neighbors have 5 dogs, 4 strays they have “adopted” and 1 inside dog. one stray is blind and lives in a large fenced area w/ a companion dog and both are well taken care of. that leaves two “free roam” dogs. one is a very large yellow lab (probably just shy of a year old) and a feral dog that comes to them for food but cannot be touched. (the free roaming isn’t a problem for us, we have a large farm and live out in the country, so when our dogs go out to play, they stay on our land. one of our boxers is female and one year old, and just recently came out of heat (she is to be spayed tomorrow, we had to wait for a course of antibiotics to treat her tick fever. our vet wanted to make sure she was plenty healthy for surgery. ) anyway, the wild dog came over to our house and attacked our male boxer (obviously attracted by our dog in heat who was in a kennel outside) and hurt him very badly. our neighbors did apologize but have done nothing to immunize this wild dog they encourage to stay around, and said (if he becomes a problem, we’ll handle it) well. . . he’s become a problem already. Now, the young lab they “adopted” has taken up residence at our home. so the neighbors respond by saying “he’s everybody’s dog” we like the dog very much, but already have plenty to take good care of. the lab has not been vaccinated, he very obviously has worms and is in need of vet care. SO. my question is. how do we handle it? we can’t just take over ownership of the lab (the neighbors would let us i think, but vet bills for 3 dogs are quite enough for our young family, especially after one dog had to be rushed to the vet due to his injuries from their wild dog) he needs medical attention, but it isn’t my place to take him, i told them and they said i could take him if i wanted and offered to pay half. (IT IS THEIR DOG!) what should we do about the wild dog? we have a toddler, and worry about him being around after his attack. we are just looking for some ideas, because we love dogs, and want to do the right thing, but money is tight to be spending a few hundred on every stray dog in our area.
just extra info to consider for your answer. . .
we are able to afford the three dogs we have, including all the meds they require and vaccinations, check ups and so on.
my husband has had 15 surgeries in the last year and has another to go, so this is why money is tight and do not need the extra stress of this stray lab and wild dog, no matter how we feel about them.
there is no humane society in our area, no rescue group, NOTHING. i called the closest shelters in the neighboring counties and they suggested “taking care of” the dogs. . . as in a bullet.
our neighbor is also our preacher, so we are hoping to handle this and still maintain a good relationship.