would you want your dog back after 8 years or would you rather the current owners be found?

[Liberal_in_LA]

Dog lost in Virginia 8 years ago found in California animal shelter

shouldn't they try to find the current owners? :-(

This isn't the dog, just a pic of one like it:

---------------------------------------------

A stray dog brought to a Northern California animal shelter turned out to have been reported missing in Virginia eight years ago.

Now, officials are planning a reunion between the long-lost dog and her grateful owners.

Around Thanksgiving in 2003, Petunia, then 3 years old, walked away from her family’s farm in Virginia. The family conducted a large search, but never found her.

Petunia somehow ended up in Yuba County, north of Sacramento, at the Animal Care Services Shelter.

After a physical exam, the stray was scanned for a microchip.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/dog-lost-in-viriginia-8-years-ago-found-in-california-animal-shelter.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29

[Ohio Joe]

1. I'm OK with the Dog going back to the original family

If they knew the new family... That might be a different story... More complicated but as it is, I think they are doing the right thing.

[IdaBriggs]

2. "Current" owners didn't take him to a vet for 8 years (so the chip

would have been found earlier)? Basic responsibility was lost - get him back "home". Poor puppy. :(

[lunatica]

14. Vets don't always scan for chips

So you really are jumping to conclusions.

Either way, if the families were good to the dog then one of the families have to sacrifice. The dog will be OK and happy either way.

[Skittles]

49. ?

I don't think vets routinely scan - this dog was scanned because it was a stray

[hlthe2b]

3. I would ALWAYS want my dog back... Like children, I would ALWAYS want them back....

I know what you are saying, but my dogs are part of me... It would take one hell of a lot of convincing that they would not be better off with me. I can not even imagine losing one of my beloved babes, but I'd move heaven and earth to get them back--no matter how long.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. I picture some kid in the current family, missing their dog.

:-(

[hlthe2b]

8. If that were the case, would you not think they would come forward?

And if there were a case to be made that the dog was not neglected by the current family--despite their not having chipped the dog nor apparently taken him for veterinary care, then perhaps the original family would consider that.

To suggest the original owners, who sought the dog and searched for him extensively should not deserve the dog back because there MIGHT be a child involved is just ludicrous, IMO and NOT at all fair.

[TorchTheWitch]

56. tough shit

That kid's parents should have done the responsible thing and done everything reasonable to locate the legal owner of the dog instead of essentially stealing it from its rightful owner. That dog hasn't lived with it's rightful owner likely because some thieving asshole decided "finder's keepers" and tough shit for the rightful owner missing their dog. If they didn't want their kid missing "their" dog there are plenty of ways to legally own a dog they don't have to worry about their kid missing instead of deciding to steal someone else's.

But of course, we don't know if there is any current caretaker with or without a kid missing a dog that never belonged to them in the first place.

[xchrom]

5. original family. nt

[MADem]

6. Depends.

Was Petunia abused or neglected?

Are the second owners (assuming Petunia didn't just live on the streets) in the picture? You have to wonder why they didn't try to get the dog scanned to find an owner?

I am pretty much a "pet for life" person. I realize there are times when people have to give up their pets, and there are some cases where an animal is just a better fit in a different home, but if Petunia's options are "Old family or adoption" I'd say go with the old family--dogs aren't stupid. They remember who loves them.

If I had to guess, I'd say a military person may have stolen that dog and PCS'd across country....tsk, tsk.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. 1. exam found Petunia to be in good condition. 2. is microchipping that common?

3. 8 years of love overrides 3 years of love 8 years ago

[mitchtv]

10. it is common when you bring a new dog

to your vet after "finding" him. She was reported missing besides. I'd go with the family who cared enough to insert a chip for just this situation.

[MADem]

11. It sure is. I had two dogs when I lived in VA--both were chipped.

That was in 95. One of 'em went on a walkabout on the Beltway on a holiday weekend, got picked up by a family stuck in traffic, and they very kindly took my dog to a vet (his tags had been chewed so they were completely unreadable--he was that kind of dog).

The chip brought the little fart home in short order. He only died a few years ago. I would have been very bummed to have lost my fence-climbing pal (that IS how he got out--climbed up and over a chain link fence, the little shit--he wanted to go on a squirrel chase or a rabbit run, I guess!).

I would be interested to know how Family 2 acquired the dog. It's not like a dog like that is a mutt; they had to know it was a valuable pooch. If I found a dog like that, I'd maybe offer to keep the dog while they found the owner, but I'd do the whole "report/chip scan" thing so the owner could be found.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. I got ya. Cat owner here. Cats 'ownership' is more fluid lol

Some people allow neighbors to keep cat when cat decides to hang out there. :-)

[MADem]

21. Actually--that sort of thing kind of DID happen to me, too.

A friend of ours died in horrible circumstances and we ended up with the cat with zero notice and no opportunity for "transition" for the poor thing. We kept the cat because the family of the deceased didn't want it after all the affairs were settled. This cat was just pissed off that the owner had died, didn't want to interact with our menagerie of cats/dogs, and basically "tolerated" us for several years.

Along comes another friend who had owned the same type cat, having just died, who developed an affinity for the cat who tolerated us. When the guy took ill with cancer and asked to "borrow" the cat as a therapy animal of sorts, well, who was I to say no?

The two of them got along famously--he spoiled the cat, the cat loved him. He got better, too, so it was kismet.

Although I felt a bit guilty handing the cat on, the cat had spent most of his days hissing at everyone and being generally miserable, so he was happier, my friend was happier, and we were happier that the cat wasn't being Billy Bummedout all the live long day...so it was a good fit. That's not our usual practice though---if we get a pet, we keep a pet.


I have a "new" dog this month, courtesy of my neighbor who was hauled off in an ambulance (now in hospital and having therapy, expected to recover but the timeline is still sketchy). Hell, I'm a sucker for the animals! I couldn't let the poor little shitter go to a kennel or a pen! She's fitting in well with the group, so it's just one more bowl in the line-up.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. Thank you for taking in animals in need!

:-) and being willing to let go when necessary.

[MADem]

26. Animals are nicer than some people, I've found!

They are certainly more straightforward!

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Which is exactly how we got our latest cat!

He "moved" from the neighbor's kids across the street, walked INTO our house, shoved the dog and our cat aside and made himself at home. Strangely, the dog and other cat were fine with the intrusion.
So I called the neighbor, who was also fine with "re-homing" the cat, since only the kids wanted it, the adults did not.
Cat occasionally goes back across the street to visit, kids maul him happily, then he comes back home to us in a few hours.

He is the 2nd cat I have gained that way in my life.
Cats always seem to know where to live, I have found.
I have only "looked for" one cat in my whole life.
Usually I decide I need a cat and soon one shows up.

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. I'd better treat me cats well. don't want them looking for a better home.

:scared:

[Arkansas Granny]

35. I have acquired cats in that fashion, myself. I just tell people I was adopted.

I also had a cat who decided she was going to continue to live at a house after I had moved. I took her to the new house a few blocks away on several ocassions. The minute she managed to sneak out of the house, she went back to the previous house. I talked to one of the neighbors about her and she promised to look after the cat for me. The cat had always liked her anyway and I could always visit. When the cat got old and feeble, the neighbor called me and kitty spent her last year with me. She lived to be 17 years old.

[pnwmom]

41. That's because cats decide where they want to live. They're not

so choosy about the humans who may be lurking in the area.

;)

[pnwmom]

40. Yes, microchipping IS that common. Vets offices are given scanners for free

and so are animal rescue places. It's strange he wasn't identified till now.

[mitchtv]

9. Original family no question what so ever

Had the pup for 8 years and didn't find a chip? Evidently did not make a good faith effort to find the family .

[GoCubsGo]

15. I wouldn't be surprised if they took it from the family in the first place.

From everything I have been reading Staffordshire terriers (a.k.a. "pit bulls") are stolen fairly frequently. They may have taken it to a vet for regular care, but if they didn't tell him or her that they acquired this animal as a stray, there is no reason for the vet to scan for a chip. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the person who took this dog to California swiped it from the family in Virginia.

[lunatica]

16. I have a dog who's been chipped and the vet has never scanned her after 10 years

So what's your point? The chip is in place for when someone asks the vet to scan it. The new owners didn't ask. Maybe it never occurred to them that it might have a chip, or that they wouldn't keep it.

Not everything fits neatly into a box in real life.

[TorchTheWitch]

59. there is no new owner

The original owner never relinquished the ownership of the dog. If you find a dog that appears healthy and well cared for then it belongs to someone, and the very least anyone should do is what is reasonable in finding the rightful owner which includes having it scanned for a microchip. "Finders keepers" doesn't apply when you happen across someone else's property.

[FarCenter]

13. The dog would now be 11 years old; There's no point in getting him back

[hlthe2b]

17. WHAT??????

Oh never mind... I just don't understand those who consider pets to be "disposable" after the novelty wears off. No point in getting him back now that he's 11? Geebus.

[FarCenter]

24. American Staffordshire Terrier on a farm in Virginia; "Petunia" is probably a bitch

Pet, guard dog, ratter, and possibly breeding stock?

Does the owner have a replacement dog?

At 11, dogs start to run up the vet bills, and remaining lifespan may depend on what has happened in the last 8 years.

[MADem]

25. Petunia's best friend, according to the video, was a yappy little poodle-ish dog

that is still alive.

These are people who loved their dog, I think--and someone swiped the thing.

[Obamanaut]

34. We have five dogs - ranging from a long haired chihuahua to a cocker/wire haired terrier mix.

Two of them are approaching 11. If they run up vet bills, we will pay the vet bills.

The smallest is 4 lbs, largest is 39.

[hlthe2b]

38. Wow....

I hope you don't have a dog. Heaven forbid you might have to spend a little $$ green to care for them. :eyes:

[lunatica]

19. WTF?!

Tell me, in your opinion what was the point in having a dog in the first place?

[MADem]

22. Wrong. You don't reward a dog thief. nt

[pnwmom]

42. My sister's dog is over 15 now -- and he's a larger breed than that one.

You never know how long a dog will live.

[warrior1]

18. the dog is a stray

should go back to family

http://www.kcra.com/news/29908920/detail.html

video of the pup

[Jamastiene]

20. Original owners.

But the "new" family could have visitation rights if they were good to the animal. I guess they could share ownership somehow. :shrug:

I don't know. That's a tough call, but I lean toward the original owners.

[onethatcares]

27. I say try to find the original owners

which leads me to a dilemna I have:

November 8 this year, my wife came home and there was an older small dog sitting on our porch waiting to be let into the house. We took him to the vet and he's microchipped too but the chip was put in through the ASPCA and the person that had him chipped is not to be found. We mailed a certified return receipt letter to him and it came back as undeliverable at that address. We posted fliers, no response.

We like this dog, I mean he fits right in with our boxer and our routine, he's smart and friendly, to cut to the chase, when should we stop looking for the owner?

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. post a picture on one of those lost&found internet sites. Keep him but be

open to the owners showing up.

[grantcart]

29. today

[eilen]

36. I think an ad in the paper with his pic for 2 weeks

should be sufficient. I'd put it on Craigslist too. After that, keep him, He obviously chose wisely.

[pnwmom]

44. I think you've done all you needed to do, but if you wanted to try one more thing,

you could check the owner's name in your state on whitepages.com. They often list previous towns of residence along with the current town.

[roody]

31. Someone cut it's ears off---how cruel

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. I thought they were naturally small ears

[roody]

45. Very doubtful. Cutting dogs' ears in somehow acceptable.

Not to me!

[TorchTheWitch]

57. They're definitely cut (and not a very good job)

Dogs that have natural stand-up ears have a lot of fur inside them to keep out airborne debris that causes ear infections. I hate ear and tail docking. Dogs need their tails for balance and communication - the tail acts much like a rudder on a boat. There's no reason for ear or tail docking whatsoever other than appearance, and it compromises the health and well-being of the dogs. I figure if you want the breed to have stand-up ears or a short tail then breed it that way.

[bluedigger]

60. Yes and no.

I agree with you on ears - the only reason to clip them is appearance, and that isn't a good reason. Tail docking actually does serve a purpose, however. Cattle dogs commonly have their tails docked to prevent their being trampled and injured during herding activities. So, for the few dogs that are still working dogs, tail docking may serve a purpose. Not for pets like mine, though...

[TorchTheWitch]

61. If the tail doesn't drag on the ground how is it trampled?

Frankly, I've never seen a dog whose tail dragged the ground anyway. Dogs do move their tails out of the way themselves, you know. Actually, cutting off a dog's tail would make it a worse herder since without the tail acting as a rudder as it's supposed to they wouldn't be able to cut as quickly nor always with enough balance that they don't stumble or even fall thereby risking them having their feet or other far more vital parts of their bodies trampled. Tail docking would also put a lot of extra stress on delicate ligaments in the leg and hip joints making them more prone to serious injury or even death if an injury causes them to get trampled. Cutting off a herding dog's tail is just traditional, and though it might have made some sense when it was first being done that was when nobody realized that a dog's tail is it's rudder.

And for the record, I know of no herding dogs with docked tails other than Corgis and the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog who unlike the Corgi doesn't have a docked tail but is bred to have either no tail or a tail no longer than 10 cm. The Old English Sheepdog traditionally had a docked tail, but not anymore (maybe because someone finally figured out that if you don't whack off the tail the dog herds better). I just went through the list of various herding dog breeds and after about 25 on the list I've yet to find one that doesn't have a long tail. I'm willing to bet it's because in order to be a productive herding dog the tail is important. As for the Corgi, I'm mystified why a herding dog would be bred to have stumpy legs which is a natural impediment and then go and whack off its tail making its ability to herd even more compromised. What were they intended to herd? Sloths? Interesting thing about Corgis I just learned is that there are two different types - the Cardigan whose tail is left long (though with its stumpy legs the tail does drag the ground) and the Pembroke who may or may not have a docked tail.

It's usually the pets that still get ear or tail docked since it's been discovered that actual working dogs work better at herding and are less prone to injury if they have their tails. Ear and tail docking is about appearance, not work, and that appearance was based on long ago false beliefs concerning why the ears or tails should be docked.

[pnwmom]

43. That isn't its picture, according to the OP.

[roody]

46. Oops---too quick to comment, but my comment on cruelty stands.

[pnwmom]

48. I agree. There's no reason for docking tails or ears.

It shouldn't be part of any AKC or other standard.

[tabasco]

37. Lucky dog will have a home either way.

Please support your local animal shelter!

[pnwmom]

39. That dog could have had several owners between the first one and the "current."

I think they're doing the right thing sending it back to the owners who had the chip put in. I bet he'll remember them, too. Dogs have good memories for people, even years later.

[Motown_Johnny]

47. Maybe, I need more information than what was in that brief article

It would mostly depend on the condition of the dog.


If it had clearly been cared for properly then yes, I think I would want the people who had it for so long to get it back.


The problem is that it was chipped all that time and the people who had it never tried to return the dog to it's proper owners, this makes me suspect that they might not have had the animal's well being at heart but I can't prove it.

[catzies]

50. As someone who had a beloved yellow lab stolen HELL YES, are you kidding?

No statute of limitations either. Skyler would be 17 by now but if he were still alive & his chip led him home again of course!! And I still have the same phone number so it could happen.

[EFerrari]

52. That would just end me. That would be it.

[catzies]

67. I have no idea what you mean by that. Care to clarify?

:shrug:

[roody]

51. Petunia has intact ears!!

[TorchTheWitch]

58. we don't know that since there's no photo of her

But whoever the dog is in the photo has most definitely had its ears docked (and not a very good job though I've seen far worse). American Staffordshire Terriers have naturally floppy ears as do their close relatives the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Whoever the dog in the OP's photo is it's one heck of a good looking doggie despite the fact that its ears were whacked.

[roody]

62. Sorry for my laziness. Here is the link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2425223

[Liberal_in_LA]

63. thanks for the additional info n/t

[Withywindle]

53. If my pet went missing for 8 whole years...

Chances are, I would have had months of searching and stressing, before eventually having to come to the sad conclusion that my beloved pet was probably dead and I would never know how, when, or why.

If, 8 years later, it came out that my pet was still alive on the other side of the country--YOU BET I would want him/her back. Even if s/he was aging and dying, I would want that reunion. Very much.

IF that pet had a loving, caring home there, I could be persuaded to let him/her stay there, if I knew for a fact that the other person/family loved him/her too. But if s/he was in a shelter, abandoned, with no one bothering to claim?

Oh yeah. You bet I would want to know.


My cat is chipped. My folks' dogs are chipped. It's very common nowadays. It's standard for shelters to do it as part of the (cheap) adoption fee, along with spaying/neutering and shots. It's a quick inpatient procedure and not expensive. Vets will always ask and scan and keep the numbers on file.

[Raine]

54. I would want my dog back. I have never forgotten

any of the animals I've had even after years and years. If I had one that had disappeared I would be thrilled to get it back.

[TorchTheWitch]

55. The dog belongs to the original owners

I have no idea what "current" owner you're talking about as she was picked up as a stray and no one knows if any "current" owner even exists. A "current" owner wouldn't have any right to the dog anyway - it never belonged to them, and they should have had the dog checked for a microchip when she was first found. In actuality, there can be no legal "current" owner... there can only be a "current" caretaker.

Legally, a dog is property. This dog was owned by someone who never willingly relinquished that ownership, and they did everything reasonable in trying to locate their dog which has always been their legal property regardless of how much time has passed. Why WOULDN'T it still be the owner's dog, and why should it be given to anyone who is NOT the owner?

If there was a "current" caretaker, they had no business keeping someone else's property without doing what could reasonably be done to locate the RIGHTFUL owner. Had any "current" caretaker existed they essentially stole the dog by NOT doing what is reasonable in locating its owner.

The ultimate responsibility of the loss of the dog still lies with the original owner who was too stupid to not physically secure their dog. Hopefully, they've learned a very valuable lesson from this.

[Lyric]

64. Yes, I would want my dog back. No question about it.

The dog belongs to the people who lost her--not the people who found her and didn't make any real effort to return her home. They only ever had to ask the vet to scan her for a microchip, which apparently they either didn't do, or if they DID, they chose to ignore the results.

I'm glad Petunia is going home to her REAL family.

[JoePhilly]

65. We had something like this happen with our cat ... here is how it went.

When my wife and I first met, she got a cat. It was the first week we started to date. She'd already made the decision, and found the cat. Then she met me. One of our first dates was lunch, followed by going to pick up the cat.

Shortly after, we started to live together. And then a year later, we got married. And then about 5 years later, we had our first child.

So at that point, the cat had been with us for more about 7 years. He's an indoor cat. During that time, he had numerous surgeries for various problems, one costing over $1500 ... a friend joked that we could have purchased 100 cats for that amount.

So anyway, my we have our first child. And the cat is PISSED!!! He'd always been great, now he's a terror. We had had his front claws removed years earlier, but he still had the back claws ... which he used to destroy the furniture, curtains, so on.

He began to leave little presents around the house.

So one day ... he slips out into the garage. And when my wife leaves for work, he gets out.

We look for him, we put up posters, so on. Nothing.

About a year later, my wife and I are walking with our son on a trail that runs behind homes down the road from our house. So we are maybe a mile away from home.

And there he is. At least it looks like him. Sitting on a rock, just off the trail.

My wife tries to get him to come over, he walks off.

So we go to the closest house and ask them if they know that cat. They do. They say he lives with a woman across the street.

So we go over ... the woman is there ... she is older. He's been staying with her for about 6 months. We talk to her. She clearly loves him.

She's sad, but offers to catch him and give him back to us. We say no.

Instead, we go home and gather up all his things. Bed, toys, medical records (which she really needed), and we brought them all back to her.

He'd decided that he didn't want to be with us, and our son. And apparently, he had chosen her. And she clearly loved him.

So, it seemed that the most appropriate thing to do was let them stay together.

[Liberal_in_LA]

66. cool story. damn disloyal cats. lol