How To Deal With Abandoned Dogs

Surely, more than once, you have seen poor abandoned dogs wandering around. Stripped, knocked down and in deplorable conditions, they survive amidst garbage and rubble in the suburban streets. Although some of them have simply gone astray, the majority have been deliberately left by their masters. Here are some tips for taking care of these animals.

Abandoned dogs: indifference kills them

Try to overcome indifference and selfishness  if you find yourself in front of a dog with obvious signs of abandonment. Feelings, stress and psycho-physical consequences can be dramatic for the animal. Your intervention can make the difference between life and death.

The animal, after days of abandonment, experiences a difficult situation. Afraid, alone, hungry and thirsty. In addition, exposed to a number of dangers against which he is not prepared. Traffic, neighborhood bullies, other wild animals. In them you will see  clear signs of violence, injuries and bites suffered.

If you are in a position to intervene, act without fear. Otherwise, you can always call an acquaintance who owns a dog or notify the competent institutions. Calling animal protection, the municipal kennel or the police costs nothing.

Anyway, read on to learn more about what to do if you find an abandoned animal. It doesn’t take much to solve a problem that affects everyone’s safety and health.

How to take care of abandoned dogs

Before trying to approach the dog, you must first follow these two small precautions:

• Check for aggressive behavior.
• Check for any obvious injuries, blood loss or disease. An animal in pain may be prompted to attack you.

In both cases, keep your distance, visually check the dog and call the appropriate entities. If the animal has a calm and quiet attitude, you just have to try to win his trust:

1. Walk slowly towards the dog.
2. Avoid sudden movements.
3. Address him in a relaxed and sweet tone.
4. If you have something to eat, offer it from a distance. Even plain water is fine.

Find out if the dog has a microchip

As the abandoned dog becomes more docile and meek, you can try to pet it. Always slowly and with calm gestures, offer him the palm of your hand, to make him smell it.

Now your new friend will allow you to touch him and you can  look for some identifying marks. Sometimes dogs are provided with a collar with tags on which the owners’ phone is placed. Improvise a leash and try to get in touch with them.

The best solution is to be able to  approach any veterinary clinic to be able to identify it. By law, all dogs are microchipped. A simple step with the detector will be enough to collect all the data on the lost animal. While you are at the vet, you can ask for a thorough medical check-up.

Unfortunately, even today, many dogs do not have this technological tool. It may be a good idea to post an ad on the Internet or distribute notes in the neighborhood so that you can find the dog’s owners. Even social networks can be exploited; often, thanks to the networks of our contacts, excellent results are achieved.

Adopt the abandoned dog or find him a family

If none of these systems lead to anything, well you will have to put in a little extra effort. While waiting for the real owners of the abandoned animal to emerge, you can act in these three ways:

• Adopt it.
• Temporarily give it to a friend or a pet hotel.
• Take him directly to a kennel or dog shelter.

The problem with relying on municipal or public kennels is that they are often sacrificed after a certain amount of time. If no one comes to claim the abandoned dog, its end is marked, in the negative. So it’s worth getting busy, perhaps with your smartphone or on some web platform, to find a new owner for the unfortunate little dog.

In recent years, a new feeling of respect for the life of these splendid and affectionate friends of man has spread . In cities like Madrid, Spain, the sacrifice is not already being perpetrated. It will be many years before these rules will also reach us, unfortunately. In the meantime, it is necessary to overcome indifference and show ourselves more sensitive, not only in words, but also in deeds.