Would you return a found dog to its owners?

I found a cute dog that had no tags and she seems healthy (has some fleas) and is very friendly. I did not know who the owners are. I believe I now do know since while I took her for a walk she took me to an apartment that had an open dog kennel, some dog dishes (she helped herself to some kibble) and she walked right up to the door. I knocked and knocked and noone was home. I took her back home and came back about to put a note on the door for the owners to call me when I ran into a neighbor and asked if they knew if they lost a dog. The neighbor told me she did not know but the dog gets out all the time, and that the dog cries because they leave it outside all day. So now idk if I want to return it. She's real sweet and she really looks happy to see me. We have a dog and she growls at first at him (he's a pit) but now she seems to get along with him. My kids love her too, and she seems to like them too. I feel so torn because she seems happy with me, but I am sure she loves her 'real' family too. The neighbor told me she's the dog of a 12 yo girl. I am sure the girl misses her. The longer I keep her the more attached I feel to her and she to me. She has been in our care for all of 48 hours.I feel torn. I would hate to return her and then find her escaped again except this time as road kill (she was in the middle of the street when I found her!)I just want what is best for her.I was super willing to return the dog up UNTIL the neighbor told me of the dog's owner neglect.

Do the right thing return it. If it was your dog wouldn't you want it returned?

the right thing to do is return it to the owner u cant always believe what a nieghbor says for all you know the dog could have an amazing home with a loving family

My advice is get animal control to investigate. They usually do it for free and if it is determined to be dangerous for the dog then they will most likely hand you some paper work and let you care for her after checking her health out. Otherwise, I'm afraid you would have to return her. And who knows, they might not be her owners. Good luck and I hope everything turns out alright.

Well, I would say, call a dog rescue and ask them what you should do. Tell them that you think you might have found the owners but that you have thoughts that the dog might be mis-treated... If you really think it's best to keep it talk to your parents If you guys are ready and you know it's right that you keep it then it's your choice. You are also taking a risk that the owners don't treat it badly... Best thing to do would be to call somebody and ask about it. Good luck

Yes I would, and have done so already in the past.

Yes I would return it. I'm not a THIEF! In fact, I'm even appalled that you, as a Mother, would even consider this, especially after finding out it belongs to a 12 year old girl. What would happen if YOUR Pit got out and this other family held YOUR dog hostage? Think about that, OK.You did your duty. You got it out of the street and kept it safe. Now, return it to it's RIGHTFUL owners. It's NOT YOUR DOG!

The right thing would be to return the dog to the owners. BUT....I feel as you do. Little dogs should never be left without supervision and leaving this dog out all the time is neglectful. Anything could happen to this dog! Why not take this dog in to your vet's to be scanned for a chip first. If there is no chip, I would post lost and found flyer's around. If they do not respond to the flyer's, then keep her.They sure don't deserve her. Bless you for caring!!

You can be charged with thievery if you keep the dog without her original owners say that you can have her. Give the dog back and explain your concerns over the dog getting out a lot recently. Id return the dog and I would expect others to return mine if they were to ever escape :(. Plus what if this dog has medical problems or needs special food that only her owners know about?. My Pit Bull has bad food allergies, if someone found her and kept her they wouldnt know of her allergies and feed her crap that would make her sick and horrible. Call animal control if you feel you have to, but the most they will do is probably leave a warning or some form of advice on how to deal with their dog. Animal control doesnt take animals away right away, especially when its a first time complaint and the dog is in healthy condition.

You can not keep what isnt yours.If you keep this dog without even bothering with the proper means of locating her owner then you can be charged with theft if the owner were to find out you had their dog. It can happen and it has happened.Take the dog to the humane society, explain the situation. Then I would advise for you to tell the dogs OWNER that you had found the dog and had handed her over to the shelter, OR , you can give the dog back to her owner and explain your concerns for the dog and explain that complaints fro other neighbors about the dogs noise and constant escaping.

Everyone has already offered some good perspective. Being that there is no proof that she is neglected/abused and no real proof that they are even the owners...safe bet would be to just see if she is microchipped.

My dog was not (and never will be) returned to his original owner. His original Native owner was ill and his girlfriend ''turfed out'' all his dogs; 5 of them in total. These dogs ran loose/feral/stray/wild for 4-5 months being a general nuisance, killing off half the Reservations domestic cats and ultimately biting Native children. Four of these dogs were subsequently shot by the Band Council and my dog was next on their list. A worker in the Band Office enticed this poor excuse of a dog into her car and drove him off the Reservation and turned him over to my care. As I was leaving with the dog I was accosted by the owner who wanted the dog back. I lied through my teeth and convinced him this was not his dog and got the He77 out of there fast. He's not getting this dog back ! !NOTE - I have had this dog for 5 years.

Yes, you return the dog. It is not yours. You found the dog in good condition. Where is abuse in this? And why do you take someone else crap talk about the people abusing it? What the heck, woman? If one of my dogs got out, lost their tags and someone found it and decided to keep my dog? Heaven help that person once I get to their door with law enforcement. (ALL of my dogs are CHIPPED!!) Charges WOULD be filed!!I HOPE this is a joke!

See if your animal control will list the stray and let her stay with you. You have an obligation to return property to the owner, so take a picture of the puppy and put her on the "found" list. If the owner does not look for her in a certain amount of time (check on how long an owner has to claim a dog before it goes up for adoption with animal control), then they forfeit their rights and she can be yours.