Playing Marshall

[Jhemphill]

I found a or should I say he found me a Chihuahua mix. I was leaving Best Buy and this little guy came running straight at me from the parking lot and sat down right in front of me. I picked him up and went into Best Buy and asked them to page for the owner of a Chihuahua, I though he had jumped out of someone's car. No one answered the page so I took him into the other stores in the shopping center and no one claimed him. I took him to the vet to see if he was micro-chipped he wasn't he only had a collar and no tags. I also put notice on Dogster in two of the Raleigh forums, this was Friday. He is a great guy a few potty issues, but these are a lot less then the 4 month old Wolfdogs potty issues. We know have 4 dogs in our house and Maxi seems to have a problem when the Wolf dog and the Chihuahua play together, he had also done this when another puppy came over and played with the Wolfdog. He seems to want to separate them, he as started to chase and snap at the new dog (vet said he is 11 to 13 months), he has made him yelp a couple of times and made him bleed a little tiny bit yesterday under his chin. When this action starts we immediately stop them and separate them. Yesterday Maxi and Malaya (Wolfdog) both were chasing Muggie (Chihuahua mix) around the house, it is a good thing that Muggie is fast and can jump up on to me is he feels they are getting to close. Maxi and Malaya thought they had him yesterday as they were chasing him from different directions, but when it came to the capture moment, Maxi and Malaya collided and Muggie slip right under them, imagine slipping under a Corgi. Muggie does not seem frightened when they chase him, but because he is so little I am afraid the they may hurt him. Is this something that Corgi's do or is Maxi being aggressive? And yes we are keeping him, have taken Muggie to the Vet and he has had shots and worm tests, he has been given heart worm and flea treatments, and micro chipped and will be neutered on June 22 if no one claims him. I believe that he was abandoned. The area that he found me at is bordered by two busy highways. I do not understand how people can just discard an animal like it is a piece of trash.

[corgimom]

How sad for that little pup - how frightened he must have been - you must have looked like someone he could trust since he came and sat in front of you.

Will this be your 3rd dog and how did you come up with the name? Did you think of putting a ad in the lost and found section of the newspaper. I wonder if someone had him in the car and then stopped at Best Buy and the little guy darted out of the car when they opened the door. They should have had tags on this little dog, so that is irresponsible on their part.

What about letting your local Humane Society know that you found this dog in case the owners decide to call there. I recommend this because it happened to my mother in law with her Boston Terrier - she lives in the country and had let the dog out (who was partially blind),to go potty and somehow it got lost(she only has a collar on it) - anyway, was missing for two weeks, they assumed the dog would never come back, and then two hunters found the dog and turned it in to the local Humane Society, which in turn called my mother in law to let her know that her dog had been found.

I guess this dog you found could have been left there on purpose, but then again, maybe not.

I'm not trying to talk you out of keeping him, but there may be someone out there who is sad that this dog is missing.

Linda

[Michael Romanos]

Yes,Linda is right. There are lots of things you can do in an effort to find the owner and establish if the little fellow is indeed abandoned. Go for it.

[corgimom]

At least let your local Humane Society know you found him like I said before.
Not everyone is familier with Dogster - and it could be an elderly couples
dog who have no clue what Dogster is. There could be many different scenarios as to why this dog appeared there, one being abandonment, but also, like I said, he may have escaped from the car - maybe sitting on a childs lap who opened the door and out the dog may have went.

And check the newspaper also in the classifieds(not sure how yours works), but people will often put that they lost a dog under the pet section.

Then you will have exhausted at least most means of finding the owners, and after two weeks, then I say, take him in as your own for keeps if you want; you will have a head start by caring for him already

Linda

[Jhemphill]

I registered him on the the county Animal Control board so that they will have a listing of him. I hope that if he is lost that he can be reunited with his family. I know I would be frantic and sick with worry if my Maxi was lost that is also why I have gotten him micro chipped and registered. If he stays with us he will be our families 4th dog, they will be an American Bulldog, a Corgi of course, a 98% wolfdog, and the Chihuahua, the American Bulldog and my Maxi are the Alfa Male and Female of the house. That is why I asked about Maxi's behavior. His name is a version of Muggel, my daughter thought it up the other dogs in our house all have M names, American Bulldog (Medjai), Corgi (Maximus) Wolfdog (Malaya). 2 males and 2 females, one big happy family.

[corgimom]

That is good that you did that. With four dogs, you certainly would have
your hands full. Are you able to vacation at all, even for a weekend? and if
so, what would you do with 4 dogs? I am trying to picture 4 dogs running
around my house!!

Linda

[Jhemphill]

Yes my husband and I both work full time. We are lucky that our daughter and son-in-law live with us, our daughter is going to nursing school full time so they are staying with us until she finishes, so we have live in puppy sitters. Two of the dogs are really theirs, the Medjai the American Bulldog and Malaya the Wolfdog, the new one will proboably also be theirs when they move out, if he is not claimed. All the dogs get along realtively well, except for when Maxi feel he needs to play Marshall. All the dogs just adore my daughter, we call her BeastMaster, she has always been loved by animals. It is really quite nice to come home and be mobbed by four loving and happy dogs that want to give kisses. I and my daughter have always said that if we ever won the lottery we would buy a ranch/farm and take in all animals that needed a home and let them run and play on the property, we would train and rehabilitate the ones that had problem and then find good and safe homes for them. But right now we are at our limit, one dog per person at the house.

[corgimom]

I have always felt that if I had the resources, time, and my husbands backing,
I would take in "senior" dogs and cats who are dumped by their owners at shelters who no longer want to care for them in their old age. I would love to give them a home in their last couple years of life - whatever it would be - I just always feel so sorry for dogs and cats who are in shelters after years of spending their life with a family.

Linda

[Jhemphill]

Yes, I too feel for animals that have had homes and families and then given away because they are old and need some extra care. It is sad the way some people think of their animals. To our family once you take in an animal it becomes a part of the family, just as if it was a human and you will do what ever you need to make its life as good as possible, just like you would do for a human.