Hi everyone--some of you all probably remember a post I made about 2 months ago on a dog named Shelby. She "belonged" to the man behind us who had a trashy yard and let Shelby basically roam the streets. I tried to feed her and approach her but she was real skittish. I had a hard time trying to capture her because she was so shy. Eventually Shelby's owner agreed to give her to my dad's friend Melvin, a huge animal lover. This was back in March. Shelby is still doing great, slowly coming out of her shell. She's got a dog brother who is also trying to come to grips with his new "sis". There's a cat in the family who isnt too fond of another dog in the house (and the feeling is mutual with Shelby LOL). Glad to know though that she is doing good and is safe :)
However, we have another problem. The owner has another dog who is starting to roam the streets again. His name is Elvis. I can't describe what he looks like...he's about the size of a lab but his face looks like my beagle. He looks like a very hairy greyhound to me LOL. Elvis is pretty smart, he goes back to his yard. He's not as skittish as Shelby was but there is no way I am going to pet him. He seems pretty approachable though. I have seen him come around just a few times but he goes home. However last night, I heard him barking in the yard next door and I looked out my window and saw him going through the garbage of my neighbor! :eek: Trash was strewn everywhere...dont know if he was looking for food or what. He has alot of fur so it's hard to tell if he is missing any meals.
Tonight I saw him and thought maybe he was hungry, so I did what I did with Shelby-I scooped a cup of my own dog's food and put it on a plate and let him eat it on our driveway. I stuck it on the plate and he went right up to me while I did it and ate it...didnt seem shy at all. He ate a good 3 or 4 cups. I had some water for him but he didnt want it. He kept on hanging around the front yard like he wanted something, so I thought maybe he wanted more food. Mind you, my own hound dog saw this whole front yard feeding and went biserk indoors, barking and scratching at the door. As I went indoors to get some more food for Elvis, my dog (Daisy) shot out like a rocket and chased Elvis a good few houses down...never saw my dog run so fast in my life LOL (at 35 pounds thats a miracle for a beagle LOL). My parents were wondering what was going on, seeing me chase my dog down the street and picking her up and taking her home, both of us out of breath.
Mom knew I was feeding Elvis earlier, but dad didnt. He called the owner and left a message for his wife (at 10:30pm, we couldnt tell where the owner was...he is an alcoholic if that tells you anythng) and told her about Elvis keeping him up at night barking and going through garbage. I told my dad why Daisy got out and how I was feeding Elvis...he was mad. He told me he didnt care what happened with Elvis, doesnt care if he starves to death or gets hit by a car. He is concerned that our own dog is going to get hit by a car getting out the door and chasing one of these loose dogs. Kind of a cruel thing to say, but as an animal lover, I dont want to see dogs like this suffer. Elvis is a smart dog who seems to know when to go back home, but I wonder why he has been escaping lately. He's always been the dog to always stay in the yard whenever Shelby would get loose. I've noticed in the past couple weeks, he has been out. Truthfully, I dont know if he is getting fed at home. Digging through the garbage got to me (unless he likes to dig LOL), then again seeing him eat 3 cups of dog chow also concerned me (then again, my own dog eats alot too and she is nowhere near starving :D )
I'm not trying to capture him like Shelby and give him a home, but I am just curious on why he is getting out like he is recently. My father doesnt like that I am feeding him--he says he doesnt want to get in this "crazy" mess that we had with Shelby, trying to feed her and capture her and all. And like the owner said before--"Im not getting rid of my dogs, they just roam around and come home when they want" I dont know if Elvis is getting out because he is looking for food or if he found out the secret outlet into the neighborhood (which Shelby obviously found). Hope he isnt in the same situation as Shelby--the owner not caring if he returns home or not.
It's a really sticky situation. Like I said, I have a soft spot for dogs especially and seeing dogs wander around breaks my heart. Then again, having parents (especially my father) thinking I am crazy for feeding stray dogs and forbidding me to feed them and not caring whether these helpless guys starve or get hurt. It's just hard trying to get around it. I'm keeping an eye out on him--he seems to hang around an area close to his home so he goes back alot. Seems smart, seems friendly but I dont want to touch him.
I just hope this isnt Shelby round 2. What do you all think? Should I try to sneak around and feed him (I wont get grounded for doing it since I well above the age to be grounded LOL) or have a gut feeling that he will be just fine? This situation is going to worry me like it did with Shelby's. I'll take any advice you all have. Thanks!
