can find the job and a solution that works better for all of you.
Dogs are pack animals. They are not made to spend the ENTIRE day outside without anyone to look after them. Even if your dog is on the deck, it does not have the proper shelter to seek cover if it needs to.
Sounds like a neglectful situation and someone took pity on your poor dog--not saying that it was right--and took it hopefully to a home that will treat the dog like the companion it should be.
I agree with others, sounds like you just do not have the time for your dog(s). You say that you love them, but you're actions are saying something else. You may think that he "loves" to spend the entire day outside, but you are definitely mistaken.
Best of luck to your dog...I hope that he finds someone who will love him the way he deserves. Not cutting you down, but sound like you have a lot on your plate and you can take care of your dog properly--hope that you take some time for yourself to get things in order and get a dog when you are ready to have it truly be part of your family.
Good luck...
