Question about a newspaper article

[Ginger's Mom]

Okay, there are a lot of people on here that know a lot more about dog behavior and training than I do, so let me ask you something that has been bothering me since reading this article. Black Chow stranded on Island Just some quick background, the river is probably not more than 3/4-1 mile wide there, and the island is closer to the New Jersey side than the Pennsylvania side. Okay, apart from the obvious question such as how did this poor boy get out there (and there was a picture in the paper of him lying on the island, not sure where on the island), my question is: Can he be trained to be a household dog? If he has been stranded out there for four months, what are his chances? I guess my thought/worry is, are they just going to trap and end up putting him down? Any thoughts?

[poofy]

I hope they will help the poor thing..I wonder how he has survived, little animals..ummm, not good..I sure hope it turns out ok for him..

[areias]

I believe he can be rehomed, but possibly the animal shelter won't. I've seen born feral cats and dogs be able to live in a household, but not with out a lot of time, and certainly not with the help of a shelter. They don't have the time to put into one dog, unless someone immediately comes forward to take him. If he is aggressive in any way, or even bites out of fear, he will most likely be put down. Unless he just ended up at the island and is afraid of strange people, his future is a little grim.

[lv4dogs]

My guess is that with all this publicity there is a better chance that someone will foster & train him or even adopt him. And I bet it will happen soon after they catch him. Unless of course he ends up being extremely vicious.
I bet if it weren't for the publicity I doubt they'd even try to do anything with the dog.