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Found dog, do we keep him? Needs TLC


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A dog was found in our area that someone obviously just left him.  Cannot find the owner.  He has some issues.  Cataracts in both eyes, nearly deaf and doesn't get along all that well.  Very slowly.  We don't know anything else about him but don't want to get into a situation of huge vet bills and we don't know how long he will last.  Although we don't want to send him to animal control, would it be better for him?  Options?

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If you have the time, patience and he wouldn't have to climb lots of stairs then it would be like taking care of any aging person. The cataracts don't have to be fixed and the other issues you mentioned aren't too bad to deal with. It would be a great kindness to him if you could take him. Once you get to know each other, you will develop a routine and he will probably do fine. If he's beyond help then animal control would be the next choice, but because of his age and problems it will be very difficult to get him adopted.

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That's a tough one, Curt.  I would probably at least call Animal Control and the local shelters to see if someone's looking for him.  He might actually have a family out there that he wandered off from.

 

Failing that, here's what I can tell you from my experience doing rescue for 10+ years and seeing a lot of elderly dogs...

 

The vision and hearing stuff are non-issues in terms of medical care in a senior dog.  Neither are likely to be "fixed" at this point, which just makes it a case of keeping the dog safe and giving him a routine so he gets the lay of the land.  Dogs are surprisingly adaptable, and most figure it out pretty easily. Biggest issue with a dog with hearing loss is not letting them run loose anywhere you can't catch them, since they can't hear you if you call them.

 

If he has trouble moving it may just be arthritis, in which case I'd put him on a joint supplement like Dausequin.  It won't fix anything, but it may help him move a little easier with less pain. We just had a 10 year old border collie in rescue with bad arthritis in her hips. Her foster home put her on Dausequin, put down a few throw rugs (she was sliding around on the floor) and made sure she didn't overdo it playing outside (because she's still a border collie).  She went from having a really hard time getting up in the morning when she first came into rescue, to hopping in their truck all on her own to go for a ride.  :)

 

A vet may also recommend an anti-inflammatory and/or pain meds if it's confirmed as arthritis.  Again, won't fix anything, but not particularly expensive. If he's otherwise healthy, you may not be looking at a lot of vet bills, but if it were me I'd at least get a full senior dog workup and blood work to confirm.

 

Vet stuff aside... I can tell you that a senior dog generally has very little chance of being adopted at a typical shelter, and if they do have any health issues (even minor ones) that drops dramatically.  Sadly that's just the reality.  If you decide not to keep him, I'd recommend trying to find a rescue that doesn't have an issue taking in senior dogs.  There are even some senior dog rescues floating around. If he seems to be a particular breed, try a breed rescue.  Our border collie rescue does not disqualify a dog due to age and we actually have a great track record of getting seniors adopted.  In my experience, people that love a particular breed seem to be more likely to take in a senior.

 

Other options would be to ask around at local vet offices to see if anyone might be willing to take him in.

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After exhausting avenues trying to find an owner, we have decided to keep him and help him through his twilight years.  Hope somebody does that for me someday....lol.

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he will be an excellent dog for you.  it's funny though, when i take in a dog someone doesn't want anymore i have to ask some questions.  i'd like to know the real reason for giving the dog up and many times the owner won't say.  it sucks--because it could be something easy to work with or maybe not.  but, you have to just stop asking questions when they start to not talk much anymore.  you can tell they are getting agitated with you.  

 

the one thing i don't want is them to just throw the dog to the side of the road-so to speak.  Even if it's a humane society-it can harm the dogs social life. so, i just shut-up and take in the dog.  

 

i'm glad that pup found you--he must've sniffed you out!  ;)

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he will be an excellent dog for you.  it's funny though, when i take in a dog someone doesn't want anymore i have to ask some questions.  i'd like to know the real reason for giving the dog up and many times the owner won't say.  it sucks--because it could be something easy to work with or maybe not.  but, you have to just stop asking questions when they start to not talk much anymore.  you can tell they are getting agitated with you.  

 

the one thing i don't want is them to just throw the dog to the side of the road-so to speak.  Even if it's a humane society-it can harm the dogs social life. so, i just shut-up and take in the dog.  

 

i'm glad that pup found you--he must've sniffed you out!  ;)

Yea we stink like that. Loll

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Thanks. I tried putting them in but kept getting an error. We took him to the vet and he is quite healthy other than the blue cataract type haze over the eyes. He is about 6 or 7 years old. He seems pretty happy here.

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