advice?

**3muttsandaboston** · 04-17-2007, 05:47 PM

Well this morning I found a little dog. She is so cute. But she is matted, skinny, has horribly long nails, and had a piece of chain attached to her where she was chained up and the chain broke. She has a collar but no tags I can tell she has always lived outside. She smells horrible. What should I do. Try to find the owners or give her up to a rescue that will find her a good home? I don't want to put her back in a horrible place like that. She is so sweet but hates my other dogs. She is adorable. I just need to give her a bath and cut off those mats and of course give her some food.

**3muttsandaboston** · 04-17-2007, 05:48 PM

**Karen** · 04-17-2007, 05:51 PM

I'd try to find her owners - if she's been missing a while, that could account for her current condition, mats, long nails and all. Definitely a bath is in order, and those mats trimmed off, too. Poor girl!

**chocolatepuppy** · 04-17-2007, 06:00 PM

I agree with Karen ,try to find her owners. She may have been missing a while and that's why she's a bit messy.

**wolf_Q** · 04-17-2007, 06:10 PM

I don't know what to tell you do do...but she looks like a miniature schnauzer or schnauzer mix in breed.

**3muttsandaboston** · 04-17-2007, 06:11 PM

She isn't a little messy she has mats over her entire body that takes weeks or months of not brushing her and she is very skinny you can feel every bone in her body. She also cringes when a hand is lowered towards her.

**Sophist** · 04-17-2007, 07:09 PM

Honestly, none of us KNOW how long she has been missing, or what type of owner she had before.

I also think the right thing to do is to try to find an owner, and handle the situation from there.

**Sophist** · 04-17-2007, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by 3muttsandaboston

She isn't a little messy she has mats over her entire body that takes weeks or months of not brushing her

I know several dogs who would have been happy to accept the challenge of disproving that.

I used to do a lot of in-home care for the elderly after school, and on some of the places I only did weekly visits I would groom small companion dogs of elderly, often somewhat disabled clients. Even if I did a thourough job one week, it wasn't uncommon to find the dog matted again the next week simply from lack of daily brushing.

I also bathed them, clipped their nails, etc. The owners loved them insanely, but simply couldn't provide the type of care most of us would like to. Often, they weren't socialized well enough to be very confident with new strangers... many who I don't believe had ever been mistreated might cringe if you first reached for them.

Maybe her owner is just someone who needs help or guidance. Maybe her owner is a great owner who has been looking for their dog for a very long time. Maybe her owner is terrible. None of us can know that for sure right now.

Do you really feel okay taking the chance that her owners are such horrible, unreasonable monsters that they never deserve to know what happened to their pet? Even if they are neglectful, bad owners (which we DO NOT KNOW) it probably wouldn't be too difficult to talk them into turning the dog over to you. And then you'd never have to wonder if you did the right thing...

Just my 2 cents worth.

**Freedom** · 04-17-2007, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by 3muttsandaboston

"What's that you say? I can stay?"

Sorry, Karen, I disagree with you on this one. I doubt the dog has been free very long. She's been chained up outside. Ugh! I hate it when folks do that to their dogs!!!!

I would keep her, or talk to the rescue for . . . hmm Scots Terriers? Might be easier to tell once she is cleaned up.

If you clean her up and feed her, she may decide to be nice to your dogs! Keeping fingers crossed.