A puppy was dropped in the ditch by my house today!

[Minimus]

This is so unbelievable.

My husband was outside working in the back yard when he hears a car stop, a lady get out and drop something in the ditch, look around, get in her car and drive away. Mr. Minimus thought it was trash and he is always picking up garbage along the road. So he walks over and sees a little black puppy and it ran from him.

I am grieving for my little Sonic and have been crying so much all weekend so he was kind of afraid to tell me, but he needed help getting the puppy into a cage. He came in told me what happened, I dressed, grabbed some dog treats and my work gloves, and we carried the cage to the road.

At first there was no sign of it, and Mr. Minimus thought maybe the puppy had went into the woods toward the houses across the street. Then all of a sudden the little scamp comes out of some brush and runs toward me. It's little tail just wagging. We got the pup in the cage, carried it home, gave it food and water. It is now in the cage in our garage, with warm blankets.

It sounds corny, but I kept feeling the spirit of Sonic as I was helping this little abandoned pup. I felt maybe Sonic's spirit made the pup get dropped near our house because he knew we would help.

Last year someone dropped a mother and five puppies near our property and we had a hard time gathering all of them because the mother was real protective. We housed them overnight and the next day Mr. Minimus drove them to the animal shelter but unfortunately they were closed. While he was standing by his truck trying to decide what to do, a tiny kitten came up to him (someone must have dropped the kitten outside the shelter and left). So hubby ends up bringing the kitten back with him and has to wait for the shelter to open. He went to our vet's office and they called animal control and the animal catcher came to the vet's to pick up the mother dog, five puppies, and a kitten.

How could someone be so cruel to throw a dog on the side of the road? People make me sick! Now we are faced with having to take this little pup to the animal shelter because I just cannot keep him. I am grieving Sonic so much and we have two other dogs that I need to focus on.

Why did this happen?! Especially since I am so grief stricken. Is it a cruel joke the gods are playing on me?

[Lorien]

1. Maybe it's meant to be

I understand your grief over Sonic; I was devastated when I lost my kitty Peewee (who I had raised since he was two days old) last year. I cried for two weeks and didn't eat for days. My remaining cat wailed constantly too, and it broke my heart further to see him so grief stricken. I decided that I needed to try to look at other cats, for his sake if not for my own. There was a big cat show near my hometown with several shelters attending with cats for adoption. I went intending to adopt an older cat, but ended up bringing home a kitten (that I actually paid for, which I never thought I'd do). The kitten (Oberon) just kept reaching out of his cage for me every time I passed him. I felt it was a sign. When I brought him home, I couldn't look at him without sobbing over the cat I had lost. It seemed much too soon to bring a new one home. But gradually, I warmed up to him, and I love him dearly now. He and my older cat are the very best of friends; they snuggle and groom one another, and my old guy no longer howls miserably.

You can't replace your old friend, but do try to give this new one a chance. Sonic may have sent him your way because he knew that this pup was just what would help heal you. Just try him for five days; if it doesn't work out, he'll still be young enough to place in a loving home.

[Minimus]

5. My husband has said "no way" to keeping the pup.

We just spent thousands of dollars in vet bills for Sonic and with our other two dogs, Mr. Minimus is just not ready to take on another. He is actually a kind hearted soul just in shock over everything.

He got me Mimic, our 8 month old because he realized Sonic would be leaving us in the near future. And having Mimic has certainly helped with the grief. So many of her mannerisms and antics are just like Sonic's when he was a pup. Our 3 year old, Frolic, was Mother's Day gift to me, but she became so attached to my husband that she is more his dog than mine.

It breaks my heart to take this abandoned pup to the shelter. We are going to ask around at work today to see if anyone wants him. He is so cute, I think he will be quickly adopted.

I am just struggling so with making sure I do the right thing. I just wonder how that woman that threw him in the ditch slept last night.

[RebelOne]

2. Please, please do not take the pup to an animal shelter.

If no one gives it a home, they will kill it. That is, unless it is a no-kill shelter. And there are very few no-kill shelters.

[Minimus]

6. Believe me, I am struggling with this.

It is a really cute puppy, maybe 8 weeks old so I think it will be quickly adopted.

We are going to ask people at work today if anyone wants him. I would much rather put him in a good home than take him to the shelter. The shelter here is new and very large and they only kill aggressive dogs that are not adoptable (well, that's what they say, I hope it is true).

[auburngrad82]

7. If you do take it to a shelter DO NOT tell them it is a surrender

Tell them you found it wandering around. If you tell them it is a surrender they will euthanize it immediately. Stray dogs and cats are usually kept for about a week but surrenders are immediately put down.

If your husband can describe the car and woman then I would report her to the police. It's animal cruelty and she can and should be prosecuted for it.

[Minimus]

8. My husband said he would recognize the car but he was

working outside with out his glasses so he could not read the license plate.

I cannot fathom leaving a puppy in a ditch. And last year when we found a mother dog and five puppies I was livid. Punishment for people that do this kind of stuff to animals should be severe.

We are asking around to see if anyone wants the little guy before we take him to the shelter. And we will definitely tell them he was just wandering around. Thanks for the advice.

[ajacobson]

12. Not necessarily so

In my experience in our area, metro Detroit, puppies and kittens are adopted quickly, it's the older dogs that have difficulty getting adopted.

We have an excellent Humane Society here in Detroit (full disclosure: I've been a volunteer there for years), so we're lucky. Detroit animal control however, is awful (not as willfully bad as it used to be, but still terribly underfunded).

[xultar]

3. People are so Evil to animals. That pup is lucky the spirit os Sonic

lead him to you.

O8)

[Phentex]

4. I grew up in a very rural area and we were the first

house from the main road. People dropped off animals all the time. That's how we got most of our pets. A house full of kids is NOT going to let an animal starve or be taken away. Sadly, many of these animals were sick and didn't make it very long. I never understood why people did it either!

However, in your case, I think it was meant to be. You can never replace a pet. Never. But they each have their own distinct personalities that you can grow to love in time.

[underseasurveyor]

9. I know you're grief stricken over the loss of your Sonic

But me, I always found comfort and the loss of a furbaby easier to accept in the presence of little happy puppy kisses. Puppy breath and all.
Circle of life `n` all that ;-)

Some one or some thing is sending you a message. Now what could that message be I wonder?:shrug: If you end up not keeping this pup maybe this was just Sonic's way of sending you kisses from beyond the rainbow bridge to help cheer you up, to let you know he loves you, and don't feel so sad any more about his having to go,
because he's okay O8)

Keep the little fella for a week or ten days and try and find him a home. In the mean time, messages may become clearer.

I would like to toss that lady out in the middle of nowhere and see how well she fairs, alone and on her own in a strange place :grr:

Hugs to you Minimus :hug:

[demnan]

10. It just seems too much to be coincidental

I hope you can keep the puppy. I think you can use all the love your can get right now. :hug:

[LWolf]

11. I lived for a dozen years out in the middle of the desert

in a very isolated area. It was a regular dumping ground; that's where my animals came from. When I couldn't take on any more, I kept them until the shelter picked them up. Even if they were euthanized, they didn't starve, dehydrate, or become coyote lunch in the process.

Why will people drive out to an isolated area and "dump" an animal, condemning it to a tortuous death, rather than drop it off at a shelter?