HERE is the whole story. Short version...this dog was abandoned, injured, on a mountain top. She was rescued after she went 8 days with no food or water. The rescuer wants to keep her. The owner wants her back. The owner says she was injured, a storm was approaching. They tried to get her out and couldn't. It was heartbreaking to leave her there alone. I have no doubt that's true. My question is, who should now own this dog? I have an opinion, but, I'm gonna wait for you to say.
35 comments:
Tough. I think her owner should have gone back for her, know question. Every dog owner would have at least tried. The couple were able to find help for the dog fairly easily, and I can see how they would grow attached. However, it is not their dog. I don't know how I could keep someone else's dog. I am going to have to say, return her to the owner.
Okay, I've read enough to know that the dog needs to go to the rescuers.
I think that the former owner left her up there, knowing she would die. He seems not to have made any effort to contact anyone to help her. While I do not know people in that area, I know that locally, a dog fell down a cliff and was on a ledge, and the local rescue crews were all over it as a training mission. The rescue attempts would have been along the same lines as for a human, in many ways. The owner abandoned her, and so he forfeits ownership. He's also a selfish prick for trying to get her back, when someone else did everything necessary to keep her alive, and he could have made the effort, but didn't. Asshole.
Crap. I'm sorry. I don't know how that happened.
No prob. You can edit on here. Click the garbage can.
I'll get flack for this, but, I think the owner did her wrong. Never, NEVER would I be in a remote area without even a small handgun or pain meds. I would have medicated the dog, tied a shirt around her eyes, told her I loved her and put a bullet in her brain. I have lived in remote areas and have done things I had to do. I would have cried and been heartbroken, but, I would NO WAY leave my good dog to the elements. A good pet deserves a good death. The rescuer should get to keep that dog.
Rescuers, hands down. Luckily the poor dog wasn't eaten by wolves. No, the owner forfeits. But if it goes to court, the owner will get her back, but will they be willing to pay the recuse expenses? I highly doubt that. So, it may come down to just that. Pay up now or give up the dog. Plain & simple. Idiots. Poor baby doggy. Dogs are the best people I have ever met.
rox
I totally agree with you Pat. It would break my heart to shoot my dog, but if the choice was to leave her alone to fend for herself when she had been domesticated is something I would never be ble to do. Definitely, the dog goes to the rescuer!
OMG what an asshole! The man who saved the dog--carried it on his BACK--should definitely get to keep it. The owner should be shot in the leg and abandoned up there in the exact same spot so he can know how it feels to be discarded without a thought. Grrrr I fucking HATE people!
The rescuer should keep the dog, no doubt about it. I'd be like Sally Field in, "Not Without My DOG!"
8 days is long enough to try to mount a rescue mission for your pet...you fail as a human being. A person with a real heart now gets the love of your good dog.
Beth
I've done some hard things. Still haunts me, but, I will not let any animal suffer needlessly.
Beth, I'm with you. Unless it was a st'bernard, how could you not try to carry it out?? Unless you had a kid with you. Kids trump dogs. This is exactly why I have a small dog now. I always had big huge dogs, but, I can't move them in an emergency anymore. And I know it.
When the original owner left that dog, he gave up any rights to her. 1st why would he take her into an area like that to begin with and then just leave her. He should NEVER be allowed to EVER have a pet again. Guys an asshole and does not deserve to have the privelage to have a pet. And DD if you are going to shoot someone, make it the owner not the pet.
Shooting is a last resort and I would want my friend to shoot me rather than leave me there to die a horrid death.
rescuer should get the dog, fuck the owner for leaving the dog like that!!!!
Anyone who would desert their loved ones, two-legged or four-legged, do not DESERVE to have them. Survey says: Dog goes to the rescuer.
And seriously, if I was tore up and left to die somewhere, please shoot me.
:)
salvage rights....
I think I'd leave my husband behind before I'd leave my dog! I'd like to see those owners left up there to fend for themselves.
I'm terrified of not getting my pet to safety. Now that I'm in this new condo, my new rescue kitty likes to sleep under the bed.
I worry about what I would do if there's a fire because she's skittish...my old EmmaCat was with me for 15 years so she knew me and trusted me. It really does stress me out and I think about getting Greta quickly if I had to evacuate. I couldn't leave her--My mom was THRILLED to hear that. I'm on the 3rd floor, so I'd have a good shot getting out thru the balconey--I couldn't leave some poor terrified animal to die on my watch.
Ditto to having smaller dogs. My last rescue dog had bad hips and he was a big guy, it was hard not to be able to help him.
Beth
She looks so much like my Shepherd. I wouldn't leave her for anything....Umm, owners couldn't get her out, but strangers could? I don't trust anyone, people are heartless...Just reading this makes me want to cry. Did you see the picture of the man that lulls his 19yo shepherd to sleep in Lake Michigan everynight? Poor pup can't fall asleep because of arthritis, now that is a dog lover.
what does the dog want? let it choose. they can both call the dog and see who it goes to. if the dog choses its owner then the rescuer should look in on the dog from time to time to see if its happy and being properly taken care of. perhaps the owner should be forced to sign a legal document to that effect. otherwise i would say leave the dog with the rescuer. dogs can be prone to misplaced loyalty. as far as im concerned 'finders keepers' so its a done deal.
The people who rescued her should be able to keep her if they truly want to see her through the rest of her lifetime. Hopefully they've thought it through and are sincere.
Did the original keepers make attempts to get back to her? If they did, they should compensate the finders and get her back.
I'd HATE to lose my dog this way - where I couldn't keep her during a short, stressful situation, then have her adopted during that time. I couldn't cope with that.
Beth, do you have a chain ladder? If not, you should check into those.
Cindy, I saw. That was so sweet. Watching your old dog get ready to go is so sad, but, we all have to do it evntually.
The owner is now facing cruelty charges. He assumed she was dead after 3 days and didn't bother to go back. It takes much longer than that to die of dehy and starvation. It is a painful horribe LONG death. He's not going to get away with this.
The effort & costs, emotional, physical & financial came from the man who hauled that (surprized he's still alive with no water for 8 days) dog out on his back.
Did he think twice about saying good bye to all contents of his backpack? Nope. It can all be replaced, a living breathing being can not.
I don't want to think about the pain and fear the dog went through once abandoned.
beth---if you HAD to get out quickly due to a fire (scenario here, never wishing that on ANYONE), your kitty will hide, look low---better breathing...grab her by the scruff and place her in a pillow case (they can breathe through a pillow case) if you don't have a carrier handy and who would have a carrier handy in case of a fire?! that would let you get rescued via the balcony....you can easily hold the pillow case shut so she can't escape but she still can breath thru it...make sure it's a good well made sturdy pillow case....one time years ago when i was moving i had to move one of my semi-feral kitties via a pillow case (my vet told me about it) and i felt horrible at the time, but it worked! just know once you get somewhere safe, you'll need to be in a confined area and/or have a carrier to let her into as she'll go wild....if you have a vehicle maybe keep a carrier in your vehicle as back up for emergencies such as this....you can find used carriers pretty cheap at thrift stores....it would give you peace of mind....
eddie at his new place has a big carrier outside and he's went and told all his neighbor if the place catches fire to kick open a door or break a window please...he actually leaves his back door open with the screen door open wide in case there's a fire Hammie--his dog---could bust thru the screen and then the kitties could get out....he's got major PTSD after his fire.....
and i read the article here....the people who rescued the dog, mobilized the rescue effort...whereas dipshit owner was at home figuring the dog was dead.....he best not get the dog back....and who takes a dog to such a situation in the first place??? leave that owner somewhere 8 days with no food and water bleeding...
Owner was kind of an idiot. That dog's story is a heartbreak. I can't stand thinking about it.
Wouldn't common sense tell you to turn around at the FIRST sign that the dogs paws were taking a beating?!
He is being charged by the way. Due in court middle of October on animal cruelty, neglect and abandonment.
Thanks Tia and DD for the advice. I need a big ass pillowcase for my sweet Greta, she's 15 lbs.
I've got PTSD. I lived in Central America growing up during their civil wars. I used to fixate on how I'd get my dog to the safe haven if guerillas stormed the house...like if I went to the kitchen, what path would I take to scoop up my dog and run up the stairs. I admit I'm a little obsessed about my kitty being under the bed and worrying about her hiding. I feel better though now having verbalized it and getting sound advice.
I used to freak when I'd see people getting pulled out of their cars and homes in flash floods--I'd think, what about my dog?!
My mom survived a fire as a kid so she's conditioned me to worry about that, which isn't a bad thing per se.
I would have stayed with my dog and sent the other adult into town for help. Hell, I would have said I had chest pain that miraculously resolved before emergency services arrived. I would have stayed with my dog keeping it safe and warm until help could come. I wonder if there really is a record of the guy calling EMS/911 for help and being told they couldn't help an animal?
Beth
they DID receive a call from him about the dog, so that is true....but look at how those others mobilized a rescue?? he did jackshit....i'm glad he's being charged with animal cruelty....
definitely have a sturdy pillow case---or some kind of sturdy bag (with breathable material) that you could get your kitty into....you don't know how they would react to a fire....eddie's one cat who survived, who was appropriately named Survivor, made it to the porch door and he got out when the fire men kicked open the door--he needed oxygen....Layla who didn't survive was right inside the door leading to the enclosed porch, so she was headed to get by that door it seemed, as was his dog Luci-fur who also passed....the other 2 kitties who passed were sleeping at the time and never woke up....the other 2 who survived, were in the basement hiding in a dresser together....they both have some PTSD themselves because when eddie's goes to water his garden they flip out---they had the water pouring down on them from the hoses....
having a plan for your pets is really important, as we learned first hand here....i'm working on a website to help people clean stuff after a fire and i'm gonna have tips on how to escape with a pet or at least give a neighbor's pets a change....even neighbors i don't like, i would have no problem rushing over with my sledgehammer to break open a door and windows for their furbabies to have a change to escape....
good idea on faking chest pains.....no way i would have left my dog, no way in hell....but i wouldn't have taken my dog on such a trip in the first place....
Oh Tia, I'm so sorry you and Eddie lived through such a nightmare. People really do need to know how to plan for emergencies.
I grew up with dogs and have common sense with them, but I'm not too hot with cats. I had Emily, the first cat in the family, for 15 years. After she passed this year, I adopted Greta. I king sized pillow case is the perfect idea. THANK YOU. I'll sleep better. Hell, maybe even a smaller laundry bag?
make sure the laundry bags are breathable...some are not...i know some laundry bags are nylon....you can get big sized pillow cases though....they make huge pillow cases now.....
yeah, horrible nightmare....and eddie still has anxiety driving home from work---he came home from work and 5 different city's fire trucks were on his street blocking his block and he asked to go down to his house to make sure his dog and cats weren't scared and they told him it was his house on fire and had to hold him back from going down there into the house....the one kitty, Survivor was in the front yard and they were giving him oxygen, they let him get him and hold him in the ambulance....then he called me and i raced over....he thought he lost everyone but Survivor...after the fire department left they said we could go in though they didn't recommend it---they had respectfully wrapped those who passed and put them on the porch, but 2 kitties were still missing...i took the first floor and he went into the basement (with a a foot and a half of water) and found 'em hiding in the dresser, scared to death but alive!!! the firemen HAD look all over the 1st floor for the other 2, but they didn't know the back of this dresser was missing....now he's really obviously paranoid about them having a way out even though his new place has all new wiring (the old place was a death trap with a slumlord) i can totally empathize with his anxiety though...i dunno what he's gonna do in the winter....i hope he gets over this a little better by then cuz he can't have the back door open in the winter!
even DOGS might hide though.....you never know how an animal will react in a situation....some dogs who are protective of their owners might get confused in the smoke and leave the house but then go back in and look for family members to save them....i am sure your apartment has a CM detector (i think they're better than smoke detectors)....that'll go off for smoke too....get low, stay low, grab Greta and GET OUT! have copies of photos, etc on website like FB or somewhere where you have copies of photos--or a harddrive you keep elsewhere....
The rescuers. WTF did that guy do for the 8 days that dog was up there??
Oh Tia. Give Survivor and the other two kitties some scratches from their friend Beth. I'm so sorry for all the pain you and Eddie have been through. I can't even imagine what a nightmare it has been, but thank you for sharing what you've learned with me. I will do everything I can to keep Miss Greta safe. Did I tell you she has 22 toes?! She's a polydactyl and looks like she's wearing mittens. Not a huge snuggler but follows me and sleeps with me.
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