Abandoned animals?

Question

I've always been bugged by people who abandon animals, but after this stray that I've been taking care of for the last few days, it has really made me angry to see what people abandoning their animals lead to. The dog I am taking care of is extremely skinny, has white gums, and mange. He has an appointment tomorrow at the vet's office I work at.

Is anyone else bothered by animal abandoning, and, any good links?

Answer 1

I don't have good links- but I do have 4 pets here who were all abandoned. Our newest: a minipoodle who was left at a local gas station by a highway. Would you believe that nobody from the gas station called animal control??? Or, put him in a safe place??? We brought him home. He was overgrown to the point that we didn't know what breed he was and sickly. After a shave, and a month to get healthy, you'd never know he was the same dog.



I fear we are going to see more of this as homes go into foreclosure in the States. I also think this is how our new puppy came to be homeless. No heartworm, no worms of any kind the vet said, just overgrown and alone.



Sad...very, very sad.



I will say prayers for your pup!



Edit: Kaija- our dog was abandoned and the people at the gas station watched them drive away. The 2 cats we handraised from the time they were 10 days old had a mom who was left at the apartments. She went feral as she was still so young when they left her.



I think you can claim: abandoned if they are in any way left, dropped off, or showed up without tags or an owner that is looking for them.



Whatever you'd call it, it breaks my heart. How can anyone leave their animal behind like that??? Do they have no heart? Do they turn their feelings and emotions off??? Better to go to a shelter than to get hit by a car or to starve to death in my opinion.

Answer 2

Yes... working at an animal shelter, I see this all the time. It's disturbing, disgusting, and inexcusable. I'm not sure what to link you to, but there's a lot on the internet now regarding impulse buying and puppy mills... and how that leads to abandoning animals. Also a lot out there about shelters. We need to spread the word, and help get our orphans homes :)



And to another recent poster, I don't think it's necessary to reprimand someone who cares enough to take in a stray and sick dog for not taking it to the vet sooner. I have also worked at a vet's office and am in vet school, and I can tell you right now, clinics appreciate the notice ahead of time, and do not like being barged in on if it's not life or death. They are so busy!!! White gums means anemia... which is very dangerous, and generally a sign of a parasite or disease, but I do not think the extra few hours will make such a difference at that point. The mange is probably what caused the anemia, being that mange is caused by mites-- a horrible parasite. The vet will be able to treat this so long as it's just mites. If it is a disease, it will be up to you if you'd like to go ahead with treatment.



Good luck, and thank you for helping the babies out there that have no one else :(

Answer 3

Yep. Try working at an animal control. 30 to 90 animals come into this one shelter DAILY!



Many people seem to think if they just abandon a cute dog (or other animal) in a busy place, that someone will imediatly find it and take it home with them. People don't stop and realise all the horrific things that can happen... (hit by a car, killed by another animal, get diseases or mange, starve) Most people won't even go near a stray for fear or it having disease or being agressive. Or people will say something like "It's an animal. It can survive on it's own." Once again, they don't stop and realise that it's a demesticated animal.



Thanks for letting me rant some. :D It's nice to do every now and then.

Answer 4

Wow, you're just as bad as the original owner. You couldn't keep a kitten for one damned night? You're a heartless person who should never own an animal, and you deserve to be fined. I'm glad it eats you up inside.That kitten probably got eaten or hit by a car, and it's all you and your teachers fault. And what on earth were you doing running around with your teacher at 8pm at night? Unfortunately, you won't get arrested or fined because nobody witnessed you doing it, so you, just like every other pig who dumps an animal after hours at an animal shelter with no regard for its safety, will get away with it. Go play in traffic.

Answer 5

I worked for an animal shelter, and saw boxes of kittens thrown into a tied box, in the dark on top of each other picked up from the side of the road, sick, starving animals picked up from any and everywhere, and I even saw a few people take advantage of a local flood to say that they dove in and saved a dog, but had to bring it to the shelter. Then, it turned out that the dog was actually theirs and they wanted to get rid of it. They just wanted to look like a hero while ditching their pet. People abandoning innocent, loving, sweet animals makes me more crazy and upset than just about anything else. Good luck with the dog.

Answer 6

Well.. I have a problem with using the term "abandoned".. you found a dog.. okay.. so, at what point did you psychically figure out the owner abandoned it? I have a beagle mix that was found as a stray with heartworm, almost 30 lbs overweight, embedded collar.. These are now fixed.. but since I've had him, he has slipped his collar several times, climbed the fence in the back yard, and broken through a window.. (note: I am not home when this happens. I do not live alone, and they don't want to sit around watching the dogs in a fenced in yard.. it does not happen with me there) people found him quickly.. and I have id on him.. but what if he had been out on his own, and no one found him for months.. ?.. Dogs do wander off sometimes.. and it's not always possible to find them.. Is it possible that the dog you found was abandoned? Yes.. but it is EQUALLY possible you found someones dog who has been missing for so long that nature took over..



You can only say it is "abandoned" when you watch the owner toss it outside (or drive it to another location and drive off leaving it) .. Without seeing that you have no clue.

Answer 7

I am p*ssed off by people that throw away animals like trash. Right now in my home I am caring for one 9 week old kitten that had Coccida and worms and was malnourished, one 12 week old kitten that has a severe eye infection (I found him Friday and he was totally blind from the infection, his sight is starting to return today), an upper respiratory infection and was dehydrated and malnourished, and one 6 week old kitten that had worms. I have taken them all to the vet and am responsible for caring for them round the clock. In the case of the 12 week old I do mean round the clock. I will find homes for them. Somebody dumped them out at various times during the past few weeks. These poor animals are suffering because some idiot couldn't bother to get their animal fixed!!

Answer 8

It really pisses me off. I live in a rural area and people abandon pets all the time. Maybe they think they can live off the land but in reality they starve, get hit by a car, or eaten by a coyote. I have had people bring in dogs that they saw someone throw out of a car. Here is a picture of Jack. How the hell could someone throw him out of a CAR???

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10103888@N06/2488743330/

Someone drove up to our clinic and tossed a cat out and drove away. That was one smart cat, she came up to the door, meowed politely to come in so we spayed her and found her a good home.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moovet/2488784408/

One person brought in a dog that the owners had seen get hit by a car and the "owners" left her in the street to die. The good Samaritan and I were both bawling when we euthanized this little dog b/c it had a fractured spine.

A few weeks ago a client brought in a young pitbull that they found abandoned by an irrigation ditch. They are going to treat her severe mange and I have every hope that Maddie will make a full recovery, but this is what she looks like now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10103888@N06/2488724230/

The stories and the pictures could go on and on and people wonder why I am the anti breeding nazi! Good luck with your stray and thank you for saving him!!!

Answer 9

I'm sorry, I don't know of any good links.

I'm saddened by all the animals that are abandoned.

Our girl Shadow was abandoned when she was just a pup (we guessed she wasn't older than 5-6 weeks old). How is a puppy supposed to fend for itself? How is any dog that has lived with a family supposed to fend for itself.

I know that a lot of animals are just dumped off out in the country here in IA. People who dump their animals off figure a farmer will take it in and take care of it.

Nope. The farmer's usually just shoot them.

I'm related to one of those wonderful human beings (dripping with sarcasm).

My very own niece and her husband took their dog to the country and dumped her off.

I didn't find out about until about a month later.

I was p*ssed!

I gave her 14 flavors of good old holy h*ll for all the good it did me. She said that Patches was tearing apart her house, all the local shelters were full and she just didn't know what else to do!

I found out not too long ago they bought a rat terrier puppy.

About a month ago, she asked my brother if he had seen the terrier. When he told her that it had seen a rat terrier take off across their yard and then across the street.

My niece told him if he saw it again to run it over with his car because it was her dog.

She is one of those people who should NEVER own any animal.



Edit: Moovet19....You all must have hidden halo's because you are guardian angels to those animals!

I'm going to add Maddie's page to my favorites, so I can see her progress.

I just don't understand how anyone can look into any of their eyes and do something cruel, heartless, abusive or mistreat any animal.

Answer 10

With his gums that white, I'm surprised he didn't die yeterday after you asked a question about him. I know whenever something bad has happened to one of my dogs, I don't call a vet. I go to the vet's and they will take your pet in. I've never been told to make an appt and come back later. You do know white gums are a very bad sign? It means his red blood cell count is VERY low. He can not live much longer with tha condition. You should have taken him when you first found him.

Answer 11

It does annoy me...but sometimes I think it's better for these people to drop their animals off at a shelter rather than poorly look after them. But WHY get an animal if you don't plan on keeping it or don't have the heart to find it a new home so it's not dumped in a shelter.



But in your case you are talking about abandoning a dog, but not taking them to a shelter, so letting them fend for themselves. It's just cruel...you wonder why some people even get dogs.



Thanks for looking after the stray! :)



(my dog was a shelter dog)

Answer 12

Don't have any links for you but; I live in the country and there aren't too many houses before or after mine, so I get a lot of strays (dumped) that wander up to the house. I have my own pets, but I try to feed and take care of them until I can find homes for them. If they need medical attention I try to take care of that also. But YES it does irritate me that people can be so callous and just plain awful. It always amazes me that people will get a pet and then decide they don't want it anymore and just take it off instead of finding a good home for it. Some people just suck.

Answer 13

I work for my SPCA and yes I see this all the time. It does bug me, we've showed up at 7am to work and there would be a box of a momma cat with her new kittens waiting for us at the door with a note that says sorry.



I used to want to take them all in and care for every single one- 'bleeding heart syndrome aka i want to carry the weight of the world and its animals on my shoulders' but there is only so much you can do for so many.

Answer 14

Yes it is horrible how people abandon their pets like they never mattered at all. Wish I knew a good link to look at myself for this=would the vet know of one for you to check on?

You are so great to take this poor dog in,I would of done the same.Cheers to us animal lovers!!!! Hope he/she will recover & get the love & attention he/she deserves from you or whoever takes him/her.

Answer 15

Omg, why take in an animal to abandon it? I hate those ppl I wouldnt care if it was my best friend I would hate her

Answer 16

yes, if people can hurt poor innoccent animals they have no heart.

i mean i'm sad even when i see people hit their dog with the news paper training them [!]

Answer 17

i dont have any links but it buggs me SOOOOO BAD!!!!! i hate it its like just take your pet to a shelter or somthing dont just dump it i toattly know what you mean