Saved (?) a Puppy This AM

“BowlderGal called me at 6:30 this morning from about halfway to the transit (BART) station this morning (she was on foot - that's another story...) that she had come across an injured dog. After a few unanswered phone calls to the animal control department, I grabbed some heavy gloves and jumped in the car to go meet her where she found the dog.

The poor little guy - a medium-sized dachsund with a collar but no tags - was lying on the sidewalk shaking. He couldn't seem to move one of his rear legs, so it seemed he'd been hit by a car. We were able to get a blanket under him to use as a sling, as he tried to bite me when I tried to pick him up (probably hurt). So we took him to the animal shelter (not too far away). No one was there, so we called the number on the sign, which was the police non-emergency dispatcher (the shelter is a division of the police department). They suggested I put him in one of the drop boxes that they have for strays that people find. So I said, "Well, I might as well just run over him myself because he'll be dead in an hour sitting in there." The dispatcher said he'd try to get an officer to come by and help.

Just when we were about to leave to try to find a better option, after waiting more than a half hour, a very nice officer arrived and said she would take him to the neighboring city's shelter, which was open earlier than Oakland's. So hopefully he will be cared for there, and whoever's dog he is will be able to find him.”

“you are my new hero.
you did soooo good! that doggie owes you two his life. hope you get to get doggy kisses from him some day!”

“Good man, Bowlder. Leaving him in a drop box? That just doesn't sound right. You did the right thing...”

“a drop box? wtf??

Call PETA on them.”

“Do they have drop boxes of appropriate sizes for huge dogs and little ones?”

“You did a good thing, BowlderMan.”

“Maybe the drop box doubles as a dumpster.”

“Or perhaps a meat locker?”

“Well, I can see that a drop box is a better alternative for strays than just letting a dog run loose or something, and within a few hours someone takes care of them. But it's really not a good option for this type of situation. I don't really fault the dispatcher - they're probably flooded with human-related things. But it was disappointing that they have this really nice, new shelter with no good way of dealing with injured animals. I understand that, budget-wise, times are hard for Oakland, but it's hard to believe that in a city of 300,000 people they couldn't find a few volunteers to be available for that sort of thing. The cop who did show up was super nice - it was very kind of her (assuming she actually did it) to offer to take the dog up to the other shelter.”

“The boxes were quite large - plenty big enough for a huge dog, and there was a bowl of water in each one. As noted above, not a terrible option for a stray, but very poor option for an injured dog.”

“You never know who you will find on one of these!

”

“That's, like, weird, tree!”

“BTW, most of the thanks should go to BowlderGal - it was all her doing. I just picked up the little fella and drove the car....”

“I thought so. Didn't mean to TRASH your thread!!!


Sorry, I'm done...”

“Yeah, but YOU got bitten by the little flea bag.”

“Good job Bowlderman, and Gal.

Just think of all the Brownie Points you scored with Bowldrgal too!”

“And the called it.................puppy love”

“I don't even stop when I run over a dog. I certainly wouldn't stop if someone else did.”

“ypu thats pretty much how i'd feel if I ran over you.
we do have things in common Bacpac.”

“No we don't.”

“Wow! Is there anyway you can call and check on his condition? You did a very nice thing and not many people would do that. Now, call them right now and see if that little fella is doing okay!!!”

“"I don't even stop when I run over a dog. I certainly wouldn't stop if someone else did."
Miss Anne Thrope
01:05:30 PM

Do you back over him to make sure you got him?”

“boy you were pretty ruff on bacpac tree.”

“What do you say to someone who makes a point out of that?”

“Latest puppy update. The shelter has him on pain killers, and they will wait up to 7 days for his owners to claim him. They will not even x-ray his little leg until someone steps up to be financially responsible :-(. We would not be able to fork over the hundreds it would probably cost for major surgery, but may pay for the xray. BowlderGal's mom is here visiting, and she might be interested in adopting him if the owners don't show up and if he does not have a broken leg or other major injuries that neither of us could afford to pay for. If no one claims or adopts him, they will euthanize him. Ugh.”

“you puppy savers are all the same!











nice work”

“Bowlderman, Please, please call one of these numbers and let them know that there is a daschund that might be put to sleep. This is a daschund rescue group. I don't know what part of CA you live in, so use what number you think is best. They may rescue the dog if it isn't picked up by it's owner.

Regional Coordinator
(also LA person)
Marcie 909-391-4784

Southern CA
Irva 661-943-8038

Northern CA
916-362-6974

Individual Rescue
Vicki 510-357-3922”

“I see after reading your post again that you are in Oakland. That's considered N.CA right? I left out the N.CA's name, it's Daisy.

It's very unfortunate that you can't bring an injured dog to a vet, because they want the person bringing in the dog to pay for it.

I guess if they fixed up dogs off the street, some unscrupulous people would bring their own dogs in and say they found them on the street.

*By the way, that was a wonderful thing you did for that dog. You are right. A dog will bite if it is in pain or scared. You did the right thing.”

“You did good, kid!”

“Wow, thanks, lipstick! Yes, we found him in Oakland - that's where he is. I see that the last number you listed is a 510 area code, which is what we have in Oakland, so it seems like that would be the one to call. The 916 is more the Sacramento area.

We called the shelter last night and told them we'll pay for the xray ($100), which they will be doing today. The doctor will call us afterward and let us know the extent of his injuries. If BowlderGal's mom is not able to adopt him (due to cost) at that point, I will definitely call that number. There are still several days left that they will be keeping him there in the event that his family claims him. Our other worry is that, since the neighborhood near where we found him is very poor, his owners may claim him, then authorize him to be euthanized because of the cost. This will all shake out later today - I will post info as we learn it!”

“Good deed Bowlder people!”

“kids are starving in this country and you feel good about this dog? apathy know what it is ?”

“are you suggesting that the dogs should eat the kids or the kids should eat the dogs?”

“Matt, once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the "ignore this user" feature!

*click*”

“i'm saying some people need a reality check”

“why don't you just blow him skiracer?”

“blow who?
the dog or bolwder?

damnit, make some sense already, it's getting hard to follow the troll”

“that's sad coming from you mapes”

“Don't even get me started on this. I think people spend way too much money rescuing lost causes.”

“I tried to tell treebeard he was wasting his money, but he continues to support mapleleaf.”

“Bowlderman, you are very kind. You can't go wrong by helping a dog in need. If the doggie requires more funds to be fixed, you can see if the rescue place will help, but like you say, he may still be claimed. You can always call them now, just to get them ready for a possible rescue, and to see what they may recommend.


*I can't find the quote, but Ghandi said something about a society being judged by the way they treat their pets.

I will be participating in a Chihuahua Festival June 26th for the benefit of chi rescue organizations. I made up a basket as a donation for a raffle with the Zen Dog book, a Chihuahua mug, a stuffed toy, and chicken chew treats.”

“ghandi was an a$$hole just like the majority of people on this site”

“Is there an update to this story?”

“Is there a butthole reunion this weekend?”

“The animal shelter was supposed to x-ray the li'l pup yesterday and call us with the diagnosis and prognosis (and cost), but we didn't hear from them. BowlderGal is going to call them today. Will update when have info.


For those of you who think people shouldn't help defenseless injured animals, I can respect your right to think so. But I posted this because people who like to help animals might find it interesting, and so that people could have a discussion about helping animals, not not helping them. So maybe you could start your own thread(s) about not helping animals if you want to espouse that opinion. Thanks.”

“Amen to that”

“Hey, I wasn't saying that the dog shouldn't have been cared for. All I'm saying is that there are too many healthy animals out there to spend more than what's necessary on an animal who may not be able to enjoy life as he used to. For crying out loud! Feeding people is more important than keeping this dog on pain killers for the rest of his life or whatever else he's going to need. Maybe I should build a doggie wheelchair to take advantage of all those bleeding hearts out there who turn a blind eye towards the real tragedy that occurs daily even on the streets of Montana cities.”

“I would be one of the first people out there to help an injured animal and I applaud you for what you did. I have owned animals all my life and I have had to make decisions to put animals down because they were suffering. It's not an easy decision and frankly if this person shows up for their dog they have the right to spend whatever they want to on it. But as a taxpayer, I expect my local gov't to spend my money wisely. I do not feel that this type of expense (ie to keep a homeless dog/unclaimed dog alive at all costs) is a wise choice. Why does this dog not have tags? A responsible owner would have tags for their pets if they are allowed to roam around.

enuff said. I apologize, BowlderMan, for raining on your parade. Guess that means I'm on your ignore list from now on.

What was that you said, Tilt?”

“Boulderman thinks he lives in a vacuum?”

“But as a taxpayer, I expect my local gov't to spend my money wisely. I do not feel that this type of expense (ie to keep a homeless dog/unclaimed dog alive at all costs) is a wise choice. This just happened Monday, and it was made clear to Bowlderman that the dog would not be exrayed until someone paid for it. It was his money. As far as I know, my tax paying dollars are paying for things I don't agree with that have nothing to do with animals. Why does this dog not have tags? Could be a number of reasons. A responsible owner would have tags for their pets if they are allowed to roam around. Again, another assumption that the owner was irresponsible. Maybe so, but still, no proof as of yet.

I am not trying to fight here. Just wanted to state that I also have strong feelings about this. I don't think the dog should just die in such a short period of time. If somehow my dog was to get loose while I was not home, I would hate it if someone picked her up and took her into a place to get killed right away. But, I also donate money to our local emergency vet so that in most cases, an injured pet can be exrayed at least. I also donate money to a local women's shelter that house women who are homeless...for whatever reasons.”