Fostering a Pitbull

BrandiVIP

I was woke up yesterday morning around 6 a.m. to our dogs barking their heads off. I thought they were barking at my cats, oh no... I looked out the back door window and there was this in my back yard.



I thought he belonged to our neighbor, so I assumed he'd get tired of playing with our critter's and he'd go back home. 1 p.m. yesterday, he was STILL in our back yard. Of course, I'm an idiot and when I see a dog, I resort back to being a 5 year old. I went out on the back steps not caring that it's a strange dog and not thinking about the fact it could eat me for breakfast. He came running up to me wanting to play. I contacted one of the people that collects our rent and asked her to contact our neighbor and tell her to come get her dog. Well, long story short, it wasn't her's. She came down and helped me chase it off. An hour later, it came back and it's been here ever since. I thought it may of slipped out of it's collar but I'm beginning to think someone dumped him. He's stressing out really bad, his fur started coming out because of him stressing. He cried and cried all night last night. When he got tired of crying, he'd howl for a while.

He appears to be a good dog, so far. He can sit, lay and shake. He knows what "no" means. He hasn't gotten into anything, hasn't tried to get after my cats or the dogs. He ran in the house yesterday afternoon when my husband went out, he ran straight to Temp, licked her and went on about his sniffing ways. I won't lie, seeing him run towards her, scared the crap out of me. Not because he's a pit but just because he's a dog we don't know.

I'm going to put a flyer (without his picture) up at a gas station that's 2 minutes from my house tonight and see if anyone will call and identify him. If not, I don't know what to do with him. We can't afford to keep him, the closest no kill shelter is in St. Louis (at least four hours away) and if we find someone to take him - they will have to go through the wringer with me. I don't want someone to take him and mistreat him.

I don't know why, but stray's always "adopt" me as their temporary momma. It probably doesn't help that I get attached so easy... He's a beauty!

obobskivich

Cool looking dog. Pits can be very well behaved and trained; I know they get a bad rap, but they're not all bad (my cousin has one, and he's a very bright bugger). He looks well groomed/cared for, and isn't all busted up from fighting - I would suspect he got out from somewhere he shouldn'tve.

I'd at least contact a local shelter/ACO and see if there's any reports. Lots of shelters appreciate people willing to hold dogs for them (keeps their cap down). If there's a pit ban in your county, keep that in mind as well (or if there's one in St Louis) - it usually means instagib if you turn them in.

RcRon7

I'm with Obo, check with local places. You should also check with a local vet, he or she may have a chip.

obobskivich

Shit I forgot about those! (And yes my dogs have them...)

Now that you mention it though, an ACO should have a scanner for that even. Quick to read too.

Grez

^^^^ This

I sponsored a boxer one time...found the owner, but the dumbshit never took the dog to the vet or gave it shots, and so it had heartworms. I wanted to keep him myself, but couldn't with our cats (one would've been ok with the dog, but the other would've basically died of stress). So, I found a boxer rescue organization, and they had a lady who ran their local operation about an hour drive away. I got him there, he got treatment (not fun, and it meant not much running or anything for about 6-8 weeks) and they were able to cure him. I also donated $150 toward his medical care. They did not give him back to the original irresponsible douchebag owner. Instead, a nice family of four adopted him (even kept the name I gave him: Stan [he looked like a beer-drinking, cigar-smoking kind of guy]). He's probably an old man now.

I'll bet since he's a purebreed that there is a rescue organization for pits in particular. You should research that...it may give you another option for where you can take him if you can't find the owner. I had the same issue...no-kill shelters were full, and the SPCA and Humane Society wouldn't promise to give him back if they couldn't find a home (they would kill him instead of giving him back...stupid, but that's the policy in both cases). So, give that a spin as well.

obobskivich

Grez gives good advice too.

Glad there's people who "get it" when it comes to dogs.

I'd like to throw this out there, and I don't mean to start a debate on it:

Putting down unwanted animals is not the work of Satan. It is better than the animal suffering or being neglected in a cage for five years. I'm not saying that's the route you should take, but if there's no other option and it's basically dump him on the side of the road or leave him in a kennel for the rest of his natural life - it's something you need to come to terms with.

That said, shelters who just euthanize because they're at cap and won't foster the dogs out are equally insane.

BrandiVIP

Apparently, Poplar Bluff is cracking down on having pit's. A guy my husband worked with last year at Gates, had to sell his because the city wanted to fine him for simply owning him. I could see if he was just letting him run loose but he kept him in the house and walked him on a leash. He never ran free and never hurt anybody. Apparently, if you own a pit or pitbull mix, it has to be chipped and registered. After it dies, you cannot own another. Which I think is dumb. Why just pits and mixed pits? All dogs should be chipped and registered. I'm going to go out on a limb and say at least 75% of dogs are chipped around here. It's a pretty big deal to most pet owners in these parts. We live out in the country and this area seems to be where everyone wants to drop off their pets. This is the 5th animal we've had "adopt" us after being dumped in the last year.

Thank you for all the good idea's and I'll def do some researching. I told my husband that I bet 20 bucks he has a chip in him. We're down to one vehicle at the moment, so until I can get my car retagged, I'll have to put off taking him somewhere to get him scanned. My husband also said we could probably find the vet that has taken care of him before. Since PB has cracked down on them for quite a while now, it shouldn't be to hard. . . maybe. lol

Oh, this dog isn't going to suffer, if I can keep him from it. Even if we end up having to keep him, we'll do it. He'd have a lot of room to run, two other dogs to play with and all the food he could eat. I just hope we can find his owners because this dog is losing his mind. He's really missing somebody.

Ob, he is very well behaved so far. He noticed our cats (finally) yesterday and got curious about them. I was worried he'd chase them but all he wanted to do was sniff them. Well, our momma cat didn't want no part of that and slapped his nose. He never once offered to go after her or her babies. However, I'm not letting him be around Temperance, simply because I don't know his ticks and all dogs have something that can set them off. Plus, she's pretty rough with our dogs but they don't care. It's attention to them, therefore, they are happy. lol

Grez, boxers are such amazing dogs. My sister has one (Zeke) and my parents had one (Bo). Such lovable dogs! Zeke def looks like a beer-drinking, cigar-smoking kind of guy. lol

cyclonite

I have a boxer dog... well he is more like a boxer beast dog.

Last time we had him to the vet he weighed 125lbs

Meet Tytus

BrandiVIP

Wow! He sure is a beauty, Cy. How old is he?

The pit is still here. We haven't had any luck finding his owners, yet. A wealthy lady near us said that if we can't find his owners, she'll take him. She had a dog up until last year and the thing got sick as hell. Come to find out it was riddled with cancer. Anyway, she lives alone and would like to have him in the house. Which, "Spirit" would love. He would def be well loved and very taken care of. . . and he'll probably be a fat cow, too! haha!! At least we have a really good option if we can't locate his owners and that makes me happy.

obobskivich

Awesome!

Love it when other people are willing to help out someone in need.

Blazin Trav

I think Pits always get a bad rap but they can be awesome dogs. That's a beautiful boxer. I'm definitely a dog person more than a cat person.

furball zen

Truer words were ne'er spake.

Blazin Trav

Damn, you just can't fuck off and stop derailing threads. It got old a long time ago.

BrandiVIP

Settle down, kids or I'll make you stand in the corner, after your ass whippin'! Don't try me... ;)

We found him a great home! Actually, someone (good friend of our landlord) begged us for him. The man that took him has another pit. His only concern was that this dog would try to fight it. We told him that we honestly believe his dog would have to hurt him before he would ever think of fighting it. Plus, this guy keeps them inside, so "Spirit" is a happy camper over that. So far, everything is smooth sailing! :) I'm, also, happy he has a dog his size he can play with. He couldn't really play with our dogs.

Our momma cat was so scared of "Spirit" that she refused to eat the whole time he was here. I don't know why, we have two other dogs but she just didn't like him. Thankfully, she's filled back out since he's been gone. I was beginning to wonder if she was going to self-induce starvation and die on us.