You won't believe this!

[tomatosandwich]

A woman knocked on my door this morning with a wheaten Cairn on a leash asking if I was missing my dog! A neighbor told her we had a dog that looked like him (we do!). She said he is a stray that wandered up to her door a couple of days ago. She said she's tired of trying to find its home and started to let it loose again. I couldn't just stand by and let her let this dog roam loose again! Now I have a stray Cairn in my lab's crate outside!

He is well fed and seems very socialized. I'm just feeling overwhelmed. Someone MUST be missing him! He has no collar. The vet isn't open today to see if he's chipped. Aside from posting to local boards and papers, what should I do?

I'm also afraid no one is going to claim him. I'll be so tempted to keep him, but really, I can't. Two dogs and a cat is more than enough in my little 1,000 sq. ft. home. So I'm a little nervous that we took on the responsibility of finding his home. It's a huge responsibility, and I'm supposed to leave for a week this Thursday! Ugh!

I'm open to any tips here on how to find his owners fast! (P.S. I'll post a pic when I get a chance. Right now, I want to make sure he isn't a threat to my other pets or kids. Or sick or hurt.)

[Nena]

I sympathize with your problem. So good of you not to let this dog run and probably get hit by a car. It happened to me one time. Two dogs wondered into my yard they were to big and nervious so I could not get close to their collars so I called the police. Call the police and see if anyone has reported a lost dog. Our local shelters and I think police and shelters have chip scanners so if the dog has a micro chip they can read it.

I am sure that the owner is looking for the dog, hope they get reunited soon.

[KShep]

Oh my...I hope you find them! If not, I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Just bring him to the humane society. I hope that statement doesn't make anyone here mad, but it's what I would do. It's better than him roaming the streets hungry, or in danger of being hit by a car.

We once found a cute little shih tzu and I just walked him around the neighborhood asking people I knew. As luck would have it, a car drove by with a woman yelling out the window "Fritz! Fritz!". Happy ending. Lol.

[remltr]

Go to this website http://www.cairnrescueleague.com/

There is a email link at the bottom.

If the owner reports the loss to them, you could head off a search if they already know where your lost buddy is.

[tomatosandwich]

Thanks. I contacted Col Potter Rescue, and I'm working on downloading pics for a woman there. I feel so torn. I want to help the little guy, but I'm nervous about letting him in the house with my other pets! He peed in the crate 3 times already, and he keeps marking everything! He doesn't seem aggressive toward anyone or anything, though. I hope Col. Potter comes through to find his owners!

[pindrop]

TomatoSandwich - have you tried calling the local ASPCA or dog catcher in your town? Although it being Sunday, the dog catcher probably wouldn't be available. Goodness, what a predicament to be in. You would think the owners have probably called the ASPCA to see if it's been brought in. I'm sorry I don't have any ingenious ideas for you - but please let us know what happens.

[tomatosandwich]

Well, very strange end to the day. The lady who brought him to me just showed up with a guy claiming to be his owner.

I let him take the dog, as I couldn't prove otherwise. I just have a weird feeling about all of this!

[Lynn in TN]

Wow that was a roller coaster ride. I hope he was the owner. It was very good of you to keep him.

[tomatosandwich]

Okay, so the story wasn't over! About an hour after this lady and guy came to claim the dog, I got a phone call from my posting on Craigslist that I forgot to take down. It was a woman who described the dog perfectly! I had no doubt as her little ones squealed in the background that it was her dog.

I said no worries. I had asked the people who picked up the dog to please give me their name and number so if the police called me (I had called and notified them and the local APL) I would be able to tell them the owner picked them up and provide them with the info of who had claimed the dog. Well, when the new person called this number, the person who answered claimed they had no idea what dog she was asking about. So then this woman called me and asked me what the deal was.

Then I called the police again, told them what was going on. I felt so sick to my stomach for this family! And I was shocked that there were people who would try to keep another family's dog!

Finally, just 5 minutes ago, the family called and thanked me for reporting the incident again. They just got their Monty (it's so nice to know his name ) back! I heard very excited kids in the background! The family just moved to the neigborhood, so that's why no one recognized the dog. I gave her the info for my vet who does microchipping for $25. I hope she follows through! I think she will! AND we just might have made friends with a fellow Cairn-loving family today!

I'm sorry for spilling all the drama here. I just knew you'd folks would understand! My entire day became about this dog. I'm so glad it had a great ending!

[finncaraid]

Wow! Unreal story! But at least it turned out well & the dog is now back home! And how nice that you took him in temporarily & tried so hard to track down where he belonged. You just got a lot of stars in your crown in heaven & a lot of good karma!!! The part about the person that brought him to you is weird. Why do you think she told the owner she didn't know what dog?? Very, very odd. Maybe the owner spoke to someone else in the house (like maybe a tennager) that wasn't aware of the situation?? Wonder what the deal was with the guy that claimed it was his dog. I'd have a weird feeling about this, too. It's really too bad that everyone with a dog or cat doesn't get the chip. And it's surprising how many pets don't have a name tag with phone #: I seem to run into lost animals regularly & about 1 in 5 has ID. Bet Monty will be back for a visit!! We use to have an escape artist Malamute on the street & he'd head for the house where he'd been the first time he got lost. So you'll probably be seeing Monty again. Thanks for relating a story with a happy ending!!!!!

[Tracy A.]

So did Monty react to his 'true' owners, or his name when you heard it?

[pkcrossley]

great story. you did the right thing at every step. i felt a bit weird when you reported the woman and man showing up so oddly, but really, anybody would have given them the dog. but you followed through, and that produced the great outcome.

[kjwarnold]

We routinely get dogs showing up at our house and we end up keeping them until the owner is found. I hate how people in my area just let their dogs out the door and run loose. A couple of years ago, we had a beautiful female Boxer show up and stay with us for several days since it started over the weekend. I called a friend who's husband is a vet in the area, I called the police, then called the local shelter and found out she belonged to one of the workers! This woman worked at a shelter but didn't have her dog chipped, no collar and let it run loose. Duh! I have a friend who loves Boxers and she was getting a bit excited about the possibility of taking it in.

Glad your find found his true home and the story had a happy ending!

[Hawkeye]

Oh my that was awful, but am relieved to hear it all ended well. You did a great job working on getting Monty back to his "real" family!

[janis]

And it's surprising how many pets don't have a name tag with phone #: I seem to run into lost animals regularly & about 1 in 5 has ID.

I can tell you why Kirby could be found without an ID - he has lost at least 4 of them and two Rabies tags. He runs, he plays and they come off. We are currently trying one from Petsmart that seems a little sturdier, hopefully he won't loose it!

[pindrop]

Wow tomatosandwich - what a harrowing experience that eventually turned out to have a happy ending. I too was a bit suspicious when this woman and man showed up. You handled it supremely well and kudos to you. Yes there is a special place for sweet people like you. Guess what - our tomatos are starting to ripen and for your good doobie reward, I'll have a yummy tomato, mayo with thinly sliced cucumber on lightly breaded toast all sitting here ready for you. Course if you don't get here pretty quick, you will discover it has disappeared into MY tummy.

[Karen Holloway]

And it's surprising how many pets don't have a name tag with phone #: I seem to run into lost animals regularly & about 1 in 5 has ID.

I can tell you why Kirby could be found without an ID - he has lost at least 4 of them and two Rabies tags. He runs, he plays and they come off. We are currently trying one from Petsmart that seems a little sturdier, hopefully he won't loose it!

[Karen Holloway]

We replace the little rings on id tags with rings used for key rings, so they work !

[tomatosandwich]

Move the sandwich away from your mouth, Pindrop, I'm on the way.

What a great tip about sturdier rings!

Tracy A., the dog acted like a wiggly Cairn when this guy claimed it was his dog. He said his name was Chester. The dog didn't react or not react to the name, ya know? Just wiggled and greeted him like he had done to us. I have not seen him with his family. The police had to knock on the original woman's door to inquire about the dog to get it returned. I was not present for any of that. The family just called me and thanked me when he got home. But we're hoping to get our cairns and kids together soon! They only live a few streets over from us. This woman was able on the phone to describe the kink in the dog's tail, the black speck markings on his face, the curve of his front paws, etc. I just knew it was her dog!

[dianer]

We have been through the lost dog shuffle four times now, one was a Westie running in traffic that was thankfully chipped. Five if you count the neighbor I helped through the time a dog that ran under her car and wouldn't come out. Yes they did all return home but now all my neighbors think I'm the crazy dog lady. If you don't want to chip them, there is also a collar that you can order stitched with your phone number so they won't lose the tag. I think I used to get mine from Eddie Bauer. Oh and please don't chip them until the vet/tech checks to make sure they are not chipped already! My Leo has two from two different companies! It does turn your whole household crazy for the time being no matter what size it is. Sorry for your ordeal and congrats on the new neighbor. Hope they turn out to be good cairn owners, or at least teachable ones.

[cairnsby3]

You can get collars with the number stitched in from PetEdge also. I have my cell number on, since if my dog is lost I would be out looking (actually I don't have land line anymore, but even when I did, it's the cell on the collar)

[Lynn in TN]

Almost unbelievable! I am so glad that he is with his rightful owners!

Guessss what I am eating right now!!!! LOL I'll give you a hint. I gathered it from my garden, all red and shinny. I sliced it and put it on homemade bread with mayo. oh so good!HA!HA!HA!

[bradl]

Garden... red and shiny... I know! I know!

The garden slugwich!

Oh, maybe I've lived in Oregon too long

[tomatosandwich]

Excellent! LOL!

Garden... red and shiny... I know! I know!

The garden slugwich!

Oh, maybe I've lived in Oregon too long

[Jeff N Oscar]

I would always call the local animal shelter if my dog was missing or if I found a missing dog. Without that link it's a bit tough to match owner with dog. I would of never thought about craigslist. Wow I need to keep up with the current times..::::::::::feeling old:::::