General Etiquette > Life...in general
My neighbor's dog
Shoo:
New neighbors moved in next door about 6 months ago. They have a little black dog named Maggie. She has very long hair that's not really curly, but not really straight either. She has only one eye, and the hair on her head (very long) grows in such a way that it covers the bad eye, so for the longest time, I didn't realize she only had one eye. It's very clever the way nature works, isn't it?
So Maggie is the world's greatest escape artist. They (her owners) put her out in their backyard during the day, and she has dug a hole under their fence and she gets out. She's an extremely friendly dog. She runs all over the place, across the street, in and out of people's garages, generally making herself a nuisance. I have a real soft spot for Maggie, for some reason. I don't even like dogs, but Maggie tugs at my heartstrings and I don't know why. My dd just loves her too. Even my dh has a warm spot for Maggie. It's very strange.
I have rescued Maggie more times than I can remember. When the weather was good, I'd put her in our backyard (where she couldn't escape) until her owners got home, and then I'd take her home. It's gotten to the point that neighbors who find her wandering about will bring her back to my house when they find her. They think she's my dog, I guess. I always tell them she belongs to the neighbors, but they're never home, and no one wants her to get hit by a car or hurt in some other way. It's not safe for a dog to run around. That's why I always try to take her home or keep her safe when I find that she's escaped her yard. She always comes running when she sees me outside.
Usually she's such a mess when I find her that I can hardly pick her up. She's got very long hair, and some of it is matted, and it's always wet and caked with mud. And she's so excited when I see her that she jumps on me and she's got toenails that have grown so long and sharp that she has scratched me.
This dogs needs a serious grooming.
Maggie's owner's son and his girlfriend live in the house too. They have a 4 month old baby. I'm guessing the baby's mom doesn't want a dirty stinky dog in the house with her baby, so she puts her outside all the time. Well, surprise! That's why Maggie is wet and dirty. They say they've tried to repair the spot in the fence where Maggie gets out, but obviously they haven't. I open their gate and put Maggie back in their yard, and 30 seconds later she's at my door again.
This morning I took Maggie home and rang their doorbell, but no one is home. She won't stay in her backyard (tried that twice). Finally, I brought her inside my house and gave her a bath so she could stay inside with me. She was ravenous and devoured all my cat's food in 2 seconds, so I gave her another little can and that was gone in 2 seconds. She was very hungry and thirsty. I think she may have been out all night.
I have a friend who is a professional dog groomer. Maggie needs her hair cut around her feet (it's so long you can't see her toes and it drags in the mud), and she needs her nails trimmed desperately. I'm wondering if it would be totally out of line for me to ask my friend to groom Maggie, then take her home and tell them she's all clean and trimmed up, so they don't have to keep her in the backyard anymore.
How rude would it be for me to do this? I want Maggie to stay home with her family, but I suspect that her current condition prevents her owners from wanting her inside, and they're too neglectful or lazy to take her to the groomers themselves. Or maybe they can't afford it. I don't know.
What do you think?
CocoCamm:
I think Maggie has some horrible, neglectful owners and she is lucky to have you. Dogs are extremely social animals (hence the fact that she escapes and goes visiting) and its really wrong to keep then outside by themselves all the time. The facts thats she is always outside and escaping and dirty leads me to believe Maggies owners care very little about her or her well being. She may be better off in the shelter where at least she has a chance at haveing a family. If I were in your shoes I would probably contact the local human society and see if they can help Maggie. Good luck.
Irish Clovers:
This just burns my behind. >:(
Your neighbors do not deserve her. Maggie is trying to tell you something, listen. :)
Rei-chan:
As a dog lover, I would do it, but for the dog, not the owners.
I have a feeling though, that it won't make any difference. If they don't care enough to keep her groomed (it costs 5 bucks for a set of doggie toenail clips, and takes all of 5 minutes on my little dog), then Maggie will probably be shut back out in the yard within 10 minutes of her arrival home.
If it were me, I would groom her, take her home, but I would bring a shovel with me, and say "OK, let's get this hole fixed so she doesn't get hit by a car or worse!" That, or if I was in the position to, I would offer to take her off their hands entirely. IMO, if people aren't responsible enough to keep their dog fenced and safe, then they shouldn't have said dog in the first place.
Can you tell that this subject ticks me off?!?! :)
Bob Ducca:
--- Quote from: Aleyria on January 19, 2007, 12:51:22 PM ---I think Maggie has some horrible, neglectful owners and she is lucky to have you. Dogs are extremely social animals (hence the fact that she escapes and goes visiting) and its really wrong to keep then outside by themselves all the time. The facts thats she is always outside and escaping and dirty leads me to believe Maggies owners care very little about her or her well being. She may be better off in the shelter where at least she has a chance at haveing a family. If I were in your shoes I would probably contact the local human society and see if they can help Maggie. Good luck.
--- End quote ---
I'm afraid I have to agree. My guess is that the neighbor doesn't want the dog in the house at all, and is using the wet and dirty issue as an excuse. Getting her groomed would be nice for the dog, but it probably would only be a short-term fix. Etiquette wise, it does seem like it would be overstepping your bounds, unless you got permission from the couple (maybe tell them you got an offer for a dog grooming, and you'd love to take the dog in yourself sometime).
My fantasy suggestion? Have Maggie groomed and take her to the humane society, then adopt her yourself. Maybe the owners wouldn't recognize her with her hair and nails cut! ;) Seriously, you aren't under any obligation to care for these people's pet, and the dog sounds like a sweetie. Good luck!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version