So Upset.

[Archiesmom]

It's a terrible day today.
I came in to the worst e-mail ever!

Lulu, a golden retriever that had been dropped off out at my parents house that I had rehomed just a month prior has apparently "run away" and now she's been missing for 4 days.

According to her owners, she has a habit of charging the door when people come in and out, and managed to slip by someone and escape. I'm so worried for her, she loves to chase cars and bite at the tires and they live right off of a pretty busy street (Cedar Ave. in Apple Valley, for you Minnesotan folk!)

What's WORSE though, is that they don't want her back! They've filed a police report, but that seems to be the extent of their search for her. According to their e-mail "She is just too wild, and we took her to one obedience class and it didn't help, and we don't want to deal with it anymore. She's happier running free."They've only had her for a MONTH.

I'm so mad and upset. Yes, the dog slipped past you. I can forgive you for that. But NOT LOOKING for her?! They wanted to bring her home the day I said I would interview them, but I made them wait a week, I had a home inspection where I asked them a ton of questions, and most importantly, we had a long conversation about Lulu's history and the work that owning her would entail. That was why she was free to a good home, with a surrender contract that if at any time they couldn't take care of her anymore, I would get her back. Now he's talking about if she's found, he's going to rehome her to his cousin?!?!?! Ummmm, NO. I'm just so frustrated, I thought I was working so hard to give Lulu a good home and it turns out it wasn't a great place at all for her.

And honestly, who takes a dog to ONE obedience class and expects awesome results? I told them that with her, it was going to be a long process of building trust and working with her, and they BOTH agreed that they would be willing to do this. Now, according to e-mails leading up to this one, Lulu has been GREAT, however wishes to spend lots of time out in the backyard. But otherwise, in the timespan of a month she is completely housebroken, kennel trained, and has gone to the dog park before and done well (despite not listening when they call her, she needed work on her recall training).

I feel responsible. Somehow, I just know she is lying on the side of the road somewhere, squished by a tire. My poor, beautiful Lulu. I have done a horrible disservice to her. I'm so upset, how could I have let this happen?!?! And I have no idea how I will tell my mother, who loved Lulu very much, but who kept her chained 24/7 and could never take her for walks or bring her inside? I thought I was saving her from a not-so-good life for a dog, but at least she was safe!

 

[BraveheartDogs]

That is really frustrating. I own a dog training and behavior consulting business and I can tell you that many people have very unreasonable expectations about dogs. A lot of them expect dogs to not need any training or for the training to be minimal, then they wonder why their dogs aren't reliable. All you can do is hope to get her back and find her a better home.

I do rescue also and I think you did the right thing by finding her a home, it just wasn't the best one and not the right match but if you can find her you can start over and find her the right one

 

[Greycloud]

So sorry to read this! I surely hope she is found safe. You have a contract so the dog should be returned to you! They obviously don't know what owning a dog entails. I wish you luck on finding the poor girl.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

I am so sorry to hear about Lulu running away. I hope that you are able to find her. It is not your fault. You were trying to help her.

 

[ferdinand]

The responsibility lies with the "owners"...they didn't live up to their obligation. I will keep my eyes open when I am over that way. not your fault at all...

 

[expressmailtome]

I am so sorry. I hope that she is found safe and another family who loves her will take her.

Matt

 

[Skyler]

I pray that LuLu is found safe. But please don't blame yourself---so many people seem reasonable and ready to really "care" in every respect for a "animal" and then turn off when reality enters. One class? I bet they are the type that sell a bird on CL as soon as it is loud, bitey or messy or doesn't do "immediate tricks". And to not bother about Lulu. Bad people!!!

 

[marian]

The adopted family failed in their responsibility of caring for Lulu.Not you, you tried to find her a good forever home.I worked for years for a rescue and learned over those years ..people will tell you pretty much what they think you want to hear .We used to have a saying..."a dog is only as smart as its owners and the time they put into it all".Alot of people want a quick instant fix.I sure hope you find her..maybe start posting ads around.I hope Lulu finds a forever home .

 

[Gilraen]

Just a though, since I've seen it happen before, did you have them sign a contract or was it just verbal? If you have a piece of paper that they signed that says she comes back to you if they can't keep her, show it to the police if they happen to find her and give her away and they can go in and take her back to give her to you. Hope she gets found safely

 

[Archiesmom]

Thanks everyone
I've got an ad up on CL now, and I'm calling all the local shelters in the area and will be of course driving around in the area.
I had a 50 question questionnaire I had them fill out, and we went through it, had a home inspection, and sat down for at least an hour and explained to them why she was FREE. UGH! According to him, he spayed her and got her up to date on shots and "doesn't want to waste anymore money on her".

If she's found she's staying with me until I can find her a good home! I love Lulu very much and here I thought I'd found the perfect home for her, they literally passed with flying colors....

 

[Archiesmom]

Danae-
Oh, they signed a hefty adoption contract that stated she was to return to my care if I deemed them unfit on certain grounds, and letting her run offleash or unsupervised in a non-controlled area was one of those! I've got signatures on that, and I've got signatures on a spay contract too. I'm completely backed up in this case.

 

[waterfaller1]

So sorry you are going through this. I hope Lulu is found safe and returned to you.

 

[magni]

praying she finds her way home

 

[newf]

I'm sorry to hear about Lulu. Sometimes people put on good faces, but just don't want to live up to their responsibilities. One dog obedience class is not enough to even give a dog a good shot at learning better behavior. I hope you find her soon.

 

[atvchick95]

I'm sorry to hear she got out

I hope you find her before they do !

and one Training session? and they excepted her to be obedient with ONE session? - they must be from mars!

it sounds like she needs to live out in the country on a farm , Sounds like she has a whole lot of energy and a Farm is great for high energy dogs

 

[Archiesmom]

I'm sorry to hear she got out

I hope you find her before they do !

and one Training session? and they excepted her to be obedient with ONE session? - they must be from mars!

it sounds like she needs to live out in the country on a farm , Sounds like she has a whole lot of energy and a Farm is great for high energy dogs

She was living out at my parents place, but she would chase cars on the road! She was almost hit--twice--which is why they had to keep her tied up all the time
These people had a huge spacious fenced-in backyard with a 6 ft privacy fence all around it. It was perfect for her.

 

[rocabird]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of pet owners with unreasonable expectations, but at least most of those pets aren't in a dangerous situation like running lose. What a jerk! Maybe you should let him know that since he is the current owner of the dog he can be held liable for any damage that is done including if someone gets in an accident trying to avoid hitting her. Maybe that will get him out looking for her so you can get her back.

When you go out driving to look for her, be sure to stop and talk to everyone you see. A few years ago my sister left my back gate unlatched and all 4 of my dogs got out the next morning. One I got back right away but the other 3 disappeared. I drove around but there was no sign of them so I just starting walking (I was so stressed at this point; my sister was lucky she was out of town) and talking to people. I happened to stop to talk to a girl who had seen all 3 of them and was able to get Havoc (he got a ride to the shelter in a police cruiser) and she drove me up and dropped me off near the Subway she worked at. I found the other 2 a little while later, they had traveled 3 miles in just a couple hours. I never would have thought they would have gone that far and was so happy I found that girl.

One thing I would recommend is take paper with a way people can contact you if they find her. I didn't have anything although I asked everyone I talked to keep an eye out and call the police station since I had called them first.

I hope you find her soon!

 

[mizbirdy]

hope you find her soon! and don't blame yourself, you did all the right things, it's just that the people told you exactly what you wanted to hear, then went & did their own thing after they got her. some people just don't care.....

 

[birdlover82]

I hope you find her and she's ok. That would just be horrible.

 

[LittleBirdie]

Natalie it's not your fault! Obviously the people were not committed to being pet owners.
All good pet owners know that when you take in a pet, it's a responsibility.
If they had difficulties they should have gotten Lulu fixed. Many times animals that want to run off are not fixed yet, and if they had her spayed she might have settled down some. Or maybe Lulu wanted to get the heck out of dodge cuz they abused her in some way?! Hopefully Lulu made her way to someone's home and she's being cared for and maybe it will all turn out good?!
Be safe Lulu where-ever you are? You could post flyers with your number if you want to help find her?