Wwyd - Detroit,MI

* what if: one day Randy is with "his" dog and playing with it or walking it. And then, someone, the REAL owner sees him with the dog and accuses him of STEALING it? Or hopefully the dog did not belong to some violent/criminal/gang type person.
Randy, is an adult with a child's mind.
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When a dog is lost, the right thing to do is try to find the Owner..
Not just take the animal.
That is like stealing.

Too bad, Hubby doesn't have a photo of the dog. You could post its photo around town etc. and maybe the correct Owner will see it. That is what some people do in my city.
Or they go to the local Humane Society to see if anyone is looking for their lost dog.

No, that Dad and "Randy" should not have kept the dog.
It is not theirs.
Who knows how the dog got lost.... but the point is, it is not theirs.

My friend's cute little Pomeranian once got lost. How? It simply RAN out the door once when someone came home. They are quick and small. And the dog just kept running and running to who knows where. Fortunately, someone found it and was able to catch it. My friend had posted up signs with photos of her dog on it.

WHY can't, Randy and his Dad... get him his own dog, the normal way??? By going to a Human Society or pet store etc. NOT by stealing someone else's lost dog.
They STOLE this dog, found it then kept it... and it is "free."
I guess they rather have a free dog, than one they had to pay for.
So they are choosing to keep someone else's pet.
How wrong.

I would be so incensed, if someone did that to me or my kids.

I'd definitely look for the dog's owner. I'd start by putting a "Found - white dog" sign in the window of my shop and then notifying veterinarians in the area. The dog may have a microchip, and any vet that they take it to for shots, treatment, etc will likely scan for one. So, it'd be better to find out up front whether an owner can be located than to take the dog, form an attachment to it and then have to give the dog back to the owner (which is legally what would happen). Besides all that, this dog may have a family somewhere that misses it terribly.

It is quite possible that dog ownership will be great for this kid, and he may be able to take care of it with his dad's guidance. However, if this kid and his father think it would be good for the kid to have a dog, then they should go to the shelter and choose one to adopt. That way, they have the legal ownership, know the status of shots, know the status of spay/neuter, know health history, etc. What they're doing right now sounds a lot like stealing a dog that may have just been a little lost. Not cool.

I would call the local animal shelter and a nearby vet. Last year my yellow lab got out after the fence didn't latch all the way.. Somehow his collar slipped off as he was escaping the fence. Some kind stranger dropped him off at a nearby vet. I called the pound and they had reports of a yellow lab dropped of at a vet. That stranger is my families angle... My kids and I adore and love that dog!

Absolutley try to find the owner! Even really good dog owners have their dogs escape once in awhile!! Take it somewhere and see if it's microchipped. Then place a lost/found ad for free.
If it was your dog, wouldn't you want someone to do the same?

Please find the owner! Do the right thing and tell Randy and his dad they need to do the right thing.

If Randy is good with dogs he can get another at the Humane Society.

What was your husband thinking?????
Could this be the dog?
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/laf/3337928862.html

There is a process to go thru in order to keep a found dog. We have a situation, here in Oregon, in which a woman kept a dog without contacting animal control and when the owner found the dog she refused to give it back. She's now been charged with felony theft. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/10/dog_...

Tell your husband to tell them to call the county animal control or shelter and ask them what the process is and then do it. Here in Oregon, as near as I can remember, one has to give the county animal shelter the information about the dog and to also advertise in the paper that you have the dog. There may be more to do. I also suggest posting signs in the neighborhood.

You are right. One cannot just keep a found dog. Because your husband gave the dog to this family, I suggest that you are already involved and I would look on Craig's list. Your husband is the finder and could be in trouble, also, if the owner finds the dog with this family. If they won't follow procedure to attempt to find the owner, then I'd call animal control and do it. Your husband is the finder and he gave the dog away without trying to find the owner.

That could be some poor little kids dog and they might be heartbroken. The dog should be taken to the vet to check for a chip and signs need to be posted. It's not like this 24 year old can't go anywhere else to get a pet!

I would post something on Craigslist and maybe in the newspaper.

No. I wouldn't keep a dog I found as my own. I would be totally heart broken if Grady got lost and someone just "kept" him. Just because he got out doesn't mean I don't care about my dog. He is my baby.

However, since Randy is NOT mature enough - I would tell my husband to get the dog and bring him home and find out the real owner!! I bet the dog is chipped! take it to a vet and see if she does have a chip!!!

If that were my dog that was missing...I would hope someone would not keep it for themselves.

Neighbors tried to do that with my parents Toy Yorkie a few years ago. We even showed the guy a picture and he walked around with us searching!

Offered a reward for the dog and his neighbors threw him under the bus so fast!

No I would search for the owners!

id probably put the word out that you found a puppy at your shop.. tell customers, tell friends..id say put up a sign on the shop window but that might cause some issues with the boy or his father, although that would porbably be your best bet of finding the owner if there is one.. if no one comes to the shop to claim the dog, let him keep it

I would call your husband right now and have him tell randy and the dad that you will be looking for the owners. If you do not find them then they can keep the dog. I agree with you. If I lost my dog I would hope whoever found her would do the best to return to my family. Good luck I hope you find the owners.

i'd look on craigslist and other pet lost sites. I dont think someone doesnt deserve a puppy if it gets lost. we let our puppy off the leash out back when were with him. if he ran, he;s got acres to go but could get away. we're training him and he's on the leash during times he needs to be. Plenty of puppies get lost when getting trained to walk off the leash

Usually dogs of that cost have a chip to track them. I would tell the boy the rules of ownership. I think its something like if you post it in the paper after so many days the dog is yours because the owners never came forward. We have always been able to find dog owners. We get alot of "lost" dogs. I even tracked down a dog with out of state tags...the owners moved here but I called the number on the tag. And knocked on doors till i found the owner. IDK its out of your hands and not up to you. What are you going to tell the owners. Do you know the address of the new Randy owner?? If not thats kinda mean. Hey we found your dog its at this troubled kids home but its safe. Cant tell you where to find it. Sorry about that? Always listen to your husband. If he says stay out of it then stay out of it. If he says ok then go for it!

I would check to see if I can find the owner. Whomever that dog belongs to is probably worried and heartbroken. And the dog him/herself is also probably heartbroken.

Purebreds are often microchipped before they're even shipped to their new homes. Has the puppy been to the vet yet?

Ugh. This really makes my heart hurt.

Idk, but if I had lost a Siberian Huskey, a puppy no less, I don't think I should be the owner in the first place. Unless they were kept outside by the mother, for some odd reason. Or, even odder, it was a stray..

I would probably have advertised in newspaper, or put signs up that you found this gorgeous animal. Hoping to find the owner..

I wouldn't just give it to someone who probably isn't the most responsible, but that's just me.

I wish the dog went home with your husband! Poor little puppy! You never know, maybe he is good with animals and will take care of this dog. Or, the owner might come around looking for him. Then, problem solved..

You are right, I think I would be a little uneasy and unsure of what to do. Other then adopt it myself, because I adore those dogs!

Did they check the pup to see if it was chipped? No tags I take it?

This is a tough one! I would definitely do the research like you said, check craigslist and other sites to see if anyone is reporting a missing dog.

But keep in mind, if there are no tags and no chip, the owner didn't really do a lot to ensure their if ever lost dog was returned to them. That wouldn't stop me from trying to find the owner, but don't beat yourself up over it.

See if your hubby can get the kid to bring the dog back to the shop. Then you can take pics of him and post them to see if you can find an owner.

GOOD LUCK!

wow that's dishonest. They really should make the effort to find the owner before deciding to keep him. I have three beautiful dogs and would be devistated if no one made the effort to get my dog back to me.

Call your local Animal Control officer at the police department and they can tell you what to do. If you have a local Humane Society you can call them for advice as well. I would personally file a report about the dog and what happened to it so that when the person who lost the poor thing calls them wondering if someone found her, the authorities will be able to help locate her.

Nope, I wouldn't keep a pet I found as my own without trying to find their family. I probably would stay out of it if someone else did it, though. But I'm not one to intervene. So... depends on how strongly you feel about it Molly. For sure an attempt should be made to find the owners.

I would have hubby go back and point out that this was a 'found' and that you're looking to find its owner. To at least be legit about things. If the dog is chipped, the owner can take legal action towards them for not returning the dog.
Even with the police, if something found isn't claimed w/in 30 days, it's yours. So would it be such a terrible thing for Randy to wait? Probably not, realistically. Emotionally, yeah. But emotionally Randy can get just as attached to another pet. It should be explained that if it upsets HIM to give it up, think how sad the real owners would be at losing it.
It sounds very strange how a puppy ended up left at your store, I have to say. But honestly I would at least ask the authorities for advice. and with hiubby being so blase` about it, he has the pleasure of approaching Randy's dad about it if owners are found.

I would post a "dog found" ad in craigslist and report the dog found to your local animal shelter. Tell them where the dog is (give the animal shelter the name and number of "Randy's" dad) and if someone replies to the ad (to you, through the anonymous email) pass that information along to the dad as well.

Unfortunately most animals that are found have no one looking for them. A responsible owner would have put tags on the dog and microchipped him. If he is microchipped "Randy" will likely find that out when he first takes the animal to the vet... assuming that he will do that.
Good luck.

WHAT, you don't really live in Michigan???????????? How do I know this is really Molly R.???????? Such a deception.....
Anyways, I would give CL a shot, you never know. Someone may be really missing that dog.

Oh man. I bet the puppy has a microchip, and somebody is really sad he's gone. :( The guy should take the puppy to the SPCA and just have it checked to see if it's microchipped. If so, the chip company can just call the owner and they'll come get it. The guy should absolutely NOT be keeping this puppy for good unless he has made a good faith effort to find the owner and nobody has come forward. I'd have a hard time not getting into the middle of this one! Hate to think of some sad little kid out there missing their puppy.