Stray Dog...Needs help

[Scarlet13]

Some basic details:

Location: Changwon (an hour south of Busan)

Sex: male (we think, but he is pretty furry so we could be mistaken)
Size: Medium
Colour: Light Brown, with a whitish face
Medical History: Unknown

Background:

My boyfriend found this dog living in a parking lot underneath the trailer/office. It appears as though some one periodically feeds it and it does have a fithly dog house but the dog is essentially a stray. It is in a VERY dangerous area, there is construction equipment, heavy traffic and numerous predestrians. The dog is very friendly but shy and will dart out on to the sidewalk to make friends, I am so afraid he will try to make friends with the wrong person and get himself kicked or worse! He has met our dog and he seemed at ease, he also seemed to allow himself to be dominated by our tiny pooch. He has no food (aside from what we bring him) or water and no toys ( I saw him tossing around rocks for fun :(). He looks like a tiny wolf. He is adorable. We are willing to catch him and bring him to our vet (we are in the process of making him comfortable with us) but I am not sure if we can accomadate him in our apartment, it is only about 10ft by 10ft.

The last time my boyfriend went to visit him he seemed injuried, he would not leave his dug out and was very skittish, we are worried something happened to him. Please let us know if you can help us, either by fostering or adopting this poor guy.

Here is a link to a public facebook gallery, it will show you his current home and Starvoros himself.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3 … =571521022

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New pics:
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please contact me at moonunit1_3@yahoo.com

[annie]

Hi there!
I think that if you want to make sure the dog has an owner or not, the best way is to walk around there a lot. Keep an eye opened every time you do. I have a feeling the dog is simply "guarding" the car park and might not be well taken care of....

Also, if you still can't see food or water next time you go around there, I think you should bring some. This way, you could befriend the dog and eventually bring it with you if you decide that you really want to help it.

If the dog came to your boyfriend, it was probably not abused. However, if there is no food or water, it could be worth helping the poor cutie.

Finally, I don't think you should worry about Bibi being with another dog. She has been surrounded with many dogs ever since she was born. If she is up-to-date with all her shots (which I think she is), the risks are minimal. I am not saying to adopt it (even though that would be great ;) ), but I mean that you could temporarily bring it home while looking for a better situation for him.

Good luck and keep us updated! Thanks for wanting to help him out!
Annie

[Scarlet13]

He went back today and left it some food and water.

I'm more concerned about how the dog would react to Bi, she is fixed now and she has been making friends with other dogs. But I'm worried about how an unfixed male might react to her. If we can help this dog we will. He sat with him for two hours yesterday, he is very shy. My bf got the impression that he wasn't used to any sort of affection. He'll go back tomorrow and see how things are.

Kind of ironic that he is a perfect copy of Bi...only twice the size.

[Karen]

Hi there,

Very strange to find a twin of your newly adopted Bibi! This makes me think the stray found you, not the reverse! :)

I would say if you can gain the stray dog's trust and have him approach you, then you could take him to a vet for tests if you're able to take him in.

Even though our dog was up-to-date on all shots and preventatives, our vet always recommended a new dog be separated first. So I would recommend a single night's stay at the vet's unless you have a room separated from the rest of the house. A HW test and antibodies tests (for parvo and distemper, etc) is what my vet would give to any new dog. Also, minor skin infections (ear mites, dermatitis) might be transmittable, even though they're not serious they can be annoying. I would just check for that at the vet's before introducing a stray to a healthy dog. If their are weird hairless scabby patches on him, the vet might want to do a fungal test.

This, of course, I would suggest as an extra step beyond leaving food/water/doghouse (cheap rubber doghouses can be bought at hardware stores for 25,000won-ish), and only if you're able to foster him/her. But even if you're unable to take him/her in to your apartment because of size or whatnot, you can still post the story with a pic in the "adoptable" section, then try to catch him if another person can foster him, and in them meantime keep gaining his trust by bringing food.

Of course, I'd ask around the neighbourhood first to check that s/he isn't someone's "guard dog".

Hope that helps!

[Scarlet13]

I'm just updating, we have been back to visit with Stavaros and this is the situation. He lives underneath a small work trailer used by the security guard at a small car park. He is not fenced in and he (we think its a he) has dug out a home for himself underneath this trailer. there is a small area beside the trailer and he has an old dog house, line with old foam and dirty newspapers. So some one has shown some interest in his welbeing. He runs out to follow and sniff at people and he is right near major streets and building equipment. There is no food or water down for him, so we left him a bad underneath the trailer. He is very nice but a little shy. He was friendly with our dog and does not seem even a little aggressive.


He is light brown, medium length hair, with a bit white here and there. He looks like a small wolf. He is adorable! and he is about the same size as cocker spanial.

We want to take him in, but there is almost never anyone even there to enquire about the dog. Is it wrong to take him? What do you think?

Will take pictures soon, I forgot my camera today.

[Scarlet13]

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33675&l=45ccc&id=571521022

Scarlets boyfriend here , i just took these pics a few hours ago

[Karen]

He is very foxy looking, very sweet! What a poor situation, those pictures are pitiful. I would guess that the people where he's at would not care if he goes missing, ie, if you find him a better home, but I would put up a note in Korean first with your name and telephone number and get a co-worker or Korean friend to help you write up something appropriate... It is really not unheard of that if you show interest whoever owns that land will let you take the dog. That happened to me 3 times in Daejeon.

You might be able to use some of these sentences, but most might be better if you actually see someone:
http://www.lonelylifetime.com/helping/helping-chained-dogs-in-korean/

Good luck! It certainly looks like this cutie trusts you a lot if s/he's just hanging around letting you take photos :D

[rachaelg]

Hi there


was just wondering what has happened with this little guy? Has he been taken in? Is he still out there? Its so cold...just hope he is ok. Has his situation improved?

[Scarlet13]

Well, his situation is still the same but it is not as bad as we first thought. We would go and visit him and there were times when he would be missing. Usually it was when it was really cold. We spent alot of time with him over the holidays and we got to know him very well. We were planning to take him ourselves.
One day we went to see him and we noticed he had a hair cut, he had never really been interested in the food we brought. While we were playing a staff member drove up, and he went crazy all tail-waggy and the guy was nice and polite to us, the pup came back for his treat and then left us to go hang out inside with his 'dad'. We figured that explained way he is not around at night.
So he does have caretakers whom he loves but its still not ideal. We were hoping eventually they will give him to us. My boyfriend was in the hospital and has had some health trouble so we couldn't see him as much but it looks like every night he is inside. We don't think it is right to steal him under these conditions.

[Scarlet13]

Hey,

We just went to visit this little guy, and he is such a sweetie! We are getting worried because of the new leash laws, it is now illegal for him to be living where he is. I will post new pictures shortly. He is extremely friendly, does not bark, he even runs with a happy little hop. He followed us half way home, it was heart breaking. We almost brought him with us but he has to visit a vet first, and unfortunately they are closed until monday. So if you are interested in this sweet, friendly boy please let us know. We will do everything to make it happen:)

[rachaelg]

Hi there.

This is just so sad. I thought from the last few posts he had a "sort of" owner. Is that not the case anymore? Can you let us know when he has gone to the vet. I know a few people who may be interested in taking him in or fostering him if he is healthy (they have other animals). Hope you are well.

[Scarlet13]

He does sort of have an owner but he is now illegal. You can't have a dog outside without a leash and a collar, he has neither of these. So if he is spotted he will get picked up, and then he will have 10 days before he gets put down.

[Stellarleen]

Dear Scarlet13,
Do you have any news on this little guy? Does he still need a home? He reminds me alot of my dog that I left at home with my mom to come to Korea. I just arrived 3 days ago and do not yet have my own apartment. As soon as I get my own place I plan to adopt a dog. How far is he from Seoul? I am not yet familiar with Korea's geography or transportation system. If I get an apartment that allows pets (I don't know how common it is here in Korea to have pets in your apartment) and if I can transport him to Seoul, I would love to help this dog and give him a permanent home. Please keep me updated if you can. Thanks!

[Scarlet13]

We are kinda far about four hours by bus, but he is small enough that he travel on the express bus with you, or at least the KTX from Busan to Seoul which I believe is a three hour trip. Truthfully this dog is awesome, he is so nice.We had our hearts set on him and then we saw his 'dad' who does tend him. But as he is legally a stray and is in danger if he gets picked up.

I doubt you will have a problem with pets, just look around your building and see what other people are doing. I'm not allowed to have dogs here, but our building manager actually told us that no one would care, just not to let it bark. I have never heard him bark and we have been visiting him since October. I have a friend who speaks Korean, we are going to get him to help us with this situation. So you have time to figure out your apartment. Although we are hoping he'll just follow us home next time;)

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[annie]

He is just so cute...I hope it works out!

[Scarlet13]

Scarletts boyfriend here , this pooch is the cutest dog i have ever seen.....i want him for my own but have 2 puppies and gettin one more this weekend....mebbe i cna convince scarlett to let me keep him

[annie]

That would be awesome!
You guys are an amazing couple! ;)

[pukka]

Beautiful doggy :D
He looks like a mix between Bibi and King (a dog that Karen rescued
in Daejeon)While leaving there for now until he get a new home
maybe you can help him out with some ''basic''things?
The weather gets warmer and soon the heart worm flies will be around
so maybe you can get heartworm preventives at the vet and give
this to him?

If he has heartworm already then it will help to destroy eggs and if he does'nt
have it yet then it will prevent him getting this so both ways won't hurt.
The medicine should be between about 4000won,the kind (brown cake) is
8000won and both works very well.

[Scarlet13]

I will make sure to get him on heart-worm meds if he hasn't been placed by then...

[Stellarleen]

Any news on this guy? Has he followed you home yet? I'm moving into my own place on the 20th and when I visited the previous tennant had a dog in there so I'm assuming the neighbors have not complained so I will go ahead and get a dog. If he still needs to be placed I will certainly travel down there to get him. I'm still very interested so keep me updated, thanks!

[Scarlet13]

Any news on this guy? Has he followed you home yet? I'm moving into my own place on the 20th and when I visited the previous tennant had a dog in there so I'm assuming the neighbors have not complained so I will go ahead and get a dog. If he still needs to be placed I will certainly travel down there to get him. I'm still very interested so keep me updated, thanks!


Yay! Not yet, we will arrange things though before you get here, the last few times we went he wasn't there.

There is an adoption form on this page, would you mind filling it out:). Normally there wouldn't be a fee for him but its standard practice to charge something (to weed out folks after "free" dogs:S), so I'll charge only the cost of heartworm meds or something.

http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/index.php?pageid=adopt

On a side note, what if he is already on meds? My korean is terrible, will it harm if the dose is doubled?

[Ned]

Hi,

I was just wondering what has happened to this little guy? Any new updates and photos?

It was posted that he hasn't been seen in awhile. He hasn't been picked up for not having a collar, license or a leash has he? I sure hope he isn't sitting in a dog pound somewhere just waiting for someone to come and save him! That would be awful!

Is the current so-called "owner" willing to part with the dog?

He is so cute! I sure hope nothing bad has happened to him!

Please keep everyone updated about this little guy. He's too cute to be forgotten.

Thanks,

Ned

[Scarlet13]

We saw him on Friday night, he is fine. We aren't sure what we should do, we talked to his owner. While we were visiting with him a Korean man, who spoke English, also stopped he was worried about him too. We chatted and he went in to see about who actually owned the dog. We thought he was the guard dog, but he is also the owner's pet. We then talked to the owner. He was very nice, but I think he was annoyed that the dog was so happy to see us, he ignored his owner and chased us down the block. This is a very tough situation for us morally:(

[Ned]

Hi Scarlet13,

Thank you for such a quick response!

I'm so relieved that he's alright! I was worried.

Was the second gentleman able to find out any more information about the dog's situation?

Let's hope that if the "owner" isn't willing to give up the dog then maybe he will be willing to take better care of him. Especially, now that he knows people are aware and watching. Maybe it will make him change his behavior and make the little dog's life safer and better.

I don't know how you do it. It must be very painful for you to see the little guy in that situation knowing that his life could be so much more if only given a chance. Especially, when it sounds like he is so happy to see you and spend time with you.

What now? Are there any options of help for this little guy?

Thanks again for the quick response. It's a relief to know he's still alive and well-so to speak.

Ned

[Scarlet13]

His 'dad' is very kind to him I am unsure how to we should handle this. I was thinking of buying him a collar and putting the cell number of the business on it, in case he gets picked up but I'm not sure if that would offend his owner. I'm having a morals conflict:(

[Stellarleen]

Heh, I was having some moral conflict as well Scarlet. He is just so cute and from the sound of it very sweet and I hate to see him living under a building like that but I do not want to take him away if he is happy with current owner. It sounds like his dad is rather attached to him although I don't understand why he would be keeping him under a building if that was the case. I think the collar thing is a good idea since it sounds like the worst case scenario would be that he gets picked up by animal control. Well anyway, if anything changes and he ends up needing a home I will be ready for him! Take care~

[Stellarleen]

Hi Scarlet,
Have you visited him lately? Does he have a name? I hope everything is going okay and that he hasn't been picked up for being off the leash =( I wish I were closer I'd visit him too!
-Stellarleen

[Karen]

Hi Scarlet13,

I was wondering if there is any update on this dog's story? I've moved this thread to "other chat" section because he's not exactly adoptable at the moment, but if that changes I'll certainly move him back.

Does anyone have any advice on how to help a dog in this situation? In my experience, owners who saw me paying attention to their dogs ended up giving them to me (2 out of 4 times without me even asking, once I just suggested, and once I outright offered money).

I think giving the dog a present of a name collar (like you mentioned above) would be a nice gesture and wouldn't offend the owner, but I'm just guessing.

[sarah24]

any news yet..?

[Scarlet13]

Everytime we have gone by in the last few months he hasn't been outside, I think his owner brings him in with him when the lot is open.
The owner is actually really nice, I don't really speak Korean but he is nice to me, and more importantly kind to the dog, we did notice that the dog does get groomed and is never interested in food, unless its a treat, so the guy must be there everyday to feed him.
The situation is not ideal but he is much better off than many dogs, at least his owner appears to love him inspite of letting him roam free in a dangerous area. The dog is super friendly and clearly adores his owner...I didn't think I could justify stealing him in light of new information. I hope it wasn't a mistake.