Harley, the bernese mountain dog puppy, went home with his owner.
I spent about an hour talking to her, trying to understand how the
whole situation had happened. There was a lot of "he said, she said".
Heather claimed she'd asked Al weeks ago and he'd said it was ok to
leave the puppy with him. Having experienced Al's absentmindedness
myself, this is certainly plausible. He's also deaf in one ear and
tends to tune the girls' chatter out entirely after a while ("Geezus,
they'll make yer ears bleed after a while"). I have seen him nod, or
utter a vague, "ayup" in response to a question or comment that I *know*
he didn't hear.
Al's not a dog person. He had no idea that the heat was likely to kill
a giant mountain breed. He sees Zane following me around up there in
all types of weather with no apparent ill effects.
Heather was horrified when I described Harley's condition when I
brought him home, and what had been done to treat him: bath, shaving,
bath with hibiclens, steroid cream for the belly rash, cleaning and
antibiotic/steroid drops for his stinky ears. She was laughing and
crying at the same time over his buzz-cut coat. "Well, my mom will be
happy, anyways..."
She's done her homework. Knew all the major health issues of the
breed, and brought up the heartbreakingly brief lifespan on her own. Is
starting formal obedience training this fall. She asked about health
insurance for dogs and I told her that it was mostly a rip-off and that
she would be far better off setting up a medical savings account for
him. Set aside a few bucks, $5, $10, every week, not for normal stuff
like shots, Heartgard and Frontline, but for emergencies. She asked if
I thought that would be enough and I told her maybe not but it would
give her a downpayment and buy her some breathing room.
And I told her what a wonderful puppy he is and that if she gets in a
bind and needs someone to watch him to call me and he can stay here.
Was it the right thing to do? Was it enough? Did I make a mistake?
Dunno.

Kathleen wrote in
:

... I have seen him nod, or
utter a vague, "ayup" in response to a question or comment that I
*know* he didn't hear.

Nod and muck, nod and muck. It's the only way to survive in some barns.

Was it the right thing to do? Was it enough? Did I make a
mistake?
Dunno.

Dunno, either. Time will tell.

Kathleen,
You scared the Pee out of me when I read the subject. "Harley went
home". I thought you meant "the rainbow bridge..home".
I think you did a wonderful job from beginning to end.
You took in Harley and cared for him and treated his ailments. He may
not have been around or alive when Heather got back from her trip
without your intervention.
Hey, stuff happens. Heather sounds like she loves him and will do
what she can to take care of him. I think it was a good thing that you
did not alienate her. She can come to you for advice and babysitting
and I am sure that means a lot to her. I believe she would contact you
for help in rehoming him, rather than abandon him if it ever came to
that.
I think Heather and Harley need each other. I hope things work out
for them. Be assured you sure did your part.
Do you miss him


Be Free.....Judy

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:25:17 -0500, Kathleen
wrote:

Was it the right thing to do? Was it enough? Did I make a mistake?
Dunno.

I think you did the right thing. You have no legal right to not turn
him over to his legal owner. The other option would be animal control
with neglect charges, but they would be unlikely to take the dog away
from her given her explanations and it being a first time report. But
if AC had got involved, she wouldn't trust you as someone to go to if
she needs somewhere for the dog to stay or figures she is in over her
head and wants to find a good new home for him. I think you did right
by Harley. You will be able to keep up with the situation better now,
so if it turns out you were being snowed, you can go from there.

Think of how many kids mess things up from just not knowing any better
and not having the fully developed reasoning abilities of an adult.
Better to educate so there is one more really good dog owner out there
if that is an option, IMO.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Kathleen wrote:

And I told her what a wonderful puppy he is and that if she gets in
a bind and needs someone to watch him to call me and he can stay here.
Was it the right thing to do? Was it enough? Did I make a mistake?
Dunno.

It sounds like you did the right thing... the additional
information sure changes my initial interpretation of what you
first wrote. You've found an opportunity to educate rather than
punish, and I hope she takes advantage of it, and that it all
works out.

FurPaw


--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

To reply, unleash the dog.