Moral Dilemma

[narcissist]

Keep them and don't say a word and leave the law out of it.

Agree with no law enforcement.

[narcissist]

I wouldn't get law enforcement involved either. I would consider taking pictures of them to document their condition, and maybe going back to the vet for a once-over. That will provide you third party documentation of their condition when they showed up at your place.

This, and it doesn’t seem to me like that much of a moral dilemma. It seems obvious they’re being abused, and they didn’t start out this way. One could make the "whose property is it" argument and satisfy the law .... if one were so inclined .... or one could make the "do right by the dog, and it will do right by you" argument. Doing the next right thing isn’t always the next easy thing. It seems like the first dog knows you’re a safe haven, and rescued his buddy. That kind of loyalty should be rewarded. Be the pack leader he deserves.

Good point, I guess the moral part was thinking of my current two dogs if they ran off but im starting to realize we are doing the right thing.

[narcissist]

I think from a moral standpoint, those pups chose you and your misses for better or worse. I'm not a lawyer but perhaps there's a case to be made against thier previous owners based on the condition of the pups. Not sure but I'd wager that they're yours now.

You would be right sir, Inside dogs with ac and all the kibble they can eat. Going to take a while for potty trainning but we are watching their actions and doing pretty good so far.

[narcissist]

Another option:
Contact your local LE agency and report the animal abuse and offer to take in the pups. Yes, there is a risk the dogs will be returned to the abusive owner but if you don't then some other dogs will simply take the place of those two and in the end you have only made other dogs suffer.

In most cases I would say this should be the way to go. However, I have a little story about our latest addition. We received a call from the director of the local rescue (not going to mention the name for security of the rescue) wanting to know if we would be able to "foster" a 3 month old pit bull puppy. This poor puppy had been abused starting at about 6 weeks old all the way to when the courts took it at 3 months old. It had been documented by neighbors and video existed. The police were called and the dog was removed from the home and the owner arrested for cruelty. The dog was put into the care of the rescue until the court case was complete. As angry as the owner was when he was arrested, they were afraid he would try to come take the dog so we were asked to "foster" him until they could close the case and put him up for adoption and we agreed (she knew what she was doing asking us to foster).
To shorten this story up, the court took the puppy away from them, gave him a years probation, but did not take the other dogs from the home as there was no evidence of abuse to them (their words not mine). Nor did they prevent them from acquiring any other dogs. Now, we saw the videos and this guy was slapping, punching and kicking this puppy. When we got him, he was being treated for 2 broken ribs, a dislocated front shoulder and numerous bruises AT 6-12 WEEKS OLD. Therefore I don't have much faith in the courts to do the right thing to those that abuse defenseless animals.
Like I said, the director knew what she was doing calling us to foster because we ended up adopting him. This is him at 6 months, healed up, 60 lbs., and a momma's boy for sure. My wife can't get out of his site.

Cute dog by the way and thank you for that info, no law involed on most anything that happens in our lives. I will never understand how in the world and why would people abuse mans best friend.

[narcissist]

Thanks all of you, once they heal up Im planning on updating their recovery with photos of them.

[cirus]

I wouldn't get law enforcement involved either. I would consider taking pictures of them to document their condition, and maybe going back to the vet for a once-over. That will provide you third party documentation of their condition when they showed up at your place.

This, and it doesn’t seem to me like that much of a moral dilemma. It seems obvious they’re being abused, and they didn’t start out this way. One could make the "whose property is it" argument and satisfy the law .... if one were so inclined .... or one could make the "do right by the dog, and it will do right by you" argument. Doing the next right thing isn’t always the next easy thing. It seems like the first dog knows you’re a safe haven, and rescued his buddy. That kind of loyalty should be rewarded. Be the pack leader he deserves.

Good point, I guess the moral part was thinking of my current two dogs if they ran off but im starting to realize we are doing the right thing.

Unless they had been gone for days or weeks your dogs aren't gonna look starved and abused. That's the difference. Keep them and keep quite.

[C-dub]

Thanks all of you, once they heal up Im planning on updating their recovery with photos of them.

Good decision. We'll be waiting for those.

[powerboatr]

Keep them. They willingly picked you.

yep a no brainer if you can afford to keep them.
we get drop offs and abused pups and dogs in our neck of the woods all the time.
my last pup and current are THEY FOUND US dogs.
i hate to see any animal abused

i would however document via film or video their present condition.
we are rural, game warden or sheriff couldn't give two farts about abandoned or abused animals. they both will call ASPCA, which is far away from us and the guidance is slim.
follow your heart. dogs are smarter than you think..they can pick good people. you can potty train one easy in a weekend. crates in the house when you are gone. outside is only for pee and poop until they get all squared away

[OneGun]

Needed some ethical help, ok about two months ago a puppie about I'd say 4-5 months old showed up at the ranch. Well it didn't have a coller so we took it into the vet to have it scanned for chip with no luck. So my wife and myself decided to adopt it, had the pup for around 2wks took care of it ect.

Then found a flyer with info about the dog so I did the right thing and contacted the owner. When the person showed up I could tell they we're a little off, smelt of alcohol around noon maybe 1-pm. Also had those type of sunglasses where you can't see their eyes (bloodshot) "guessing"? Anyway gave it to the rightful owner without compensation or any expectations at all.

Just the other day the same pup showed back up but with its buddy this time. Just so you know this wasn't a easy task for this pup, as the owner had explained how far they live which was around 5-6 miles as the crow flies.

Well the pup is now head shy but its buddie is even worse, I'm talking shaking while you get near it and of course very head shy. Both are extremely malnourished, see ribs ect. My wife wants to basically keeps both dogs due to the condition they are in.

Being both dog lovers and knowing we will give them the best home we possibly can.

My question to you all is what do you think?

Easy decision, keep the dogs, protect them from their abusive former owner!

[RSX11]

Unless they had been gone for days or weeks your dogs aren't gonna look starved and abused. That's the difference. Keep them and keep quite.

I agree 100% in this particular case, that the OP should keep and take care of these two dogs. But, I have personal experience that things aren't always so cut and dried. A few years back, I had a Malamute that my wife and I treated better than most people treat their children. During the day, Max was a backyard dog - it wasn't physically possible to make him stay in the house while we were away at work. One hot hot hot Houston summer day, he decided to dig out of the back yard and spend the day wandering the neighborhood (Malamutes are tunnel and escape experts) . Toward the end of the day, a man down the street managed to grab him by the collar when he tried to drink from a sprinkler (a brave man - Max looked more like a wolf than a dog - think Dire Wolf from Game of Thrones). He got his address from his collar and brought him back, for which I was grateful. But he then proceeded to build into a towering rage at me for how I was mistreating this dog by not providing adequate water. Max did look thirsty, what with the heat and his arctic fur coat. I had to show the guy that Max had escaped from a back yard that had a pond, a kiddy pool full of water, and several full water dishes before he calmed down and gave let me have the dog. So anyway, just wanted to say that things aren't always what they seem - although, like I say, the story with these two dogs seems pretty straightforward. Max only escaped the yard twice, thanks God - as far as Malamutes go, that put us way ahead of average.

[narcissist]

Update the dogs are doing great by the way, thought I'd share a couple photos like I said. The one that looks German Shepard is named Red Dog and the one that looks like a Husky or Malamute is named Doofie.

[flechero]

Well behaved, one even bathes himself!

[RPBrown]

Nice looking pups for sure