Late last night we came across an interesting homestead, and we were about 90% sure that it was abandoned. We walked along the back and the back door was ajar. The kilowatt box had been taken. However, there are indications that it was extremely recent abandonment, possibly only days or weeks. When we noticed the back door was open, we approached, and what runs out but a precious puppy dog, most likely a juvenile, possibly not even fully grown. We had walked around the house several times, shined my bright headlights in the home, even flashlights through the windows, and no sign of any human activity. But the things that were (pretty much everything) left behind were making us feel a little bit unsure of how to proceed. The dog was starving, but very healthy. She was incredibly sweet, very obviously good with people… my gut tells me that she was left behind along with the home. Still, there's something about the whole scenario that doesn't seem quite right. Here's the kicker: we did some searching on the Internet, and we found that the owner of this property has a very extensive and very violent criminal background. Because of this, we decided to run down to the gas station for some puppy food (although I find it exceedingly unlikely that he was anywhere in the area, it wasn't worth the risk). We decided we would go back today in the daylight to check on the puppy. So here's my question (y'all probably know where this is leading)... I know for myself, and I think my friend is probably feeling the same way, I can't just leave this amazing and beautiful dog to fend for herself inside of an abandoned home! I'm reluctant and/or concerned about calling animal control, for obvious reasons. Has anybody ever run into the situation or have any suggestions, even maybe resources, that they could suggest? What do you guys think?

Mod/admins: If this thread should be posted elsewhere please let me know or move it, thank you!

In case it matters, I am in North Texas.

This hasn't happened to me but my wife and I are huge animal shelter supporters. We give to only one charity and it's the German Sheppard rescue association in Houston.

You're right you can't leave the dog there. My suggestion is when you go back, get the dog. Just feeding it isn't going to make things better or easier. Look in your area for a no kill shelter. By area I mean anywhere you are ok with driving. Hell, you can make a day of it. Drive a few hours if you have to and hit an abandonment you've wanted to see.

Another more obvious solution is to take the dog home and adopt it. Not sure if this is possible for your situation but if there's any way to make it work (even if it's expensive or difficult) do it. You and this animal have already hit it off and that bond will only strengthen with time. Animals, especially abused ones, remember the bad times their entire lives. Rescuing this dog will prove more rewarding than you can possibly imagine.

Finally, talk to local vets in your area. They are a great resource for finding places for strays and if you tell them the story and decide to adopt it, they will probably do the exam, shots etc for free or at a huge discount.

Good luck, and please let me know how this turns out.

Posted by Peptic Ulcer This hasn't happened to me but my wife and I are huge animal shelter supporters. We give to only one charity and it's the German Sheppard rescue association in Houston. You're right you can't leave the dog there. My suggestion is when you go back, get the dog. Just feeding it isn't going to make things better or easier. Look in your area for a no kill shelter. By area I mean anywhere you are ok with driving. Hell, you can make a day of it. Drive a few hours if you have to and hit an abandonment you've wanted to see. Another more obvious solution is to take the dog home and adopt it. Not sure if this is possible for your situation but if there's any way to make it work (even if it's expensive or difficult) do it. You and this animal have already hit it off and that bond will only strengthen with time. Animals, especially abused ones, remember the bad times their entire lives. Rescuing this dog will prove more rewarding than you can possibly imagine. Finally, talk to local vets in your area. They are a great resource for finding places for strays and if you tell them the story and decide to adopt it, they will probably do the exam, shots etc for free or at a huge discount. Good luck, and please let me know how this turns out.

Trust me, the thought of adopting her crossed my mind, but I have two cats at home, and I tried once before. Suffice to say, it was pretty much a disaster!
We left her for a few reasons:
1. The owner's criminal record and slight possibility he could be inside.
2. We were alone at night and the property was unfamiliar to us.
3. We both just felt it prudent to do anything in the daylight for safety/logistical reasons. I also have a friend that volunteers with rescues and wanted her opinion but wasn't going to call her at 1am in the morning.
4. We figured, with the new food supply, she'd be fine for overnight. I certainly don't want to accidentally take someone's pet that wasn't abandoned by mistake!

Leaving her inside of an abandoned house to starve to death or escape and get eaten by the neighboring coyotes simply isn't an option. I'm just not sure where we will go from here!
After I pick up my roommate, we're headed over there this afternoon.
I will definitely keep you posted on how it turns out.

You can take the cats to the abandonment and swap them for the dog... Think about it - no more litter boxes!

One of my friends in Buffalo found a pair of kittens dumped in an abandoned church and took them home, sadly one later died but he still has the other one.

I kinda wanna hope his owner isn't there so he can find a better home... but I hope he wasn't abandoned either. I'm glad yalls found him though

if the guy was a definite a known criminal and there was no food or water for the dog, I wouldve just taken it (but I wouldn't have told anyone)

might try to contact whatever residents may be hanging around the place in case squatters or tenants claim the dog but if the meter was pulled its sounding pretty unlikely

these are the critters that end up being featured in UER mummified pet photos next year a sad way for any animal to die

I saved a brindle pit that was dumped in the desert. I gave to it to a friend as I couldn't keep him. The same person took a beautiful black tomcat that had befriended me.
The dog had heart worms, the cat, feline leukemia. Perfect.
$700+ latter, the dog is cured, the cat is stable and healthy for now.

I'm cured too. I'll never dump a mess like that on anyone again. Stray dogs must be tested for heart worm. It's very common and hard to treat.

As for the house... in Texas you better be damn sure it's abandoned and the owner isn't about. It's legal to use deadly force against trespassers on your land. Not just in the house, but on the property as well. If it's fenced and especially if the fence posts have purple paint or trespass signs, etc, consider yourself fairly warned. UEing homesteads can be risky in Texas.

I would be very careful about what essentially sounds like stealing a felon's dog. It could come back to bite you in the ass (the situation, not the dog ).

If you make it known that you took the dog from the property, and the owner does come looking for it, they'll check with local vets, potentially file a police report, etc. I've seen stories of people who took what they thought were abandoned or neglected dogs, only to wind up with criminal charges and lawsuits. There was one story I heard where the dog was very old and the owner was wrestling with the decision to euthanize or not... when some strangers grabbed the dog and had it put down because they thought it was being mistreated. Wierd/shitty situation all around.

In a case like this, the legal option might be the best route. Call animal control and report an abandoned dog, and let the law deal with it. If the dog is young, healthy, and friendly it should have no trouble being adopted. If it's seriously ill, the expenses will be out of your hands.

Alternatively, if you feel you have to take it off the property personally, you could tell the vet you found it running loose and make a good-faith effort to put up posters and a Craigslist ad.

Personally I've found and taken home two cats while exploring. One was in a storm drain and was terminally ill, the other jumped in my car at an abandoned building and demanded to go with us (I put up posters and CL ads with no response, ended up paying for some expensive medical treatment and finding him a home since he didn't get along with our other cat).

I explored a foreclosed house once and found two cats left inside... They were starving an anti social but they needed a home so I took them in. One of them died of FIP just over a year, the other one I still have.

Let us know how the situation turns out!

Darkman and I found these two fellows at Camp 30. We took them home in the car, bought them litter and food. They were adopted out a few weeks later.

Had we been 30 seconds behind or ahead (eg. no bathroom break) we'd have missed them.

We found this guy in an abandonment about a year and a quarter ago


The wife insisted.
Here he is today, making sure I know that I can't leave for a full week again.

If have you cats, especially kittens that are feline leukemia (FeLV) free, any cat brought into the household needs to be tested before it is introduced. Strays often are infected. It's very contagious and it can be a death sentence for a cat that would have otherwise lived a long life.

Dee, this thread reminded me I recently found a mummified cat in that Southlake house.
I don't think local animal control is the answer because the pup is in a very small town. Just my guess, they are not likely to have a no kill shelter. She'd be better off if we brought her down to the Metroplex. We have lots of all breed rescues here and she is sweet and young so there are several that would likely take her and rehome.
Grapevine Animal Control does a great job of rehoming. She would probably be adopted out of there within a week.

EDIT: I'm not available until a week from Monday, the 9th, but if you want to keep an eye on her until then, we can bring her down to DFW at that time.

EDIT: Kudos to all of you who have rescued from abandonments. Good to know there are so many animal lovers here.

Posted by blackhawk If have you cats, especially kittens that are feline leukemia (FeLV) free, any cat brought into the household needs to be tested before it is introduced. Strays often are infected. It's very contagious and it can be a death sentence for a cat that would have otherwise lived a long life.

Yes, I had a cat died from chronic Feline Leukemia. I learned that there are two types: acute and chronic, the latter can lie dormant within the bone marrow for many years and is passed from the mother en utero or while feeding her kittens. It typically won't show on standard tests either, evidently. As it turned out, my cat had the chronic type for 10 or 11 years before the disease asserted itself. He died about two years after his diagnosis. My vet said that the acute kind typically will kill within days or weeks (hence the layman's term, "fading kitten syndrome," she said, although I've never heard it called that before).
It's also a very hearty disease, being able to infect the cat as much as a year after the virus is introduced into the environment (food bowls, blankets, etc.). The treatment (antibiotics and steroids) kept my cat comfortable and happy for those two years, but there is no cure, both the acute and chronic manifestations are fatal.

EDIT: There is no cure for Feline leukemia, but there are vaccinations for the disease. My second cat did not contract the disease because of the vaccination! So, The moral of the story is, keep your pets vaccinated!

Posted by 2Xplorations if the guy was a definite a known criminal and there was no food or water for the dog, I wouldve just taken it (but I wouldn't have told anyone) might try to contact whatever residents may be hanging around the place in case squatters or tenants claim the dog but if the meter was pulled its sounding pretty unlikely these are the critters that end up being featured in UER mummified pet photos next year a sad way for any animal to die

I know you're right, and it's so fucked up, it makes me literally sick inside. It's not just murdering an animal, it's torture to lock them inside of a place to starve to death alone, and people that do that aren't worth the space they take up. I'm usually the last to condone a violent solution, and have never taken it upon myself to incite any kind of violence, but that would be a case, I could make an exception. The people that leave their pets to die epitomize everything I despise about the human race.

On the flipside however, I think it's incredibly awesome to hear how many of you guys have taken in abandoned animals!

Once I get to my computer, I'll update you guys on the original post about the abandoned puppy. It's too long for a text, more of a keyboard thing.

Looking forward to an update on the dog. Haven't found any live animals in abandonments (well not domestic-lots of wild ones!) but have found the mummified ones.

They disturb me, one was s small dog, one back leg bent back at a bizarre angle. I wondered if it was maybe hit by a car then crawled into the house to die, or abused inside the home and killed...who knows?

Cool to see all the ones you guys brought home-all my animals have been strays, even my horse LOL~!