Older Dog Found By Bootcampers This Morning at DHS
Decatur Metro | April 30, 2012 | 5:28 pmJoJo writes in…
This morning a sweet older pup joined our workout at Decatur High School. He has no collar and no micro chip. He was with another younger shepherd mix that was collared but ran away and wouldn’t let us near him. I’m not sure if you post things like this on your blog but I would love to have him back with his family and am trying to think of all the ways to get into contact with them.
If the old guy has a home and a family missing him, I hope you find them. But be aware that there’s an epidemic of dogs, especially older ones with medical issues, being abandoned in our neighborhoods. That’s how we recently ended up with a ten-ish year old lab with heartworms and a large fatty tumor on her hind leg.
If i didn’t already have two dogs, one of which I got through Decatur Metro, I would take him. He looks so sweet.
We already had two and Penny is now our third. Just saying š
Re epidemic: Why do you think it’s happening? Economy? Cost of vet care? Dog food? Families leaving the neighborhood? People becoming more irresponsible? Lack of shelter space? Fewer adoptions?
All of the above, I suspect. But the economy is undoubtedly the main reason. Just look at all the stories of people who lost their homes to foreclosure and moved out, leaving their pets behind. And if you are barely getting by and having trouble feeding yourself or your kids there are some horrible choices you will face.
I can’t imagine how hard it would be to give up any of our dogs and I’m sure that some people just can’t bring themselves to drop the animal off at the pound (or they can’t, or won’t, pay the surrender fee that most counties charge), so they simply leave the poor dog on the street in a “nice” neighborhood, hoping that someone takes it in. Of course, when you do this in Decatur, the animal almost always ends up at the Dekalb Shelter, which much recent publicity has shown to often be a very cruel fate.
As for the costs, it does seem that owning a pet, or at least a dog, has gotten much more expensive than it used to be. I would argue that it’s akin to the housing collapse. Over the past 20 years, as the economy soared, people spent more and more money on their pets and a huge industry developed to support and/or exploit this. Many things that are now considered “necessary” would have had even vets laughing at you 20 years ago. I can’t even imagine what my dad would have said if I asked him why our lab didn’t get at least a yearly professional teeth cleaning or why he wouldn’t pay $50 to have her professionally groomed every six weeks.
I think I’ve seen this dog around Oakhurst but I’m not sure. This is one of those times I hate the “old timers.”
Does this dog need a foster?
Somebody has posted a lost dog sign over by Winnona Park. I think it said a shepard of some kind…..