What happens when you turn in a roaming dog

by belinda olivares
(Salinas,Ca. USA)

Hi again, everyday as i take my dogs for there walks I always see 2 roaming dogs actually one of them goes to the house and scratches on the door to let him in.

I love all animals and i am concened for their safty. the dog that come to my house is male name is sonny and i know where he lives so i have asked the owners if they wanted him or if not i could find him a loving home well they tell me they do want sonny but that sonny is a great escape artist. I have taken sonny home like ten times so my question is if i should call animal control what happens with them?

I would hate myself if I would take him in just so they would put sonny down also i would hate for sonny to get hit by a car or get abuse by mean kids or so on. What advise do you give on this situation?

And the poor other dog is a female named dora and it breaks my heart cuz she is all over the place and i know she has been beed to have puppies to sell. Dora looks really healthy only when i call her she scared with tail in between her legs.What should i do? A concerned citizen for these adorable dogs. the photo is sunny. I will get a photo of dora tommorow. Thank you



Hi Belinda
You certainly do have a good heart and a lot of love for all these dogs. Unfortunately, not everyone is the same way!

What happens to these dogs really depends on your city/county/state etc. In my experience, when Animal Control picks up a dog, they take it to the city pound. Depending on the rules in your city, the dog may be euthanized within a few days if not claimed or adopted. Some states have a no-kill policy in their city pounds, but most don't. Only private no-kill shelters are really 'safe' but getting one to take these dogs may be tricky, especially as they have owners.

You could try calling Animal Control and explaining the situation to them, they may be willing to visit with these dogs' owners to try to remedy the situation rather than just pick up the dogs when they're roaming. Again though, it depends on your city, if it's a very busy place with lots and lots of dogs being picked up they may not have the time to deal with it sensitively.

Maybe talking to your local Humane Society or a local no-kill shelter would give you some more input or suggestions.

Sorry, I can't be more helpful here. I know how it feels to want to help all the dogs out there, but if their owners won't be responsible there's not an awful lot you can do.

If anyone reading this has ideas/opinions/input that might be of help, please feel free to comment. I'm sure there are others who know much more about this kind of thing than I do...
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