Just found a puppy...

Barktoberfest was great. If they ever get it open, it's going to be wonderful. They better do it soon. The old shelter is so bad, it's almost criminal to have staff working there, not to mention the animals but I understand not putting any money into the repairs on it.

When you lose a pet, fear eats you up. What if it’s lost and can’t find its way home? What if it’s injured and lying in the woods somewhere? If you can’t understand this…if you don’t understand what your responsibilities are when you find a dog or a cat….if you’re not willing to assume those responsibilities,,,then do those of us who love our pets a favor and KEEP YOUR FREAKING HANDS OFF OF OUR PETS! Your intention to do good may be causing great harm. Maybe the next person that happens along will do the right thing.

It’s time to weigh in, scremped.

Well, this sure reads / feels like a demand to "weigh in". Yes, we all are concerned for little Dude.

Scremped does not owe this message board, or anyone on this message board, an update or even an explanation.

Scremped picked up a puppy and wrote about it and posted pictures. That does not give anyone the right to be judge and jury over his actions since then. We can offer advice, give suggestions, help out, but the situation is not OURS.

Do any of us KNOW what is going on with Dude ?
Go ahead and call the vets / the shelter / put up posters ... but unless you have heard first hand from the OP, you cannot possibly know if the puppy is:
With the owners who may have lost him
At the shelter
With Scremped
Back out of the streets

That IS A FACT, that you (and we) don't KNOW.

Personally, I hope he does send an update, but after all this criticism I would not blame him if he didn't.
Spouting off "KEEP YOUR FREAKING HANDS OFF OF OUR PETS!" is NOT what I would want to say to anyone. I would WANT someone to pick up my pet. I would call the shelter first thing if I ever lost a pet. I love my pets and many many many people here do as well.
The FACT remains that we do not know what has or has not been done.

Your intentions may be in the right place, but please don't discourage people from picking up a puppy.

ah....

I didn't claim to know any of those things, did I? I didn't accuse scremped of any wrong doing, did I? "...judge and jury over his actions ..." You're really stretching. I made no such judgments.

Here's the meat of it. scremped hasn't let us know whether or not he notified the shelter or made any attempt to find out if someone lost that puppy. Some people were ready to award him the good deed doer award without knowing whether the shelter was notified. They told him to keep the puppy.

"I would WANT someone to pick up my pet."

OK, let me paint a little picture for you. You have a new puppy - a new joy in your life. The puppy goes for a short romp. I find your puppy and out of genuine concern for its safety, I pick it up and take it home with me. Have I done a good thing? I post a message on a relatively obscure message board stating that I found it. Have I done a good thing? I don't call the shelter. I don't call the vets. I don't put up a sign. You call the shelter every day but, of course, they tell you that no one has reported finding a puppy. You call the vets but, of course, they tell you the same thing. You watch the paper but, of course, an ad never appears there. Have I still done a good thing? My friends tell what what a good thing I've done. They justify my actions and inactions by saying that the puppy is now safe. I'm given a good deed doer award. Meanwhile, from your perspective, you don't know any of this. You only know that your puppy is missing and that no one has reported finding it. Have I done a good thing or have I simply stolen your dog and broken your heart?

Several actions must be tied together for this to be considered a good thing and an act of kindness. If you pick up a puppy, you must notify the shelter. Better yet, take it to the shelter. They'll worm it and give it its shots. They'll run an ad to see if anyone lost the dog. You always have the option to adopt it if no one claims it. Best of all, if you lose your dog and call the shelter, they'll tell you that they have your puppy.

scremped may or may not have contacted the shelter. We don't know. I'll withhold my vote for the good deed doer award until I know.

You've made leaping to conclusions an Olympic event.

Point out just one conclusion I've made, Trade - just one. Knock yourself out.

Here we go, Scremped weighing in!

First of all - aussie, you're frightening. i do so hope we never meet.

Second of all. I did more than just post on the moving center. I am also a radio show host on the island and the very day I picked up little Dude, I made announcement after announcement on air that i had found him, where I had found him, where we were located and that I would make sure he was okay till we could reunite him with his/her owner. I also left information with all the sister stations in my company since a lot of people call the radio stations asking us to make lost dog announcements.

I called various animal hospitals and vets on island. A lot of them knew of some dog who was missing in the Lindbergh Bay area that day, but none in the Caret/Sorgenfri area.

I put the photos on my Facebook page in the updating section, which of course goes on everyone's news feed, and since I am friends with a lot of people in the St. Thomas network, the pictures spread and spread.

Meanwhile I have taken good care of the little Dude, giving him food, water, getting him to the vet, giving him a flea bath (which he hated), playing with him, etc...

I contacted my landlord (who is off island) and asked if she knew anyone else in the neighborhood who might know who the dog belongs to.

I got a hold of a man who described the dog perfectly and told me that he belongs to a local man up the street from me who lives in a little shack like thing (take that how you will).

I have visited said shack a few times now, so far no one has been home. Granted my schedule is pretty hectic, I am most likely just missing the guy.

The neighbor I spoke to on the phone said this guy would probably let me keep him if I wanted to, but that's not an assumption that i am making on my own. I want to give little Dude back and if the guy says keep him, then I will make arrangements from there.

Fact is, I have done a hell of a job taking care of and watching over this little guy.

Sorry i didn't weigh in sooner, but I visit this sight on a whim most of the time and usually leave it depressed from the overwhelming negativity.

The couple days after I posted the thread I must have refreshed the screen nearly 20 times a day to see if anyone out there had commented and given me a clue as to the owners. As the views climbed but the commenting didn't I assumed this was a dead end and was exploring other means. And this weekend was very hectic as I am in a show at Pistarckle that had three performances and rehearsing for the next one, so I wasn't home very much (don't worry, Dude was with me). VERY sorry I didn't get back on here sooner, but I don't have a cool internet phone or anything so if I am not near a computer I can't check.

There's your update fellow posters. Enjoy.

Cory

Good for you, Scremped. Hope Dude winds up in a happy home, wherever that may be. If you wind up keeping him & need some help with a vet bill, pm me.

I stand by what I say, Aussie.

Outstanding job, scremped. I hope that the guy in the shack allows you to keep the little fella. It looks like Dude has found a wonderful home.

Sorry that you find me to be frightening. On this particular subject, I can be hell on wheels. I've known the pain I speak of.

I wish you and Dude the best.

Point it out, Trade. Your words are empty.

Why don't you take up kickboxing? I don't have to answer to you or anyone else.

LOL...at least go through the motions of trying to defend your statement. LOL...what a cop out.

Your words speak for themselves. Have you gotten enough attention yet?

Too funny....

Try again.....

I just received an email from the Daily News. The Daily News will run an ad for a found dog or cat for 3 days - free of charge.

The Daily News will run an ad for a found pet free of charge. The cost of printing a sign on your computer is perhaps 2 cents. You can call the shelter and every vet on St Thomas in perhaps as little as half an hour. It appears that the whole ”why should someone that finds a dog or a cat run an ad, put up a sign, and call the vets” argument reduces down to a rather absurd place to take a stand.

scremped, you said that you haven’t had a dog since you were a kid. If Dude is now your dog, you have an incredible journey before you. The bond between a man/woman and his/her dog is one of the greatest gifts we will know in this lifetime. I hope that you are never separated from your boy. The loss of a pet is one of the darkest days an animal lover will ever know. There’s only so much you can do. It’s a helpless feeling and you have to rely on the person that finds your pet to go out of their way to help you get them back. Perhaps one day you’ll understand what I was trying to express in this thread. Perhaps one day you’ll understand why I was so pi$$ed off at the comments that were made here. Rest assured that if I find your dog, I’m willing to go the extra mile and quite a bit further to help you reunite with your pet. Perhaps it’s the people with the “why should I run an ad” mentality that you should find frightening. Frankly, they scare the cr@p out of me.

scremped, when you have the money, I highly recommend having your dog chipped. A chip can speed the return of your dog to you if you become separated. If you want to take an extra precaution, you can have them tattooed. The tattoo is generally placed inside the ear where it will always be visible. A tattoo serves to alert veterinary professionals that they need to scan for a chip.

If Dude is now your dog, I hope that you have many joyous years before you.

Cory,
Thanks so much for taking such good care of the little Dude and trying to find his owner. Kim

Thanks scremped - for taking care of Dude, and for your 'weighing in' post too.

Thanks!

Scremped, you did a wonderful thing. Having seem the unspeakable abuse animals on this Island are subjected to, I applaud you.

This dog probably would have lived a short life tied to a tree with occasional water and food; if he didn't die from that, the rope used to tie him would have eventually cut into his neck, the skin grown over the wound, and he would die because he could no longer breath.
Perhaps kids would have stoned him or her would have been bait for pit bull training.

The onus is on he owner, if there was one; lets be glad Scempered found him.

Life is not kind to many animals here.

scremped, you said that you haven’t had a dog since you were a kid.

I said I haven't had a puppy since I was a kid. That puppy of course grew up and stayed with us till she was nearly 17. We had to put her down last year and there are many days when I still think about the fact that she's not around anymore.

I know the journey quite well. But like I say the last time I had a puppy I was 15 and going to school, and would come home and viola, she was taken care of. Dude's a different story.

By the by, I found the owner earlier this week. Turns out he's lost three puppies altogether and is trying to find them to get them homes. According to him, they follow the mama dog all over. He asked me if I would find Dude a good home and so that's what I am trying to do now.

Cory

Oh, scremped, I don't know ... sounds to me like Dude has a home and YOU have a dog! That how mine all got started. You take them home to take care of them until you can find them a home and then, well, they find one with you. In car sales they used to call it "The Puppy Dog" close - take the car home and see what the family thinks about it. You can bring it back in the morning if they don't like it. Ahh, the good old days.

I'd take him but four dogs, two cats and the hubby - my hands are full.

You know, try June Marsh at Home Again (don't tell I told you). She had to put one of her old dogs down last month.

Pamela

Not Lily???

Yes, Lily. She - from what I heard in the mail service - fell down the hill from June's house and was too weak to get up. Lily and my dog Flo were the best of friends. I hope Flo was waiting at the Rainbow Bridge for her when she got there. Gawd, this is bringing tears to my eyes.

Pamela

Oh, nooooooo.

Scremped, you did a wonderful thing. Having seem the unspeakable abuse animals on this Island are subjected to, I applaud you.

This dog probably would have lived a short life tied to a tree with occasional water and food; if he didn't die from that, the rope used to tie him would have eventually cut into his neck, the skin grown over the wound, and he would die because he could no longer breath.
Perhaps kids would have stoned him or her would have been bait for pit bull training.

The onus is on he owner, if there was one; lets be glad Scempered found him.

Life is not kind to many animals here.

HBIC, unfortunately, I have to agree with you, & luckily you don`t have others posting BS that people here don`t do those sort of things(as I have encountered)!

In the end, the most important thing is Dude has a loving home!

Amen.