What should we do about this dog?

Question

My husband and I agreed to watch a Great Dane/ Black Lab mix dog. We were told it would only be for a couple of weeks and that he was a great dog. He didn't use the bathroom inside, he doesn't chew anything, he doesn't even eat all the food out of his bowl at one time. We are watching him for a friend of ours that went into boot camp but his gf was supposed to come and get him after 2 weeks.
The dog is horrible. He has chewed about $150 worth of various clothes, ruined a brand new comforter set on our bed, peed ALL OVER everything, not to mention the fact that he had worms when he got here that we still can't rid of which makes him have diahrea (sp?) all over the apartment, he doesn't listen, he has taken off 3 times.... he's a nightmare.
Here's our problem.... We are moving and we can't move until he's gone. He was supposed to have been gone 2 times already and it has been about 2 months now. What should we do with him without pissing anyone off??

Answer 1

bad news is you're going to piss someone off. Call the dog's owner and tell them that you are moving and to come and get his dog by (this date). Do not give him another choice. If he/she/they don't come and get it take it to the shelter and they can call the owner.

Answer 2

Politely call your friend or their girlfriend. Explain you have taken care of the dog for much longer than the agreed apon time. You would like them to come and take their dog or you will have to take it to the shelter as it is no longer your responsibility if they no longer want their dog. Do this as politely as possible. Give them 24 - 48 hours (which is plenty of time to make arrangements) and if they still do not come to get the dog take the animal to the shelter and explain it was abandoned on you. Most of the behaviour issue seem to be normal abandonment issues. The dog is upset at the absence of their pack (ie. the friend and his girlfriend) therefore he is letting out his frustration on whatever is available. Some things that will help in the meantime:
Put the clothes up where the dog cannot get to them (in drawers, closed closets etc) As far as the diareahh, just make sure the dog gets out to potty every 2-4 hours. You have to remember how it feels for you when you have it, you need to get to the potty then and there you can't sit around and wait an hour or you would soil yourself. get some chew toys (I suggest kong as they seem to be the most durable and treats/peanut butter can be put inside to keep them occupied for hours) also I suggest feeding the animal some chicken and rice for a few days this will clear up the diahreahh quite quickly ( a change in normal food will also cause diahreahh so just make sure you are feeding the same food the owner was feeding) Good luck and however it turns out "remember" it's not the dog's fault his owners dumped him on you like a piece of trash. It's irresponsible to treat a pet in such a manner without considering the fact that dogs have human emotion (sadness, depression, fear, loneliness etc) rather than seeing a possession see the dog as a two year old dumped on strangers it is just acting out the only way it knows how as well as dealing with an illness this is enough to stress anyone out.

Answer 3

Contact your friend and the girlfriend. They were supposed to take him after only 2 weeks. But they're being free-loaders. If your friend's in boot camp, there isn't a whole lot he can do. Except to remind GF about the agreement.

You might consider boarding the dog and presenting the friend with the bill. Or, if he's not paying for the upkeep and damage caused by the dog, you may want to give him to an animal shelter. I hesitate to say the last, but you do not need him on top of everything else.

Answer 4

Get the moving van and paper work finished for your moving date, to move into your new place. You are way sweeter than I, i would have gotten rid of the nightmare, just like his last owner

Write a letter explaining that you are moving. Then give the date. Expain that you are sorry but this is not your dog, the two weeks is now way over. If he don't not pick up the dog you take the pound. Have that letter sent by registered mail and signed for only by the owner. sent an email something that you will have a paper trail that the owner recieved.

Answer 5

Obviously, if you have any way to contact the owner, that would be your first step. Boot camp is usually in the US, and it doesn't last forever, so you should be able to reach the guy somehow(if he didn't leave an address, contact the branch of the service he is in, or figure he didn't want you to be able to reach him when the dog was bad...), and tell him that the dog has to be gone within a week or you will have no choice but to take him to the pound. It sounds cruel, but I was in a similar situation, and I believe I would still have that danged dog today if I hadn't laid down the law. When I did, the owners decided they really didn't want him either (after $3000 worth of damage to my house, they sure didn't want him in theirs), and they told me to do whatever I wanted with him. Lay down the law!!!! Good Luck!!

PS Why are you worried about pissing people off?? Aren't you mad as hell about all this??? You have been taken advantage of, badly, and you need to make it stop no matter whose feelings get hurt.

Answer 6

At first I thought, call the girlfriend and give her a deadline. But it isn't the girlfriend's dog. It belongs to your friend in boot camp. Call your friend's family. Find someone who can be responsible for the dog. Make them feel responsible. Drop him off with the family.

You have gone above and beyond and if it were the girlfriend's dog I would say give her a deadline and then find a rescue group for the dog through www.petfinder.com.

Because it ISN"T her dog and the poor guy in boot camp may have no clue about what is going on, contact his family first. Can you contact him and get the name of someone else to take the dog?

If all else fails and you have to give the dog up, go through a rescue group and explain what happened, this way the dog is not at risk of being put down. In crowded shelters, dogs that are surrendered are at most risk for euthanasia because "found" dogs have to be held a certain number of days for their owners to claim them.
Good luck.

Answer 7

there is no way for you to end this situation without pissing anyone off...why worry about that ....you have been lied to repeatedly. I would go the tough love approach. Give the owner and his girlfriend a one week time limit and then tell them that you will consider the dog yours to do with as you see fit as you will consider this dog to be abandoned. When we boarded dogs at the clinic they had to sign a paper stating the price and day of pick up and that if they didn't comply we sent a registered letter informing them of the deadline to pick up or they would be surrendering the dog to us. the guy needs to know what is going on back here...he may not know what the girlfriend is up to. I NEVER watch any ones dog other than my parents. good luck

Answer 8

Find someone else to take him. Don't take him to a shelter unless you have to. If he is as bad as he sounds he needs to be placed in a kennel. Don't leave anything laying around that he can get to.

Before ever agreeing to dog sit you must dog proof your house, or the room where the dog will be kept. This is just good common sense.

Remember, it is not the dog's fault that he has terrible owners. Your friend should have found a good home for him before he left.

Answer 9

At this point in time I wouldn't worry about you pissing anyone off. They obviously don't care about your or the dogs needs. I would take the dog to the pound and call the owners girlfriend and tell her if she doesn't go get it........Oh Well? Stop being a sap for them to take advantage of. Plus I would take pictures and record the damage. I would also, submit a bill to the owner. You didnt sign up for this!!! If they dont pay I would take it to small claims court. Your kindness has been met with abuse from the dogs owner and girlfriend. I wouldnt care how mad they got. I would get madder.

Answer 10

Can you contact the owner? his gf? Any other friend of his? If not, try a pity appeal, "soldier's dog in need of home", to military aid groups.

The dog, aside from the worms, is possibly going through "separation anxiety", do you have anything with the owner's scent?
A large dog needs alot of exercise, too. Chew hides help w/frustration, until you can place him. Hats off to you & hubby for trying!

Answer 11

That's a hard question that will need a hard answer.

unfortunately, since you were KIND enough to take this dog in among all of the LIES your "friends" have given you, I think you have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Give the GF one more phone call. Give her three days to get the dog, or it is off to the pound with it.

No need to further compromise YOUR life because of someone elses indifference.

Kudos to you for dealing with it this long. Consider a civil suit for damages, too. I certainly would!

Good luck!