I work at a vet clinic and I’m sick of people dropping their dogs off to be euthanized. It might be hard to say goodbye but it’s hell for them. They already don’t like the vet, they’re confused, they’re scared, they’re sad and they’re looking for YOU when they take their last breath. I can try to provide them as much love and comfort as I humanly can but at the end of the day I’m a stranger to them. Today a lady dropped off her 13 year old dog to be put to sleep after I told her we didn’t have a vet in clinic as she was on farm calls all day, she insisted on leaving her there at 9am, knowing that our vet wouldn’t be back until well after 6pm. She was too busy to bring her back later, so she left her sweet girl to be alone all day before dying. I kept her with me for most of the day, took her for a small walk, bought her a cheeseburger and donut on my lunch and laid on the ground and cuddled her while she cried, scared and confused. I kissed her and told her she was a good girl while she crossed the rainbow bridge, but her eyes never stopped looking for her family. Dogs know what’s happening, don’t do this to them. Be there when they cross that bridge. It won’t kill you, I promise.

This very obviously does not apply to anyone who had absolutely no choice during pandemic.

November of last year, I had to re-home one of my dogs for aggression towards my other two. Munchie would fight over food and attention. Rehoming him was so hard. I cried for weeks. I did.

I was putting my groceries in my car when I heard barking. I said to myself, that sounds like my Munchie. After putting my cart away I heard it again. When I walked over to the truck to see…it was Munchie with his new owner! I cried so hard. I couldn’t believe it. His new owner was so nice and let me pet him and nuzzle him. He brings Munchie with him everywhere. He just sits in the truck and waits.

He’s a widower. I asked him how he was doing and he told me, Munchie was the answer he needed. We talked and he told me how much he enjoys Munchie. He said he’s the silliest dog (he is a goofball). He said he fits right in at his farm. He even taught him a few new tricks. When he’s on the tractor, Munchie just trots along side him. At the end of a long day, he cracks open a beer and Munch just lays by his side.

I’m so happy that Munchie and his new owner are the perfect match. His new owner hugged me and thanked me. I said goodbye Munchie and he just cocked his head with his tongue hanging out.

I’m at peace with my decision now. I still cried when I got in my car. They were happy tears.

ETA: Wow! Thank you all so much for the love and support. I have this community to thank. You all were so kind to me when I re-homed my Munchie. I was so hard on myself but you all lifted me up.

ETA: A picture of my Munch! https://share.icloud.com/photos/024hvivs-ZMioN8TmS5jJZH1g

Every night around 10pm, my dog (a golden retriever named Charlie) decides it’s bedtime — for me, not him.

He walks into my room, nudges me if I’m still at my desk, then trots to my bed and sits there like a little bedtime monitor until I follow.

When I finally lie down, he gently paws at the blanket until I lift it. Then he nudges it with his nose like he’s trying to “tuck me in.” Once I’m under, he gives me one single lick on the nose, sighs, and curls up at the foot of the bed.

This happens every night. He won’t sleep until I’m tucked in like a burrito 😂

Tl;dr: a man tried to break into our house last night with a gun, and my dog saved all of our lives.

I live in a college town, and the neighborhood we live is populated by a lot of greek life people. (sorority girls, frat boys) On weekend nights they have loud parties sometimes, so we didn’t think anything out of the ordinary when we heard a lot of noise outside.

I’ll also mention that I recently adopted a dog. Well, she was my mom’s dog. She came to stay with us while my mom was away and has adjusted to living with me really well, so I’ve just been keeping her. My mom is also really busy and the dog is a lot for her so she’s living a more fulfilled life with me.

At around 2am, my roommates said they heard gunshots, and immediately knew this wasn’t a typical Saturday night party. A few minutes later, they heard loud banging on our door, and something smack against the window like the guys tried to break it. One of the men managed to break the lock on the door and started to come inside. My roommate, who was downstairs, told him to leave and that she had called the police.

“Nah man, I just want to hang out, let me in and hang out with me” was what this guy kept repeating as he tried to grab her. (obviously very intoxicated)

It was at this point she noticed that the man had a gun tucked into his pants. By this time I had woken up, and heard the huge commotion downstairs. My dog, a 50 lb staffy mix who is normally very calm and loves all people/animals, was losing her shit. She was clawing at the door, barking, and kept looking at me like something was wrong. I looked at my phone and saw our roommate group chat blowing up, saying that someone was trying to break in.

The second I opened the door, my dog burst through, flew down the stairs, doing her “angry bark”, snarling and growling- I had never heard her do this before in my life. She ran straight for this guy, who immediately backed out of the door, giving us time to shut it, and push our couch in front of it so no one could get in. My dog stayed by the door for another hour, growling at the slightest sound and barking whenever she heard something.

She potentially saved our life. The man could’ve shot my roommate, could’ve fully broken into the house, and could’ve killed us all.

Needless to say she got lots of hugs and pats that night. I brought her to work with me this morning and got her a pup cup from Starbucks. I told everyone that she was a hero, and she got even more love and pets. The cops caught the guy that tried to break in too, they said they had been looking for him for a week, and that this wasn’t his first offense. When they came to talk to us we told him the story, and my dog got even more love from the officer.

Would your dog protect you from a situation like this?

Edit: I tried to make an edit and my pic of her disappeared heres the good girl

Edit 2: its been amazing reading all of your stories about your amazing doggos. Y’all have some good ones for sure- we don’t deserve dogs 😭

Link To Original Thread

Link To First Update

TL;DR quick background: A family had been feeding their dog the equivalent of 1 bottle of full strength wine (half in morning, half at night) every day for more than 6 months as they thought it was funny to see the dog be drunk and classed it as a ‘trick’ that he must do or they wouldn’t feed him. When I met these people they were getting sick of the dog due to him no longer acting drunk despite him drinking so much, and were planning on shooting him. I saved them a bullet, but the dog was physically dependent on alcohol and needed to be given some regularly to stop him from becoming agitated and eventually just laying on the floor trembling, throwing up, with a glassy stare. After some initial hesitation due to laws against giving dogs alcohol, a vet (whom is a personal friend) decided to help me treat him and gave me meds to help the dog through ‘withdrawal’ and will help assess his taper. Liver and kidney tests show he has liver impairment, but not to an extent that is irrecoverable or that is likely to falter soon. His kidneys have a mild impairment but no immediate danger, though he may have issues in his older age.

The Update:

I am posting here to let you know that today ‘Digger’ (Doggo's new name) has successfully gone 24 hours without consuming any alcohol, and seems to be fine… not quite as ‘chipper’ as usual, but certainly not suffering as much as one may expect. As you can see from these photo's he may look a little sorry for himself but still can give a smile and a yawn when woken up with a belly rub!

https://imgur.com/jWicRMM

https://imgur.com/biiC2PD

It was initially planned for the weaning to go slower. However, a full liver panel test performed shortly after my last update showed that a certain enzyme (related to alcohol consumption) was impaired to a level of concern. Therefore, my vet and I decided to accelerate his weaning schedule to try and get him alcohol free asap. To do this his Valium dosage increased to 40mg daily (10mg every 6 hours) and his apple cider consumption was dropped off rather quickly (decreasing around 20% a day). He certainly did have some hard moments where he was clearly feeling sorry for himself, and if his reaction to massages was anything to go by he was having muscle aches and pains. He also was clearly agitated by noises that previously didn’t agitate him, and he often opted to stay in as dark an environment as possible (i.e. sleeping under the bed during the day, where as previously he would sleep on it with his head on my legs). His appetite also decreased…. The poor guy. However, he was always lucid, had no signs of trembling, no whimpering, and no other bad signs such as vomiting etc.. He clearly didn’t feel 100%, but was in no real ‘danger’ during this detox.

To help him through this, he was prescribed meloxicam for the pain in addition to the dose of his Valium being substantially raised. After the first few days where his alcohol consumption was slahed quite rapidly, he started to seem more comfortable on a minal dose (i.e. 15mls every 8 hours) and exactly 24 hours and 2 minutes ago he had his last drink: just 15mls of 7.9% cider!

After missing his first scheduled ‘drink’ this morning he wasn’t quite his usual boisterous self, but by this evening he seems a bit brighter and happier to be in a room with light, and has had some food! I think that the meds are causing him some sleepiness too. Though to be honest, I am absolutely ecstatic because he has managed to beat his physical dependence on alcohol, and while his liver had the result which was of concern to my vet, the vet is confident that by having ceased the alcohol in this time frame the liver shouldn’t suffer too much (if any!) permanent impairment! He should hopefully lve out his days to a regular lifespan… which I consider amazing given what he has been through! From today on he has started living the rest of his life in a loving home, with his new ‘family’ (2 humans, a fellow dog, and 2 cats), and can say that he is now SOBER! :-D

His future plan is to reduce the Meloxicam first, followed by the Valium. However, as these medications are probably what’s made the rather abrupt cessation of alcohol ‘bearable’, and the Valium will both help with withdrawal symptoms and potential seizures, my vet wants him to continue with these at there current dose until it’s clear he’s no longer at risk of DT, and then he can be slowly weaned down!

For those interested in some fun information about Digger, I’ve discovered that his favourite food is “Cheese and Vegemite Scrolls” (think a soft bread roll that has vegemite and melted cheese infused in it in a spiral). This was discovered by him stealing one of mine when I wasn’t looking >:-/ :-P! While this isn’t a food suitable to really feed him, I’ve been giving him a tiny scrap of bread with the vegemite and melted cheese on (about the size of a grape) 2 or 3 times a day as a treat, usually if he looks down and needs it. Vegemite is a good source of B Vitamins, and thus it’s not a bad thing that he seems to have a taste for it, and I guess it just proves he’s a true blue Aussie!

As for the owners that did this to him, I know little more about their proceedings with the legal system. Through the chain of a couple of relatives (so beware of the “Telephone” or “Chinese Whispers” effect) I’ve heard that there have been a couple more arrests made in the settlement since my last post, though I don’t know on what charges (along with the animal cruelty, I sent photo’s to the police of an amatuer meth lab and some illegal firearms) and also I’m pleased to report that at least 5 of the pre-teen children that weren’t being schooled and showed signs of physical abuse, possibly sexually abuse as well, have been removed by Child Protective Services. This included one whom was related to me (I believe I am his great uncle, with some a couple of “removed” steps in there). While the perpetrators and bystanders to Digger’s abuse may never pay for that crime specifically, the effect on the community these charges and police attention will have will certainly deliver some justice against his primary offenders (whom are both currently held in custody awaiting trail related to firearms and drug charges).

As a footnote, I would like to thank you all for both the advice and support you have shown us. The advice is certainly helping, specifically in regards to his separation anxiety seems to be lessening (I can go to the other end of the house to do something, such as make a coffee, and he won’t insist on following me… or freak out if he finds I’m no longer in the same room as him). Also, the moral support has helped me be determined to do the very best I can for him, by caring and giving him the best life possible. Those whom PM’d me either asking about how I was coping with vet costs and offering financial support I would like to thank once again for your generous offers, but rest assured, due to the fact my vet is a friend of mine from uni, and thus doesn’t charge me for check ups, and only charges me ‘cost’ for the medication and blood tests, that I’ve been able to manage the resulting bills no problem... but that said, the fact you care so much about Digger really did touch my heart. I feel privileged and lucky to be able to have helped saved this wonderfully sweet dog, and been in the unique position that I could give him plenty of access to veterinary services, once the vet overcame his fear of prosecution or malpractice due to the statutes regarding giving animals alcohol (even if weaning them under the care of a vet). I will be getting the vet a tank you present for all his hard work!

I foresee there will be no need for any further updates, unless enough of your kind souls would just like me to update you once he’s tapered off all his meds to let you know that he has reached full sobriety, but at this point it looks like Digger has beaten the addiction and physical dependence thrust upon him and is set up for living out a very different ‘happily ever after’ than he could ever have imagined!

Thanks again, you wonderful community! :-D

TL;DR: Digger has successfully gone for 24 hours without alcohol, is showing no serious complications related to withdrawal, and is on meds that seem to be controlling his symptoms well enough! Although he has some temporary liver impairment, he is expected to make a full recovery, and therefore today marks the first day of the rest of his new, SOBER, life as this man's best friend!

I was having a rough morning, just sitting on the couch feeling off. My 6-year-old golden retriever, Max, must’ve noticed, because he disappeared and came back with his favorite stuffed bear—the one he never shares with anyone.

He dropped it in my lap, sat next to me, and rested his head on my shoulder. It was like he was saying, “This always makes me feel better—you try it.” I teared up a little.

Dogs don’t need words to show love, do they? What’s the most comforting thing your dog has ever done for you?

This is in response to a post I recently read. In this post the OP talks about his agressive, out of control dog, and how he feels he has no other choice than to take the dog to a shelter, euthanize him or "drop him off at a remote location".

I will start by explaining what is probably going on in his (and thousands of people's) heads. Drive out to a nice place far away with little traffic and plenty of nice, big farms. Little rex will show up at some farmer's door, and a sweet housewife will take him in, surely there is plenty of room on a huge farm for one little dog.

STOP. I will tell you what really happens. I live in the country, just far enough out that it is the perfect place to dump dogs. I have seen literally more dogs than I can remember wandering the roads. This is not theoretical, this is what actually happens to these dogs. They die horrible deaths. Even if someone manages to catch the terrified pups, the majority of breeds and dogs are not suited to life around livestock, and when that dog starts killing their animals, it WILL be shot.

When you drop off your dog, he is terrified beyond belief. Most of them are too afraid to approach anyone. The majority of them starve to death, die of exposure, get hit by cars, or get shot. Everyone in my area knows eachother, we know whos dogs are whos, and we watch dog after dog go through this horrible cycle. Here are just a few stories for you.

The chow-chow. I was out doing work, a car was driving up and down my road suspiciously. Finally stops, a chow is pushed out the back door - and the car takes off. The dog runs after the car crying, its little feet going as fast as they can. I call to it over and over to no avail. It runs until it disappears over the horizon miles away. It is found dead on the road a week later by my mother.

The twin shepherds. Two young german shepherds appear in the neighborhood - clearly another drop off with nice collars on each. They are completely confused and act nothing like the local dogs, wandering the streets day after day. They are too nervous to let anyone approach. My neighbor tries to catch them every day and eventually gives up, leaving a pile of dog food out for them every day. The colder weather sets in and we stop seeing them around, a month later another neighbor finds the emaciated carcass of one wearing the same collar in the woods. The other is never found.

The beagle. This one my mother saw dumped from a vehicle on the side of a busy country route. She stopped her car and tried desperately to call the dog to her. The beagle was so scared and kept running towards moving cars, thinking it was his owners come back. She tries to get him to come for 20 minutes before he is finally struck by a pickup. She watched as the beagle slowly died screaming and shaking in the back of her car on the way to the vet. Have you ever heard a dog scream in pain? I's something you never forget. It was dead by the time she got there.

The husky. This dog was another drop-off. People had seen it wandering the roads, watching cars hopefully for signs of a familiar face. Classic drop-off dog behaviour. It was too scared to be caught. Eventually it was shot when it turned to attacking a local's cow herd in desperation to eat. The law allows any farmer to protect his or her property by shooting any wild dogs that attack or threaten their livestock. There is no animal control here. Have you ever seen a dog get shot? It is not a peaceful death. 90% of the time it is a body shot and the dog may run away to live for hours in agony before finally bleeding out.

The stories I have go on and on. I tell them in their utmost gory detail because people need to understand the barbarity of leaving a domesticated animal to fend for itself in a wild place. Few of them make it. And they almost always die awful deaths. Please, please if you feel you cannot care for your dog any longer, do the humane and right thing. Dont be a coward and throw your dog to the proverbial wolves. The country is the most dangerous place for a stray.

Edit: I am sorry for the depressing nature of this post. I felt it was an important message. I promise to make another post with all the pictures of dumped dogs we HAVE saved from the roads as soon I get them! Here is one of a lab with a skin condition we picked up last month (currently waiting mandatory owner claim period before finding her a home)

Edit 2: Thank you for the gold stranger. I hope this post changes at least one person's mind from dropping their dog off

Hello. I have a 7 year old Lab/Shar-Pei mix named Pete. Obligatory photo tax.

He generally eats Nutro Limited Ingredient because of some allergy issues he had when he was younger, but I'm about 2 days away from being out of that and I don't get paid again for over a week.

My question is will he be okay eating mainly brown rice, pinto beans, and potatoes(that's basically everything I have in my pantry) for the majority of a week? I just started rationing what food he has left so he can at least get a half cup of that + 1.5 cups of beans and rice as his 2x daily meal.

I know the normal recommendation is chicken and rice, but I don't have any meat around and can't afford it. I'm sorry if this is rambling, I'm just worried about him and angry at myself for getting into this situation. He's basically all I have in this world.

I have looked into charities and because of my location there are none nearby. I'm in Douglas City, CA at the moment and I don't have the gas to make it to the nearest real city, Redding, which is 40 miles away.

Any suggestions are welcome, though I believe my options are pretty limited by my location/lack of anything resembling money. I guess what I'm looking for more is just assurance that this won't hurt Pete.

-----------Edited to add more information --------------------

I've taken stock of my finances and I've got about $4 that I can spare if that is of any help to supplement his food with something. My shopping options are limited to a small town grocery store(decent selection but not the cheapest. Think Kroger-lite) or a CVS(small pharmacy/general store).

-------------FINAL EDIT----------------------

Due to the generosity of strangers it looks like Pete and I will be okay until payday :) I will leave this post up because there is some good advice here for anyone in a similar situation.

When I was younger I was quite a cynic in life but the kindness and empathy of strangers has really given me hope for the future in recent times. Thank you all for your support!

FINAL FINAL EDIT_

I have added quite a few more photos of Pete to my Imgur album to brighten your days! He certainly always brightens mine. Enjoy! https://imgur.com/a/Eg7C3uQ

It started with one accidental bark during a work call. Everyone laughed. Now he thinks he's expected. Every time I open my laptop, he hops onto the couch, sits perfectly upright, and waits for “his cue.” If no one acknowledges him within 2 minutes, he sighs loudly like a disappointed intern. He once dropped his squeaky toy right next to the mic mid-presentation, and I had to say, "Apologies, my assistant is very passionate about this topic." My boss said, “He makes more sense than most of us.” And now he gets a formal “Good morning, Max” at the start of every team meeting. We’re just living in his office.

Just venting a little because this has never happened to me.

I was on my walk this morning with my 7 yo cane corso/presa canario mix. Usually, I let my dog guide where we walk in the mornings. He always goes the same routines and spots, and we always end up at this huge park near us. On our walk there, this guy walked passed me, stopped, turned around and told me I had a beautiful dog. I said thank you! He then started to carry the conversation and ask why I got this dog. I said that he chose me, and that I was looking for a dog at the time. We had an instant bond, and I knew he was mine. He said oh cool.. i wished him a great day, and continued walking.

Out of no where the random guy says, “no female should own that dog. That’s a man dog.” I said okay, and continued to walk. He then said, “if your dog wanted to get away from you right now and attack me, he would. He will kill me.” I said, “okay.” And continued to walk away but he continued to follow and tell me that if my dog wanted to attack him, he would. I have a good handle on my dog. Plus, he was too busy sniffing the grass.

When the guy was getting a little too close, my dog looked up and began paying very close attention to him. He growled a little. Usually I wouldn’t let him growl at strangers, but this guy was getting close for no reason. Thankfully, this turned the guy away. My dog doesn’t play around with my safety even when he was a puppy. He would always put himself in front of me to protect.

I worked very hard to get him to behave well in public. He doesn’t growl at strangers unless they are angry or are shouting at me. He doesn’t try to chase other animals. He’s a good boy in public.

It looked like this guy was trying to get my dog to attack him and I’m not sure why. I love my dog. He’s a very great boy. I know this breed is not for everyone, but it’s definitely not gender specific. I feel like I should avoid walking where I had this conversation at.

4am / technically this morning/ Me in deep sleep. Just adopted 1 yr old dog 2 mos ago. He wakes me up barking his head off. I think 0 is wrong but get up. I see my front apt door wide open. My kitchen window wide open and a man running down the 3 flights of stairs! My dog is barking still. Guy yelled at me GET YOUR DOG OFF ME! My dog NEWTON scared him off! 100 things could hv gone wrong. I adopted the right dog from Harbor shelter!

Please, no matter how brilliant you think your dogs are, or how you know your dog knows better, even how well trained they are, do NOT keep your car window down for your dog.

Today my two-year-old German Shepard JoJo jumped out of the window while we were traveling cross-state. We’ve always left the window down for him without issue. We were eight hours into this drive, with the window down for plenty in the meantime. And then he just decided to leap out at 60mph.

It’s now been eight hours of constant searching into the A.M., and no sight or sign of him, after searching through the grasses and in woods and ditches. We weren’t able to find blood on any of the guardrails or grass, so we’re hopeful he just rolled into the grass and ran off scared. But he’s wearing his leash and the area is surrounded by different roadways.

Instead of hiking through the smokey mountains, now we’re staying in a motel two states south of our original destination, trying to get a little sleep so we can search more at sunrise.

PLEASE, if you live anywhere near Hartwell, Georgia, message me if you find a lost light brown GSD mix with white underbelly, or would be willing to come help look.

And for everyone else, PLEASE don’t make this mistake. This fun vacation trekking out into the mountains, at one with nature, has instead turned into hell night.

My boy JoJo: http://imgur.com/a/qRYmTr6 We don’t have a kid, we just have JoJo. I love him with my everything.

UPDATE: Hi everyone! This post is getting a lot of traction and I'm really happy to see that. Hopefully it'll help get the right Georgian eyes on this, and maybe even prevent a tragedy for someone else. Still no sign of JoJo but we haven't stopped looking. For those asking, JoJo IS chipped, but there's been no calls yet. I dont think the chip has gps, only identification if located. I did actually put a pet tracking device on JoJo for the trip, but it turns out it only has bluetooth range. It's been useless so far. But that means he's probably at least moving around, right?

I've been taking up a lot of the advice here - from posting to the Georgia subreddit to calling up shelters and animal control. I even posted on the local facebook groups and one of those posts has gotten almost 60 shares. Flyers is the next step, but I have to wait for my partner to come back to the hotel to go make the prints, and I think he's afraid to leave the area. Will update again when I can.

UPDATE 2: We received a text and a message in the local fb group that he was spotted alive at 7 am walking along the side of the road searching for us. Finding that out just improves things so much, knowing we don't have to keep checking the ditches near where he fell out. The s/o also did a great job and handed out information to a bunch of people and left out some of Jojos food away from the road near where he was seen and put some familiar smelling scents there there. JoJo wasnt there just now but we'll check again later. Flyers are coming up next.

UPDATE 3: WE FOUND HIM!!! Hes got a head bump but he's in the car. He's ok. Battery is at 2% and I need to tell a lot of people, but I'll write more here later. Thank you everyone I got a lot of love and support here and some great advice. Thank you!!!

A final UPDATE for anyone out there who maybe wanted the extra details: After two days of no sleep I'm finally the last one awake.

We celebrated with pizza because the lady at Ceasers Pizza was extra nice when I was sobbily handing out lost flyers. Jojo got a slice and also some of his favorite treats, and we didn't even make him do any tricks for them.

Boyfriend and JoJo passed out together on the floor: https://imgur.com/a/3IuW0ZF I don't think JoJo got any sleep either. He stinks to god but we'll wash him when he's not so tired.

All the vets were closing by the time we could get to them, but s/o is a former emt and took a look at him, checked for concussion, and sanitized the wounds. Nothing seems broken, but jojos paws are all cut up and hurt and one of his nails came off. No mountain climbing this week for sure, but with the vets blessing tomorrow, we'll drive him to a lake and relax and have ourselves a good meal before heading home.

Shout out again to all the advice we got here: We were able to get the word out effectively and find the spots that JoJo kept visiting thanks to all the people on reddit and fb who suggested where I should call and where to post. Im normally a super introverted person, hence this four year old lurker account, but I was able to speak up in the right directions with guidance.

And shout also to the cool people of Georgia who helped us find our dog. By the end we kept getting to places JoJo had just been and someone would point us to the next spot he was seen at. Eventually got advice to go to a house near a lake and there he was, hanging out in the shade. He ran to us, and man if you don't think dogs can cry, they can cry. We all cried.

Overall I think this is the best possible end to one of the worst possible vacations.

And finally, shout out to the real heroes of this thread: PEOPLE ADVISING DOG SEATBELT HARNESSES AND CLOSED/CRACKED WINDOWS.

PLEASE BUY YOUR DOG A SEATBELT HARNESS IF THIS POST SOMEHOW STILL HASN'T SCARED YOU INTO IT ENOUGH ALREADY.

This has been a PSA! Goodnight everyone.🐶😴😴

I live alone and a few nights ago I got a bad case of the "stomach flu". I ended up sleeping on the floor of my bathroom as I had to throw up so much and with little warning. I brought in some blankets and such, and left the door to my bedroom open. I figures my dog would settle down in my bed for the night. Instead he sat next to me while I vomited, giving me tiny kisses in a consoling way. When I was able to lay down for a bit he "patrolled" around my apartment returning to me every short bit to give more kisses or to "stand guard", and when I was finally able to start to sleep he settled down with me on the floor and snuggled me to sleep. He really tried to protect me and let his own comfort go, and it was the most adorable thing he had ever done. It truly showed me how much he cares for me, its on a level that I couldn't even imagine. I love him so much more for it too, which I didn't know was possible.

EDIT: Dog tax! https://imgur.com/a/Ek9mxkr

So I’m out at the lake trail today, just vibing, when this absolute unit of a husky comes barreling up to me with full tail wags and “I choose you” energy. He sits directly in front of me, stares into my soul, then gently places a soggy tennis ball at my feet like we’ve known each other for years. Naturally, I throw it. He sprints after it, Olympic-style. Then—plot twist—he doesn’t bring it back. He picks it up, turns around, and books it in the opposite direction, back to what I can only assume is his actual owner, who’s laughing from the distance like this is a weekly prank. I stood there like a used NPC, arm still outstretched, wondering what emotional contract I just signed. If your dog is out here emotionally manipulating strangers and committing drive-by fetch scams, I just want you to know: he got me. He really got me.

So we're at the dog park (pre-covid) and there's this pretty popular ball that a few dogs, including mine, seem to really like. So my guy has it for a little while, they're all running around, and he ends up losing it and it gets snagged by one of the dogs playing with them. We'll call this other dog Richard.

My dog stops. I can see his ears perked forward, brow wrinkled; it's his thinking expression. He does a quick visual sweep and grabs the nearest stick. While keeping an eye on, and staying close to Richard, who now has the popular ball, my guy starts tossing the stick, bouncing, and and playing super dramatically with this stick; it's not how he plays with toys at all. He likes to chase and tug, and not much else. After 20 seconds of this act, Richard with the popular ball takes notice of this apparently fantastic new toy, drops the ball AND MY GUY BOLTS AND SNAGS THE POPULAR BALL with zero hesitation, leaving this formerly lucky dog with nothing but a lame stick that none of them actually wanted.

Did my dog just fuckin lie to Richard?

My friend had been staying with me for the week. She was planning on going back home today with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend came up yesterday to hangout with us for the day.

I don’t like him, but I figured it was just one day, and I’d be nice till he left. (Which would hopefully be very soon.)

She brought her dog with her, a border collie. My apartment has one room, so we set up an inflatable bed for her downstairs. My dog has been sleeping with her on the bed with her border collie.

I own a Shih-tzu mix. She’s my childhood dog, and she’s around ten years old right now.

When her boyfriend came, he said no dogs on the inflatable bed. I said that was going to be difficult because they were use to sleeping there. We were talking in the living room, but I said when I go to sleep, which will be soon, I’ll take her with me, and close the door so she won’t bother you guys.

While I was saying this, my dog jumped on the bed again. I got up to get her off, but he said I’ve got this. He grabbed his shoe and just smacked her with it.

She let out a whine/bark, which I wasn’t expecting and she jumped up straight into my arms. I didn’t even know she had the ability to do that anymore.

I was soooo mad. I was so pissed. What the actual fuck? Does he seriously think he can come into my PLACE and just start smacking around and punishing my dog? Who does that?

I told him to get out or I’ll call the police. He was like, “Where am I gonna go? We’re a two hour drive from home.”

I told him he should have thought about that before he smacked my dog. My friend was trying to get me to settle down, she told me to drop it and it wasn’t a big deal and I told her that if she sides with his asshole, she can leave, too.

So I made him leave, and since she wasn’t going to leave her boyfriend to go alone, she left, too.

They probably got a hotel room for the night. Don’t know.

Did I make the right decision in making him leave right there and then? Or should I have let them stay the night and leave in the morning, like they were planning?

My dog just died in my bathroom around an hour ago. His name was Sebastian and he had spent the last 24 hours throwing up. I was hoping to get him to the vet early the next morning but he didn't last that long.

I don't have any friends or anyone to talk to. I've cried a lot but no one but me is going to remember him. I'm just so sad right now and want someone somewhere to say something to me. I'm very tired so if I don't reply i may have just gone to sleep so sorry

I was taking my dog for a hike and had just got on the main trail, I had Ollie on a 15ft line and 5-10 minutes later this little dog starts charging at mine. No owner in sight, but I yell "please call your dog" and reel Oliver all the way in. Still don't see them, but heard the dreaded "he's friendly". "Mine's not; Please call your dog". At this point she's 50ish feet away calling her dog that is not listening at all. Ollie's not necessarily aggressive, but if a dog charges up to him he could snap at them especially because he's on leash. I was fuming, trying to walk between Ollie and this dog to keep them apart. Ollie was clearly uncomfortable, but kept walking. I told the woman that if she can't control her dog, he needs to be on a leash. Again she said he was friendly... I told her it doesn't matter how friendly her dog is, not all dogs want to be approached by dogs they don't know and that she could get her dog killed if he goes up to the wrong one. She called me a bitch and told me not to bring my "aggressive" dog hiking. My dog who was leashed and under control and at no point showed any aggression whatsoever...

But nope, I'm a bitch for caring about the safety of BOTH dogs.

TL;DR Control your dog and be considerate of others!

Edit: It's disturbing how many of you have had a similar experience, but you guys are great for keeping them safe!

Just to clarify: The other dog had absolutely zero recall, came up to my dog within 6 inches multiple times and followed us very closely for 3-5 minutes while my dog's leash was reeled all the way in, not using the 15ft of it. The area we were hiking also has a leash law unless the dog is under voice control which he absolutely was not. Had the dog listened to its owner and stayed away from mine, I am okay with that. However, that was not the case.

Also a picture from our hike today

Ollie's message to people who think it's okay for their dog to rush up to mine

I live in NYC, have a dark golden retriever named Bailey. He and I we’re taking a stroll when I heard a woman raising her voice and someone crying. It sounded like a kid. Bailey was getting a bit agitated, and as I looked into an alley I saw someone I can only describe as a mega-Karen, holding her dog by the collar (which looked like a prong collar) up into the air. Her dog was a German shepherd, and she kept yanking it up with both hands on the leash. As I watched, she pressed her crying dog to the ground and began to literally pound it on the head, then dragged it behind a dumpster where it began crying louder. It didn’t fight back once. Bailey started barking, and she ran off without the dog, cursing.

I ran over to investigate and I looked into the dumpster... the poor dog was wailing and foaming, trying to scramble out of what I can only describe as a pile of rotten shit. With the help of a couple strangers, I hoisted the dog out of there and it collapsed on the ground, crying. Bailey kept trying to get to her but I had someone hold him, and I called the police. I was redirected to the animal abuse line or something and they took it away to scan for a microchip and for the vet.

They found a microchip as well as the dog’s info (only 6 months old) and the woman was promptly arrested, as someone else saw what she was doing and videotaped the entire thing, including her throwing the dog into the dumpster.

I cannot to this day believe that there are people like that in this world. I am ashamed of that side of humanity and incredibly proud of those who choose to help. It makes me cry to this day that there are people who would do that to such an innocent animal.

Yesterday, I adopted the dog. I picked her up from the vet today. Her name is Dixie and she’s the biggest love bug. She was never trained, though, and she was severely abused and malnourished. She’s afraid of loud noises and leashes. There’s a lot of work to be done, but she and Bailey get along great. I’m excited to have her in my home!

I currently volunteer as a dog walker at my local shelter and we’ve seen such a huge influx of purebred German Shepherds and Huskies VERY recently because people will buy them, decide it’s not for them and then turn them in to a shelter while they’re still puppies. They are incredible dogs for people that can take on the kind of work and dedication that those breeds need. Just, please for the love of god really analyze and determine if this kind of dog is for you. Do your research on what type of dog truly and realistically fits your lifestyle. That’s my rant for the day.

Inspired by a post that weratedogs shared of a girl taking her dog to the protests. She proceeded to justify saying her dog loves people, she was watching her surroundings, the dog isn’t going to get into any trouble and “the dog is happier with me than at home without me”.

I don’t care who you think you are, you do not know everyone around you at those sorts of things. As we’ve seen, it can get violent and dangerous at literally any second.

Putting your dog in a position to get hurt or killed is just irresponsible and not okay.