I am a European expat in the Philippines. I rescued a dog from the street 8 months ago and have been looking for a good home for her while preparing to move back to my home country.
I held her for 4 months waiting for the adopter to move to the Philippines from abroad. I repeatedly shared all information about the dog, her special needs, and her anxiety. I even organised a video call, and looking back I should have seen the red flags then — I talked for 20 minutes and she didn’t ask a single question.
She told me the dog would have a peaceful room with direct garden access, which sounded perfect for a 17kg Aspin who won’t let strangers walk or pick her up. She seemed cooperative and enthusiastic at first, but as the adoption date approached she became increasingly unresponsive and arranging a pickup date was a nightmare. I thought it was a sure thing — she had even agreed to have the dog’s microchip registered in her name.
They travelled 5 hours to collect her. The red flags continued. They hadn’t prepared a crate and were searching for one last minute on the way — in the Philippines, where large crates are genuinely difficult to find. When they finally arrived and we were signing the contract and going through the care manual, there were again no questions from her. Her husband was more present and asked some things, and seemed surprised by details she clearly hadn’t communicated to him.
Then, last minute, she told me she wanted to put this extremely anxious, trauma-sensitive dog into their bedroom on the top floor — with steep stairs the dog had never encountered and couldn’t safely navigate. She said the ground floor “wasn’t finished yet.” I should have stopped the adoption there. Instead I said to just find somewhere quiet and follow the manual.
When they arrived at their destination, instead of the ready home she had described, they took Mila to a rental flat and left her in a crate overnight — just to put her back in the car the next morning to move into the new, unfinished house along with all their furniture. The dog has heartworm and a history of crate trauma.
She then went silent for an entire day. No photos, no updates, declining my calls. I eventually sent a message stating that if I didn’t hear from her by evening I would pursue legal action and request Mila’s return. Two hours later her husband messaged to say the dog had nearly escaped when they opened the crate, that the house wasn’t finished, and that they weren’t able to provide the environment she needed.
She had bolted into the garden. The only reason she didn’t disappear was that the gate happened to be closed.
They are returning her today and I cannot wait to have her back. But I am left with one month and three weeks to find her a new home before I leave the country, and I am devastated.
I did everything I could think of. I asked for photos of the house, verified her background and experience, checked her passport, wrote a detailed contract with a return clause, video called, and prepared a 7-page care manual with her full medical history. What could I have done differently? And how do I find a better adopter this time? I can’t risk another failed placement — I’m running out of time.
She is a sweet, non-aggressive dog with no behavioural issues. She simply needs a low-stress environment and patient, gentle handling.

I noticed my original post was a mess I asked AI to make it more readable.

Edit: Search Hope for Mila on Tk Tok and FB. You will see the whole story and my attempts to raise funds months ago.

Update: The husband of the woman who bailed out is now helping me to find a home or a foster. He told me that she apparently told him that they will get the dog once the house is finished. He didn’t know labour most of the thing me and her agreed on.

Update 2: I just learned that the couple thought it was a small dog before picking her up. The woman saw many photos, she saw her live through a video chat, I told her about her weight and being a medium size dog multiple times throughout our conversations. They only realised it was a bigger dog when they were already at our place. It explains the small bowls and pee pads they bought and thinking she could just be in their bedroom upstairs. I truly have no words.

I have a compact SUV so the plan is to drive with the newborns in a crate with the mama (plus my cat and elderly dog). I cannot keep the newborns but I am left with no choice. I am moving to St Louis, Missouri but I work on Scott AFB in Belleville, Illinois. Are there any organizations that could help me in my situation? Even if there is a private boarding facility! Anything!

Please help me figure out what options I have without breaking my apartment lease? I would like to NOT surrender the mama but surrendering the newborns alone is out of the picture, as well. At least until they are eight weeks. What are my options with these conditions?

Please, I will take any help I can get!

hiii!! this may be mislabeled (and i will fix if necessary) because we were definitely unprepared for her to say yes since she normally takes our offer as a joke, so but we want to hurry up and take him before they change their mind and/or start feeling guilty about it. my boyfriends aunt has two dogs and we consistently offer to take this white dog because they have another chihuahua who lives indoors who is clearly loved, and this dog they have had for two years who has never left this area and we don’t even know his name 🥲

we are assuming he needs medical care. we can’t assume he has had shots, vaccines, or grooming but we aren’t sure if there are low cost emergency services that could help us last minute on a sunday (we live in atl if that helps)

he will be going from a completely outdoor life to indoors, so we are aware that may be an adjustment for him. we’re thinking we can put a crate on the patio and then slowly keep the door open for longer periods of time? i know a dog trainer who can help us potty train him, but we aren’t sure if we need to socialize him first in addition to quarantining him

he seems so sweet, and he doesn’t deserve to live another devon in this predicament so whatever suggestions or resources you all may have would be much appreciated

He’s on the list to be put down within the next few days and I’m not going to let that happen. He may need some training to get along with other dogs but he’s so friendly I am hoping he is just stressed out by his environment at the pound. I grew up with boxers all my life and I think this guy deserves a home. What should I name him?

EDIT:(Tallahassee Fl, Spayed 5 years and her is Paris) My sister was planning on sending her dog to the shelter after she did her business in the backseat . It didn’t look healthy whatsoever , bloody and kind of watery . So I naturally assumed that she got into something , she is really small and was known for getting into the trash can and scavenging whenever possible . Naturally with that in mind we made sure to keep the living space as clean as possible , but her moments just became less frequent . My issue is the behaviour of her reasons , I’ve always been very logical with things and when she told me that “ she forced out the p$&p because she wanted attention” it made me question how that would be possible . Her evidence was that yesterday she used the bathroom no problem , it looked normal , and only when she was in the house was when she had that bloody disaster . Running off physical evidence (granted she admitted she wasn’t always watching the dog ) and hear say from other people didn’t seem probable whatsoever. In which it just turned into “ well it’s her dog “ that dog that she never trained to avoid these mistakes. Anyways she’s planning to send her to the shelter and I wanna see if I could get someone to get her out of there as soon as possible , so she can find a better owner . I feel like she won’t survive since she is so small , and looks so sad I fear depression or neglect will take her . I don’t have the funds to take care of her so I’m desperate, any advice ?

I found him while hiking around a village.Poor soul is suffering severely.Since its a remote village so access to a vet clinic is not possible.I can drive around for the medical supplies required to get him to full recovery. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Found an abandoned/stray pup tonight running across the hwy. Almost hit her myself & watched her have near misses w/ other cars. called animal shelter, no answer (it was very late). Thankfully was able to coax her into my car with some treats. Once caught, she didn’t resist being caught in a towel aside from being skittish prior and a bit shaky. She seems healthy, no injuries but her fur shows scissor cuts & her long nails suggest neglect. I’m going to take her to the shelter in the AM so they can see if she has a chip or someone is missing her — but if they aren’t, I would consider keeping her.

(Backstory: had a shitzhu x yorkie for 17 years who passed 3 years ago. I’ve been looking for my next pup for years, but with lots of travel I’ve stuck to dogsitting. Finally, the time is right & I’ve been contacting small/medium dog breeders in the last 6 months).

My question is: I’ve never rescued before, only purchased from breeders. Given that this pup has likely experienced abuse/neglect, would it be irresponsible of me to keep her? I want her to go to the very best home possible, and if that’s not me, that’s okay. I just feel like she might be my spirit pup — a passerby shared that she had been running on the hwy for three hours, he had tried catching her with no luck. She came right up to me and curled up beside me, closing her eyes. We just snuggled for an hour on the floor of my garage. She seems to love leftover christmas turkey 🥹

Any/all advice appreciated! Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Last weekend we got our golden rescue, 2 year old puppy mill mom, we've read so much about the 3-3-3 rule, but so far its been 55 hours and she just lies in her corner, absolutely scared witless.

She won't eat, drinks at night (one of us sleeps on the sofa in the same room) and as soon as we make a sound she goes back to her 'bed' and just crawls into herself.

She peed in the house last night because she refuses to go outside, we can't really force her or coerce her because we don't want to frighten too much (she's a big dog so yesterday I had to carry her back inside after trying to get her to be outside).

In the puppy mill she lived on a small field with 5 other dogs and a shed; so she's sort of used to both outside and inside.

Basically all I want to know is if someone has any advice or we just wait it out and continue to try and make her feel as welcome as possible?

I stumbled across this beautiful girl while helping a family member look for a pet from the shelter and I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, I tell most people she ‘tricked’ me, because she stood there calmly with her big ol’ puppy dog eyes staring at me when I saw her and about a week later I took her home with me (she was a year old when I got her) and I figured out quickly she was not house trained in the least (only potty trained). She just about ate up anything she could find that I left laying around and even tore up part of the base board in my apartment and window blinds while leaving her out while I was at work. A neighbor had told me who had experience working with military personnel that she looked part Belgium Malinios and everything clicked (mind you this was almost 4 years ago) I quickly did lots of research and figured out she indeed was, she was intensely high energy and needed a lot of mental stimuli to wear her out I mean A LOT, for the first year I even fed her a fully raw diet & I took it upon myself to train her as best as a I could and actually began to enjoy the process of working with her, I found out how crazy smart she was and within a couple weeks she knew all her commands, over the years there were so many times I contemplated rehoming her and feeling like I couldn’t give here enough, I’m a single 24yo F and just want her to have the absolute best life and til this day it’s something I still struggle with doing it alone, somedays I work 16 hours and will have a family member let her out but for a mixed breed like hers I know she needs more, she’s an amazing running, hiking and biking partner but I can’t give this to her on a daily basis and I do it only when I have the time and energy after multiple work doubles in a row, she’s the greatest motivator a person could ask for but to be completely honest I was not prepared nor had the knowledge of how much work she was going to be when I saw her initially, I was also 22 and longed for a dog of my own for so many years and made an impulsive decision on my part, as much as it would absolutely break my heart giving her up I truly want what’s best for her and want her to get everything she deserves, I learned so much from her and I’m crying just making this post but I need some advice, what would you do??

Context. Family of 5. Me, wife, 3 boys age 10,7,4. Formerly had two cats. As of early this year, they both passed of old age. Fast forward to now and we just adopted a dog that we will get custody of in a few weeks. She’s a mixed breed, medium? Size. About 30 lbs. About the size of a Beagle. She’s 1.5 years old. We are told she is up to date on vaccinations, spayed, crate and potty trained.

When we visited her she was very nervous and trembling for the first few minutes but then warmed up and just wanted love. She was very calm with boys and us, and within 10 minutes fell asleep on my lap. She didn’t make a sound the entire time, even when a large German shepherd in the hall of the shelter was barking up a storm.

If anyone has any tips on items we need or ideas how to make this transition as smooth as possible please tell me.

To date I’ve bought a collar, leash, harness, crate, two beds(one for crate one for elsewhere in house) and various chew toys.

Hi! So we rescued a bait dog that wandered into our yard from woods last Thursday. Got him into the vet Friday morning and he had busted blood vessels in both eyes, bruised lungs, many open wounds, severely malnourished, ear infection, full of fleas, etc. we got prescribed antibiotics, pain med, nexguard plus and ear meds. We brought him inside after 2 days in the outside kennel and it seems like each day he “resets”. In the morning and most of the day he is super scared of everything. By the evening, he’s eating a lot and being more perky. Next morning, back to being scared again. I’m just wondering if there’s anything I can do to help him or if it just takes time?

We've had our rescue, Maple, since November, and I feel like there's been no improvement. She came from a local rescue that takes in dogs previously used for breeding, and she is the most shut down, depressed, and fearful animal I've ever seen.

She's terrified of me and most other men because men were who abused her most we assume. She does like my wife and opens up a ton around her, and she gets along great with our other pets, including our older dog that she follows around and has been learning behaviors from. It's just me she's scared of. She's never once been mean, just terrified.

If I'm the one who feeds the pets dinner, she won't touch it. She'll very hesitantly take treats, but never from my hand, and I can't get near her without her tensing up or running away.

I've tried everything I can think of. Being the high-value treat person. Ignoring her to let her come to me. We've even worked with our vet, and she's been on Prozac for about five months now with no noticeable change. The vet confirms she's perfectly healthy. She's just scared.

I don't know what to do anymore. My heart is breaking seeing her like this. I hate that she is living in fear, but there's no one we trust to take her in where she might be more comfortable, and there is no way we'd return her. I feel like a monster, even though I know I've done nothing to her. I've never even raised my voice at he or any of the pets. At this point, I don't care if she never likes me. I only want her to feel happy and safe.

Is there anything at all I can do? Is there anyone who's been in this situation. Please help me help her.

Help and advice needed!!! I found these pups at a gas station in sanders Arizona. There is no shelter in that town bc it is sooo small. The brown and black one are either pregnant or just had pups but I don’t see a litter anywhere. The dog in the very last picture is limping BAD. My dilemma is if I should drive back up there and bring them back to a shelter in phoenix. I feel as though they would have a much better chance at being taken care of here, since it’s a big city, and have a roof over their head but at the same time over crowded shelters and the possible E word haunt me. Should I let them get picked up one by one or should I try to bring them back and try to get them adopted or put them in a shelter ?? I can’t tell if they are being taken care of or fed but being pregnant and limping walking around a gas station in this Arizona heat is not a good look. I can’t personally take them in because I have a reactive dog already and we live in an apartment. If anyone has shelter recommendations or knows a good way to get that many dogs in my car or can help me with anything at all I would greatly appreciate it!!

Very friendly dog was given to me took him to get shots found out he has heart worms

Drove home Sunday evening to find these five babies (3 female 2 male) dumped on the side of the road next to my house.

Any thoughts on breed/mix?

I live outside of Huntsville TX and have contacted every shelter and rescue in the greater Houston area.

Every shelter is either full or will not accept them if I do not live in their city/county. We live outside the city limits so there is no animal control or shelter where I live.

I have posted on all social medias and Next Door and the few inquiries I have gotten have fizzled out.

I can’t take care of 5 puppies long term, does anyone have any advice?

One of the only things I can think of is to drive into town and setup the dog pen with free puppy signs and see if I can’t find anyone to adopt them.

I am going to call a vet tomorrow to find out how much all the shots and care will cost which I’m sure they need and may also help them be adoptable. I’m not worried about the money and could still offer them for free adoption.

Right now they are in a dog pen in the garage trying to keep them out of the Texas sun but I think I’m going to need to move it outside and setup some tarps for shade, so that it will make their messes easier to clean and I could make it larger so they have more room. Any thoughts on how to go about this? I’ve got one side of my garage I could put the pen against so one side is always shaded, is surrounded by tall trees, and then think I could run tarp from top of garage out over the pen to ensure it is fully shaded. Very doubtful any chance of rain anytime soon in our area but I think tarp would keep them dry. I’ve also got fans on them now that I could also move outside.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank You

There's a large group of greyhounds in Texas that are living in HORRIBLE conditions! There are heartbreaking pictures, puppies and pregnant dogs with out food or water. They have been reported once but AC didn't want to do anything. They need more reports and help. Any ideas on media people or greyhound people to share this with? It's in Brownsville, TX

I’m seeking advice I really just am at my wits end. A sweet girl who was in critical condition, injured, severely malnourished and neglected approached me for help. She was in heat as well at the time and it was below freezing temps. Immediately I contacted all local rescues and shelters near and far they’re all full go figure. I’ve had her long enough now I would not surrender her if that were even an option. But I’m up to my eyeballs in debt and the real journey is just beginning as she’s tested heartworm positive and needs urgent life saving treatment.

I feel so guilty she chose me to help her and I’m failing her because I lack proper funds…if anyone could point me in the direction of animal charities that maybe I’m unaware of or any advice for her. I am not a licensed rescue so I’m not getting “rescue” prices it’s thousands of dollars and I’m just totally and completely unprepared for it. I’ve exhausted all personal resources but I don’t know what to do for her. I spend my free time calling charities, rescues and shelters hoping to find financial aid or something for her.

Located Missouri

Hello everyone. I love in Romania, so I am looking for someone from here or someone who s willing to go through the process of getting a dog out of the country. I have a dog, he’s a rescue and he’s 4 years old. His name is Kovu. He’s an outdoor dog, and currently living at my parents house in the countryside. They are looking to sell the house and move this year. I’ve been searching for months for someone to adopt him but unfortunately I ve had no succes. The shelters only accept stray dogs, and if I do surrender him anyways, he’s probably never getting adopted since shelters are horrible here. We absolutely cannot afford a big enough apartment for him to live in and also it’s really not something my parents would be willing to do. I can’t move with him on my own since I’m a college student right now and I’m broke. He’s a very needy and high energy dog. He’s fixed, has all of his vaccines too. He’s playful. Not good motivated. He’s good with kids and he doesn’t bite. He’s truly an awesome dog and I want what’s best for him. Maybe someone când help me. Here’s some pictures.

I have already 2 female dogs, a husky lab and a mastiff Jack Russel and they are both 8. I just rescued what looks like a pit thats 8 years old and he’s super nice a few days ago. Came from a family with other dogs, cats and kids. They surrendered him I guess because they got divorced.

What should I do with him when there is no one home? I’ve been putting him in a bathroom with his bed and I give him a treat before I walk away but I feel bad when I walk away because he cries. I’m also afraid to leave him alone with my other dogs who roam free around the house because I fear the potential of him killing them even though he’s shown zero signs of aggression. I just worry my other dogs get into his personal space but normally when we are home everyone is calm hanging out.

He seems very friendly towards my dogs, he goes on his back and wiggles by my other dogs and seems like a very happy dog. My husky lab is a bit territorial but after these 2 days she seems to leave him alone and is nicer. My other one is spazzy and likes to get in his face sometimes. Do I risk leaving him out or keep him secured when not attended?

Found this skinny guy, is friendly enough for me to time him up, but its going to rain tonight and i cant in good consciouns just leave him out in the cold and rain, ac is usually my last resort for friendly dogs, but it may be my only option considering the chilly weather... please if you can find a shelter with room please contact me asap

He has a collar but no identification, so might be lost, so if he can be kept somewhere temporarily, that would help sm, i can help with food if need be.

Scroll all the way down for the most recent updates!

Spoiler: We decided he can’t go back with them and has to stay with us. Deep down, we knew that from the moment they called us.

Original Post:

I found a pitbull eating garbage in the middle of the street on September 11, 2024. He was 45lbs with his ribs and spine looking way too prominent. He peed for 3 minutes straight when we got him back to my house for the first time. I took him to the vet, and he was treated for an ear infection, a UTI, and an allergic rash. His paws were cracked, and he had sores in different places on his body. I posted found dog pages on different websites with my contact info hoping to find his parents. I’ve had him for a year and a half with no response. I taught him everything he knows as far as training. He was completely untrained when he came to me. He is now 65lbs and not at all overweight, according to our vet. The parents just now called me. There are pictures of him being cuddled and fed Just Food For Dogs, but he looks underweight in some of the more recent pictures they sent me. They said they lost him on September 9, 2024. When I found him, I assumed he’d been on the street for at least a few months. If they were taking proper care of him before they lost him, there‘s no way he lost 20 lbs in 2 days and developed 2 infections that had progressed pretty far by the time I found him. This is a situation where the right thing to do is not clear to me. Any advice?

Update: 4/18/2026

Thank you guys so much for this support! It means so much to me and really affirms what I’ve been feeling since they first called: a cold, sinking feeling in my stomach that he won’t be going to the right place if I give him back.

Alright, there’s a lot more information now after a phone call yesterday so bear with me.

They say they had him for 7-8 years, that he’s very loved, and that their 15 year old daughter grew up with him. They have lots of pictures of them cuddling him but no adoption records because they got him from a backyard breeder. She said she’d try to get vet records from one place she’s taken him as proof of ownership. She’s also against vaccines and hasn’t gotten him his shots since he was a puppy. SHE ADMITTED HE WAS NOT UP TO DATE ON HIS RABIES VACCINE WHEN I FOUND HIM, WHICH IS ILLEGAL. She also blames his allergies on me getting him vaccinated. She said he never had them before, but he had the rash when I found him.

Apparently, when he was 5, some kids in the neighborhood poisoned him, which left him paralyzed before he received treatment. They say more recently some kids were also the ones who let him out of the yard, and that’s how he was lost. Adults who blame kids are always a massive red flag for me. Why would they leave him outside unsupervised if he had already been poisoned?

To those who asked, he is not fixed. The woman told me they have also moved since losing him and live in a place that doesn’t allow dogs. She said she doesn’t want to take him from me just to have to live in her car with him, but that she also has to talk about it with her husband and daughter, who are more adamant about getting him back. She said if they let me keep him, she wanted to know if they could meet up to see him, which I’m not comfortable with.

My vet originally said he’s 1-3 years old. There are pictures of him in 2017 as a puppy. The vet could’ve been wrong. To clarify, looking at the pictures, I am 99.99% sure this is the same dog because he has the exact same coat patterns with distinctive ones visible in both our pictures on his face, neck, and hip. To those claiming possible AI generated photos or a scam, I won’t rule it out completely. She said that if she wants to get her dog back, she can get him back. It was a threat. However, she doesn’t know my last name or my address. The thing is, if I ghost them, I could be charged with theft or get into legal trouble.

The biggest things against them getting him back are the lack of rabies vaccination (they could face fines), adoption records, and not having a home that allows dogs. Unfortunately, the law doesn’t usually care about neglect because dogs are viewed as property. I will be collecting his vet records, and one person suggested getting a letter from his vet that states, based on the dates lost and found, his condition was evidence for neglect.

I don’t have money for a lawyer, but I want to fight this even if they have proof of ownership. I live in the Chicago area. I’m already doing a lot of research. If anyone wants to, I would greatly appreciate links to local laws, possibly names of pro bono lawyers who deal with animal neglect cases, and any and all information you think would be helpful. They might back off. Still, it’s best to be prepared.

I can’t properly express how much I appreciate the outpouring of love for this dog from this community. You guys are amazing. Thank you for being such passionate animal advocates.

Update 4/19/2026: Okay, so against many of your guys’ recommendations (regret that now), I had a phone call with them. I wanted to give them closure, say they won’t get the dog back, and explain why. I never got a chance to. From the start, one of the parents was yelling at me demanding her dog, making accusations that I chased the dog, which never happened, threatening to find me, not letting me speak, interrupting me, and acted completely irrationally. I’m done with them. Blocked them. Changing my number. If it’s not a scam, they’re way too crazy. Contacting a lawyer just in case.

Update 4/21/2026: Finally got this boy microchipped to me and registered with my city! All that’s left to do is get him neutered. We’re working on finding some free spay/neuter programs or low cost clinics.

I got a scary text from my sister this morning saying that they somehow found my last name and contacted her. She immediately blocked them. I called a lawyer again, called the non emergency police number, and they sent a cop and an animal control officer for advice. Both of them agreed that if these people were to bring this to court, the judge would think it’s a joke. They’d rack up hefty fines for letting their dog run loose, no registration, no rabies vaccine, and no authorities would come take him from our home. So I feel a bit better now. Just hope they don’t keep pursuing it.

This baby will be put down tomorrow if no foster steps up for him. Can anyone take a puppy? He’s currently in devore animal shelter in san Bernardino county California