part of me does, but part of me definately doesn't...

[nancy2394]

I was at work the past two nights and sometime on monday night a little black puppy found it's way to my doorstep. He was rummaging through the bag of trash we had sitting on the front stairs looking for food.

TJ brought him in the house for a few hours and let him warm up because he was shivering and whimpering. Of course there's no tags on him or anything that identified him. Looks as though he was just dumped off in the neighborhood to fend for himself.

TJ picks me up from work that next morning and has the pup with him in the truck. He's all black and has a little white patch on the front of his chest. He has ears that remind me of a sheltie's ears... the kind that sort of stand up a little but then flip forward on the tips.

I think he's some kind of lab mix but doesn't have the coat of a lab at all. His coat is kinda thick and coarse and he's short haired. His paws are gigantic :yikes: I think he's gonna be a HUGE dog.

He seems real good natured and sweet but timid. He still has puppy breath, I'm guessing he's about 10 or 12 weeks old... not really sure. How old are they when they start to lose their puppy breath?

Part of me wants to keep him and give him a second chance at a good life with us because I know we'd take good care of him and love him. And then there's part of me that just wants to foster him until I can find him a permanent home. The thought of another puppy that needs to be trained just does not appeal to me. I still haven't got my 1 1/2 year old dog fully trained despite all the methods suggested for training her... I think she's just stubborn.

I'm torn... I just don't know what to do. I feel so bad for the puppy. He deserves a good life. I feel like I'd be just tossing him away hoping he'd be going to a good home... I just don't know what to do.

I guess I'm gonna sleep on it and think about it more when I get up. By then I'm sure TJ will have bonded even more with him. He's already calling him Boomer. I'm thinking we've just adopted a new puppy into our family I'm just aggrivated with the owner who just dumped him out in the cold... the poor baby... helpless and lost. Some people just suck!

 

[Kmh1]

Awww, isn't it amazing how sometimes they find "us"? Good luck with the little guy, he was very lucky to come up on your doorstep. I say see what happens--you either won't be able to part with him, or the perfect person will come along and you will know that he will be good for that person too.

 

[rij73]

Yeah, just see what happens! If you are in a position to care for the dog (timewise, moneywise), and you find yourself falling in love, then it might just become obvious. But, if after a few days you still don't feel quite right about it, then try to find him a home. If you interview people and make sure it's a good home, there's no reason to feel bad about it!

 

[Buddy'sParents]

I echo Rachel's comments. ^

If you feel good about it after having thought about it.. then do it.. if not.. do what you feel is best.

 

[bubbatd]

^^ double echo !

 

[Lizmo]

Triple Echo ^^^

 

[iamawesum69420]

That is such a tough decision. I know if it were me, it would be so hard to let him go after he gave me that look puppies give. I'm a sucker for the look, which I think is why I want to take home every dog I see. I agree with what the others have said. Just wait and see what happens. You never know, he might be one of the easiest dogs to train, and you'll have a really good time with him. Or he might be another stubborn pup. Definitely at least sleep on it for a night.

 

[showpug]

He found you for a reason...

 

[Renee750il]

I'm with Showpugs . . . there are no coincidences - or accidental meetings

 

[bubbatd]

Read " My Angels Have Wings " ....he found you for a reason !

 

[Kase]

Some things are just meant to be .

 

[StealthDog]

There is nothing wrong with feeling like you aren't at a good point for taking another animal into your life... We found a little 4 week old calico kitten once, but at that point we already had 2 dogs and 3 other cats. We took her to a rescue that had a long waiting list for calico kittens. I felt a little guilty at the time, thinking that if we'd really wanted to we could have fit another kitty in the house. But now, I realize that we did the best thing we could for her. We sent her to a place where someone who was prepared to give her a home could find her.

 

[Lizmo]

I agree with Grammy, and read "My Angels Wear Fur" AWSOME AWSOME book!

 

[ToscasMom]

Agree. That pup came to your house of all the houses he might have gone to...you gotta ask yourself why.

I expect we will be looking at some pics soon. It's a done deal.

 

[skyeboxer]

A Christmas present kicked out before the end of the day? Somebody needs a festive kick in the teeth.

Nancy, I totally believe Jerry, my second cat found me. When I spotted three little kittens under a bush two scarpered and he climbed up the stems to get to me. He is a total velcro cat and I am so happy we found each other.

Maybe Boomer is meant to be with you. But... maybe not. If you really feel that you are not ready for this, don't feel guilty about caring for him until you find him a home. He is one lucky pupper he decided to raid your garbage anyway.

Now, TJ... well, that is a whole other problem.

 

[Gempress]

Hmmm. This post sounds very familiar. Where have I heard something like this before? Oh, I remember!

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26310&highlight=temptation

And I'm sure you can see how that turned out.

From somebody who's been there, I must say that I don't regret it in the least. Voodoo has been a royal pain at times, and there are times when he stressed me out to the point of tears. But now I wouldn't give him up for the world.

If you decide not to keep the pup, its understandable. It's not exactly something you planned or intended. But I would say to be open-minded about the situation. Whether you're the angel who gives Boomer a forever home, or the angel that helps him find one, I'm sure you'll do the right thing for that pup.

 

[Bobsk8]

A good friend of mine at the company I just retired from had a dog show up at his front porch about 6 days ago. He already has 2 dogs and his wife was reluctant to consider keeping another. In the time they have had the dog looking for a rescue or someone to adopt it, his wife is now getting attached to the dog. Looks like a 3 dog family to me.....

 

[Whisper]

I agree with showpug, Grammy, and Renee.

 

[nancy2394]

I asked TJ to do a little investigating and see if anyone truly just lost their pup on accident. Turns out this poor fellar was dumped several days ago down the street in a small sub division. One of our daughter's classmates lives there and brought the pup to her house.

Her dad said NO and told her to walk it up the street and dump it off for someone else to find. I guess that's how the pup ended up in our neighborhood.

There were 25 other front porches to pick but he picked ours. Maybe we were the only ones with a bag of trash out on our front porch....lol.

It just pisses me off that this poor little guy was just abandoned like yesterdays trash and thrown out into the cold to fend for himself. He's just a baby.

I'm trying to guess how old he is. Does anyone know how old they are when that puppy breath starts to go away? I know this sounds silly.... but he still has one of those puppy looking peckers. And of course he has that puppy looking belly and face. He really is cute. I wish I knew what mix he is. I'm really thinking he's mostly lab, but can't figure out what else. His front paws are webbed too.

I'll post pics soon. I guess we're gonna keep him. TJ has really bonded with him. The pup wants nothing to do with me but whines when TJ is out of view. I just hope this works out. I'd hate to keep him for a while and have him get attached to us and us attached to him and realize it's not going to work. We're gonna give it our best shot.

 

[showpug]

I asked TJ to do a little investigating and see if anyone truly just lost their pup on accident. Turns out this poor fellar was dumped several days ago down the street in a small sub division. One of our daughter's classmates lives there and brought the pup to her house.

Her dad said NO and told her to walk it up the street and dump it off for someone else to find. I guess that's how the pup ended up in our neighborhood.

There were 25 other front porches to pick but he picked ours. Maybe we were the only ones with a bag of trash out on our front porch....lol.

It just pisses me off that this poor little guy was just abandoned like yesterdays trash and thrown out into the cold to fend for himself. He's just a baby.

I'm trying to guess how old he is. Does anyone know how old they are when that puppy breath starts to go away? I know this sounds silly.... but he still has one of those puppy looking peckers. And of course he has that puppy looking belly and face. He really is cute. I wish I knew what mix he is. I'm really thinking he's mostly lab, but can't figure out what else. His front paws are webbed too.

I'll post pics soon. I guess we're gonna keep him. TJ has really bonded with him. The pup wants nothing to do with me but whines when TJ is out of view. I just hope this works out. I'd hate to keep him for a while and have him get attached to us and us attached to him and realize it's not going to work. We're gonna give it our best shot.

I think puppy breath usually starts to go away by 12 weeks. If he still has puppy breath, I bet he's pretty young.

He sounds sweet. I think it's worth a try for keeping him. If it doesn't work out then you can always find him a loving forever home. That's what ALL dogs deserve.