I Don't Understand

[Belle Noir]

Pardon me for ranting, I just need to get this off my chest...
A couple weeks ago, my daughters friend brought over a dog she found. I'm pretty sure she found the dog just as she said, because this is an honest young lady, very trust worthy.
She could not keep the dog, as she and her young family, (teen mother, baby and father, who is a good young man, they're making it work, despite being a teenage couple on their own) are not allowed dogs where they are staying. (This young lady's own personal dog, a husky still lives with her mother).
I agreed to hold on to the dog, and try to find the dogs owner.
First order of business was to scan her. I have a universal, and the dog is NOT chipped. Second order of business, call all the shelters and put in a found dog report. Third order of business, put a found dog report online.
I have been waiting for that phone call that says we found someone that lost a dog that fits the description of the dog you found. I have been waiting for the phone call that says we lost a dog that fits that description, and nothing.
What I don't understand is this...
The dog I am caring for is a pure bred well cared for, well within standard size (about 6 lbs but a little portly) female yorkie. She is an older lady, and someone took the time to have bad teeth removed. She was recently groomed (standard cotton coat modified schnauzer cut). She is house broken and well behaved, and she does NOT run out the door if the door is open.
Why was this dog on the street? Why is no one looking for this dog? I don't mind, I'll keep her if we don't find her family. But it's heartbreaking to me, even if she has settled in and seems mostly content.
But I don't understand it... Did someone dump this lovely little dog and if they did, why? How could they? Or is someone even now quietly hoping that their sweet dog has been found and will be returned to them? How have I not found this dog's family, when it is obvious that she was well cared for?

Then I start thinking dark thoughts. What if her owner is dead and the family wanted nothing to do with her. I can't help but to think like that because my own mother recently passed away. Along with my disabled sister, I inherited her own pack of 4 dogs... I would never toss my mothers dogs on the street, though to be honest, I am considering rehoming at least 2 of them, maybe 3 (Working on a contract I like that has a strong repossession clause. They are not getting ownership, just permanent perpetual guardianship, these were my moms dogs, her babies, and the homes I find her them better be perfect or I'm taking them back). So I start thinking, not everyone was raised in a family that respected and loved animals. It's not too far from the realms of possibilities that this is what happened, and this is why no one is looking for Pokey. Because no one wanted her, and again, I can't understand it, because she is almost a perfect little dog.
The only thing that stops her from actually being perfect is it's obvious she was an only dog, and she wants NOTHING to do with any of my dogs.

And all the responses I got... I could NOT say what breed or gender in my online lost ad, so I put down found, purebred toy breed, and said for them to name breed and gender.. So many people contacted me hoping I had found their dog, but none of them were looking for her.
Like I said, truly heartbreaking.
I just had to get it off my chest, because this is really bothering me.

[Buster Brown]

Thank you for taking care of Pokey and your mother's dogs as well. How some people treat animals, heck other humans is so sad. I am glad this girl has a chance at a better life.

[Lovetodream88]

Your doing the right thing. Sometimes dogs can cover a lot of ground, did you think of going out a couple of miles to farther out shelters and found ads?

[Belle Noir]

Thank you, I live in the city, there are two main shelters, and then a smaller one. Just outside the city, as I am near the boarder to another county, there are several different shelters and rescues and I contacted them as well, even though WHERE exactly she was found, it would have been difficult for her to have come into the city from one of the outlier counties. But because dogs can travel, even little ones (I found a min pin almost 10 miles from where he was lost), just in case I notified those shelters too.
Nothing. It's so sad. It really doesn't look like anyone is looking for this girl, and then I started thinking about you guys here, and the dichotomy hit me. Because I know any one of us here would move heaven and hell to get our missing dog back.

I wish more people would microchip. I know that some people have reasons why they are against it. But in the case of peke I found in January, that allowed me to find her owner, even if it was only for him to tell me he doesn't want the dog. (That was an adventure, none of the numbers worked, I actually ended up going to his house and knocking on the door, and he had the nerve to tell me he didn't have a dog, and only changed his story when I told him the dog was microchipped and the chip was registered to him)
I wish Pokey were chipped, then the wondering would be over for ME. Then I could feel comfortable about letting her bond with my family. Where I am, you cannot claim ownership of a found animal until 90 days after reporting the dog found. This is in line with the property laws on the books and dogs are considered property. That puts the dog and family that found the dog on unsteady grounds. I understand the law, and the reason why, but I honestly wish at this point in time, they had permanent identification as a law. If the dog is not tattoed or microchipped, and the dog is fuond, you forfit your right to the dog after 30 days. Maybe even less. This may just be my frustration talking. I wasn't looking for another dog at this time.
It just baffles me and probably angers me a little too how someone is not looking for this dog. My friend tells me oh, I should call groomers, I should call vets to see if any of their clients are missing, and I'm like no. I cannot do more to find the owner of this dog than the owner is doing to find the dog. This is the 5th largest city in the US.. That is a lot of groomers and a lot of vets, and not everyone uses groomers or vets that are convenient to them. MY groomer, for example, isn't even in the city, being in one of the outlier counties. So I'm supposed to call every vet and every groomer in my city, and in all the counties to ask them if they have a missing older female yorkie client... So, 300 (roughly) phone calls? No, I'm not doing that. I have done everything I can do, and I just call all the shelters every other day to ask if anyone has called looking for Pokey. Nothing.
Maybe I'm wrong for feeling this way, I don't know.

[shelbysmom]

Lost My Doggie - Lost Dogs Near READING, PA

[shelbysmom]

Originally Posted by shelbysmom

Lost My Doggie - Lost Dogs Near READING, PA

https://www.facebook.com/PALOSTFOUNDPETSPAGE

[Lovetodream88]

Well I'm more of a fan of collars and tags. I won't microchip my dog because of the risk of cancer and the body pushing out and attacking foreign objects in the body but my dog has never and is never left alone and she always has her tags on. 90 days is such a long time though but you are doing all you can.

[Graneet]

Heartbreaking is what it is. You wonder what goes on in the minds of these fur babies. When suddenly there family is gone. Today someone said they had a yorky at a shelter. Who gives these babies away. We had our papilon and she can be a bugger. Very touchy about being moved. Also hates dogs barks like salior but to give her away nope. To me its like gitting rid of your child cause they fail to be perfect. Love you taking your moms dogs. Doubt my kids will. Why this will be the last dogs i will get. But they are soooo much of a comfort. But do not want to leave them behind to be sent to a pound .

[Lisa and Pic]

Sounds like you are doing everything you can and thank you. Hopefully the owner will find you.

On a different note, that is exactly how we ended up with our Min Pin, Vivi. I wish we could have found her owner, but since we didn't she certainly has had a happy five years with us.

[matese]

So sad, you say the dog was well groomed, showing it was taken care of. The thought that the owner may be looking for her is heart breaking. You have done all that you can, it is up to the owner to do all they can do to find this lil baby. There has to be a horrific reason the owner has not come forward, could be elderly ppl that don't know how to begin to look for lost dogs, hoping the dog will just find it's way back home. Poor little baby must miss her family, confused by her situation with strange ppl. My heart breaks for this lil critter. I know she is in good caring hands. So sad for the owners and the poor pup. Some ppl just set a dog free thinking it is a pedigree and will be kept when found, some ppl are scared if they surrender or bring to a shelter the dog will be put down, so they drive off, far away from home so pup will never find it's way back. It's amazing in today's sociaty there are so many uneducated pet owners that do not know there are many no kill shelters and pups are re-homed. Bless you for taking this lil girl and doing all you can to find the owner, even with all the babies that you have, still you did not turn your back on her

[gemy]

The only one or two things I can think of; instead phoning vets offices, why not do emails to them; many vets have websites etc, and yes I know that that is time consuming as well.


Second idea, when you walk her circle out from your neighbourhood, she might just recognize when you pass her home. And then maybe you can post notices on the lampposts and or a direct letter through the mailbox etc.


Local dog parks are another idea.

[Belle Noir]

Thank you shelbysmom. I have been on both sites as well as a few others. I'm no longer in Reading, I'm in Philly, and on the cusp of several townships in a small area. (Yeadon, Lansdowne, Darby, Upper Darby to name a few of the larger ones)
gemy, I HAVE contacted the vets closest to me, three of them just outside the city, and 4 in the immediate area. But not everyone goes to vets close to them, just as not everyone goes to groomers near them. There was a no go with any of them, or the local groomers (there's only a few, most people seem to take their dogs to petsmart), and again, nothing.
We're still looking though. Taking her in the area she was found in was the third thing I did after calling the local shelters and posting the craiglist ad. She looked at me like OK, I have no idea what you want, but let's go inside please, right now. Seems very much an indoor dog.

[matese]

I have 87 houses in my community, when dogs get loose for what ever reason, they end up by me. There was a pix bull loose last year, of course ended up by me, I keep leashes at my front and back door for these dogs. Just as I leashed up this pit a young lady came, she was out looking for him, seems she was baby sitting for her friend and the dog got out of the house. She casually pointed in the direction where her friend lived. She took the dog and off she went. 2 months later back comes the pit, well I know what direction he lives in so I leash him up, tell him, come on, lets go home. So off we go, walk down the road, I am telling him Bully going home (Bully is his name) He gives me no indication where he lives, so the door knocking will start, every driveway I went up he is all happy, I am happy to because I think this is where he lives, wrong, I ring bell, ask is this your dog, no, it's not. After the 5th house and Bully all happy I now know it's not his house. At he 12th house finally someone recognizes him, he belongs to the 1st house on the corner, the very first house I had past, I didn't go to that one because no cars were in the drive way, yet Bully walked right past it, gave no indication that he lived there. As I was walking back to his house a car was pulling into the driveway I asked the lady that was driving was this her dog, she says yes, said he ran out of the door, she had to leave and had no time to go look for him, in fact, she seemed quit annoyed that I brought him back home. The point I am trying to make here is: don't count on a dog to show you were he lives. Maybe Bully wasn't treated with a lot of love or given much attention, after all, the gal a had a baby, I guess not a lot of time to give to her dog, maybe the attention he received when he was loose was the only positive attention he received, could be the reason he showed no sign that he lived in a house we had just past. Just a thought. I notified the management office, I have not seen that dog since, perhaps they moved, or gave the dog away?