does anyone else have problems with strays in their neighborhood?

[smartyjonesc2s]

i live in a neighborhood that is basically the first official neighborhood in a remote part of Northern Georgia, and we have a real problem with strays and lose dogs in our neighborhood. the people that live in houses surrounding the neighborhood just let their dogs run wild, and they come to our neighborhood to hang out. i love dogs immensely, and it kills me every time i see one that is dirty and looks hungry and lonely. i am just so frustrated with the situation. we now have a young german sheppard dog that has decided to sleep under our deck. we just discovered him yesterday. he is so skiddish, but seems curious and interested in us. this is the second dog in 3 weeks that has taken to our deck. i hate being put in a position of having to 'do' something with him. the only options are to adopt him, try to find his owners, or take him to the pound. i hate the pound as it is such an awful place, and i feel like i am giving them a death sentence if i take them there. we cannot keep him, and i feel like looking for the owners is so futile. he looks like he has been on his own for a while. these dogs just deserve more than this, and it makes me so mad when people care so little for them. we are giving him water as it is almost 100 degrees here, and we put some food out away from our house for him because he is so skinny. i just can't watch him starve to death either. do any of you have these sort of situations where you live? i don't know why these dogs keep deciding to park it at our house....

 

[darli ann]

Yup. I've had this problem and it's infuriating! A few years ago a one-eyed black lab (we called him Bob) kept parking himself on our front porch and scaring away the mailman, the paper carrier and any other guest who approached our house. He was friendly, but a big, barking, unfamiliar dog scares people, so Bob had to go. He had a collar so I let the county dog warden find the owner and take him home, but it happened several times. I don't know why he chose my house but I always wonder why people can't seem to "contain" their pets. I have a dog and I don't see the problem with keeping MY dog in MY yard or in MY house - not letting him roam. Why do people get pets and then not take care of them?

 

[sunnyside]

I don't have that problem with dogs where I live, I'm not sure I could handle it. But, I did catch a stray cat that kept beating up my cat. One day I found him in my house and had to corner him with a dog crate to catch him (he was ugly and mean I tell ya) I took him to the pound and put him in the outside drop off cage(they were closed). The next day I drove on the same route as the pound and saw him splatted in the middle of the road. He must of got out of the cage somehow. I felt sick for days.

I do see alot of dogs loose in their yards while I take mine for walks. They come charging at us and we both about have a heart attack. That infuriates me! I've lost it with a few people out in their yards. I even surprise myself at the way I can tell someone off. LOL!

 

[dreamyjeanie]

I don't know why some people don't care about their pets. I have taken in several strays, tried to find their owners or new homes. Check with your local animal control department and see if there is a "No Kill" Shelter in your area. Also since you say this current stray is a german shepherd, check on the internet to see if there is a "German Shepherd Rescue" in your area. They often are able to foster the dogs until someone adopts it.

 

[Evie]

RE: does anyone else have problems with strays in their...

I moved to a rural area about 7-8 months ago, and we've had 2-3 stray cats wandering around. Last week, one had gotten hit by a car and was too afraid for us to get near her. She had a broken leg and kept dragging herself away from us, so we stayed away (so we wouldn't force her to drag herself away) and tried to find to find an animal shelter to pick her up. We were not successful (our town doesn't pay for cats to be picked up, only dogs), and by the time we got back to look for her, she was gone.

My neighbor found her four days later, with her 4 kittens. By that time, the bone was sticking out of the skin on her leg, and they shot her to put her out of her misery. The neighbor tells me that lots of people think that animals can care for themselves in the country, so when they don't want an animal anymore, they just drive out to a rural area and dump the animal off to fend for itself.

Can you imagine how frightened, hungry, and lonely these animals are?;(

 

[smartyjonesc2s]

my SO just told me that he tested the dog with our dog just to see how he would react, and the dog growled and showed his teeth more and more the closer my pug got to him. that is unfortunate because a dog that is afraid of humans and gets aggressive with other animals is not adoptable. i feel so bad for him, and i just want to cry when i see them in that condition. i don't believe that dogs are born mean (unless there is mental issues), but that people make them this way. that is sad about the cat that got hit after being dropped off at the shelter, but you certainly did what you had to do. i used to think i had to save them all, but i know now that i cannot save every animal or feel responsible for all of them. it makes me so angry that irresponsible people force us to take an unemotional approach to these animals. i just can't allow myself to become too emotionally attached every time i see one. i think we are going to call the dog catcher to come get him as we can't get near him to even touch him. it is very sad, but at least he is cool and getting food and water until that time....