[Greater Swiss]

I posted a little about this in the grooming forum, but I thought I'd post some pics and stuff here
Yesterday I went out for break at work and there was this poor little guy wagging his tail at me, he started hobbling over to me and I saw that he only has three legs, missing the front left. SO friendly! Extremely muddy, the fur on the back of his legs was completely matted and filled with sticks, same with his bushy tail. We see lots of dogs around the back of where I work (the area for us evil smokers), but this guy nobody had ever seen before. One of the owners of the company I work for was out there with me so he agreed to put the dog in the shop area until I left work so I could take him home with me for a while if the SPCA had no reports on the dog being lost.
The SPCA had nothing, I took him in and they scanned him for microchips and nothing. The did discover he is spayed though! I've posted ads on three local classifieds, Facebook and am going to call the vets today, or perhaps drive him in to show him to the staff, hopefully someone will recognize him.
He moves like he isn't used to only having three legs, but according to the SPCA, it looks like its been over a year, but he is fairly overweight, so that probably accounts for his poor movement.
Caeda is doing admirably with him!! She has gotten rough a couple of times, but has been easy to call off. She's gotten a growl and a snap or two, but nothing serious. Considering how scared the poor guy must be, that's not so bad. We're keeping them separated mostly, I'm slightly worried about her catching something, though thankfully she is fully vaccinated and healthy so the chances are pretty low.

Any thoughts on what he might be? When he's happy and friendly that big bushy tail goes over his back.

He smells really REALLY bad, I've been working on getting the mats/thatchiness out of his hair so I can bathe him, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get through it all before we take him to the SPCA. My DH (who has been so sweet to not get mad that I brought this guy home without consulting him first) and I have agreed that we're only going to keep him for a few days, until probably Saturday so long as the SPCA has room that day. We have to set a limit, if we did get another dog it would have to be better suited to Caeda, she's already frustrated that this poor guy can't play because he's so off balance. I can't find anything he is interested in playing with, though that might just be because he is scared.
It just baffles me that someone would go through the expense and care to have a dog amputated, but either let him live outside in a yard (which might explain the state of his coat, that didn't happen in a day) or not attend to him to keep him from running away.
It'll be hard when/if I meet the owners to not give them a shake and say "Really!!! Your overweight, slow three legged dog RAN AWAY!!!!" Oh well, my big goal is to get him clean before he goes back to his owners, and hopefully not back to the SPCA.
Anyway, just thought I'd share this sweetie, I'll update if I find his owners!!

 

[Greater Swiss]

YEAH!!!!!
About 15 mins after I posted this I got a call from the SPCA, the owner called!! He is in a meeting for the next half hour so I'll be talking to him after that and arranging to drop his dog off
I'm so happy, though slightly disappointed that I didn't manage to get enough mats out to bathe him, but he's still better off than when I found him. Going to beg the owner to take him for a vet check and a grooming.
Damn I'm happy about this. Feels good. I've also got a volunteer form for the SPCA. I really want to do some fostering, but I'm not sure my DH would go for it, oh well, I'll at least go in and do some dog walking and care at the shelter (and squeeze in some cat cuddles).

 

[Abbylynn]

This is great! Please update about the owner and such if you happen to find out any more! I am so glad you kept him out of harms way!

I sort of thought he was maybe some small Collie/Shepherd/Husky type mix.

 

[Greater Swiss]

The owners seem like nice people, though, like many around here have a large property and don't use leashes, or collars, don't do much training and let their dogs roam. It frustrates me, but I managed to refrain from a lecture. On the other side of things, they rescued the poor little guy, who had been abandoned by someone in the mountains. He was apparently about 5 years old when they found him (or so the vet guessed), and from what I gather was already missing a leg.
Their other two dogs went missing the same night, but came home, I found him the following morning several kilometers away....shocking for a dog that doesn't move very fast and tires easily.
They were thrilled with the amount of grooming I did manage to do, and said that they fairly often have brushing sessions. They asked how much money I wanted and were surprised that I insisted on nothing. They also said they'd take him to the vet for a checkup.
Either way, I'm happy he got back to his family. I also during the entire process picked up a volunteer form for the SPCA I really wish I could convince my DH to do some fostering, but I don't see it happening (I can't blame him I guess).
Overall, I feel really good I can see why many of you do fostering!

 

[Abbylynn]

Thanks for the update ... Great to hear that they were nice people and even offered to pay you for your saving their dog and your time and grooming. ... And that they are taking the dog to the vet.

What was his name? Did they tell you?

Good luck with your volunteering! I could not do it ... I would want to bring all the dogs home! Lol! Maybe someday your better half will change his mind about fostering.

 

[Greater Swiss]

Ah yes, his name is Wally Fits him! Oddly enough my DH tried calling him by a bunch of random names and tried Wally, but didn't get a response. He seemed to respond to "Good boy!" really fast though.

I know I'll have a hard time with the volunteering, I'm hoping the "feel good" will overcome the guilt at having to leave them there. Taking care of Wally was so rewarding, especially getting him back to his home. Worth way more than anything the owners would have paid me (bonus I saved them the cash from getting him back from the SPCA). I think it was really good for Caeda too, she very quickly learned to calm down around Wally, though she showed a little jealousy and went a little nuts when Wally snapped at me because I snagged a mat in his hair brushing him. I might be able to use the "good for Caeda" angle to convince my darling to let me start to do some fostering I've got a feeling after I volunteer for a while he'll eventually ask "so when are you bringing one home" lol.....

 

[Pawzk9]

I'm glad you could find his owner. He looks to me like either Australian Shepherd or possibly English Shepherd. Possibly purebred. Handsome boy