Update
Sorry it's taken me a while to post. This is going to be a long one-
Per my last post, I didn't give the dog to Animal Control but i did get his owners' address. So I drove over there without the dog to check it out. It is the trailer park off of 393 on Country Club...
I knocked on the door and a young couple answered. They were nice. I asked if they were missing a dog and they said yes. They said his name was Kiko just like AC told me. They asked if I had him and I said yes...
I gently probed about what AC told me- that he was behind on shots, was found on more than once occasion running loose and that his collar was much too tight- supposedly going into his skin...
They said that Kiko, along with the neighbors' dogs, was allowed to run loose in the trailer park until there was an incident with the cable guy. AC was involved at that point and cited the owners...
The male owner said that he was in the hospital for a while and that they lost track of Kiko while he was there. He then showed me a big scar on his side to support his story...
I asked if they were going to take good care of him and they said yes. I asked if they needed money to get him shots and to care for him and he said no...
So I went home and got the dog. What happened next was out of a Benji movie-
When I pulled into the driveway Kiko was sitting in the 3rd row of my SUV. I opened the hatch and the reunion was to begin. The owner said, "Kiko, Kiko" and then something in Spanish. The dog looked at him and then looked away...
When he tried to grab him Kiko jumped into the 2nd row seat and ducked down. The owner walked around to the side of my SUV and opened the passenger side back door nearest to where Kiko was laying. Again he said, "Kiko, Kiko". The dog jumped into the baby seat on the opposite side of the car. Clearly he wasn't happy to see him...
It gave me a bit of a stomach ache...
I asked the owner why the dog was acting like this and he said the dog didn't like to be tied up all the time. He then told me that they were staying with another family in the trailer and that the dog wasn't allowed inside. He slept on the porch at night. He said they would be moving into their own place soon...
Again I asked him if they were going to take good care of the dog. Again, he said yes. I told him that if he thought he couldn't care for him or didn't want to that I would-
And before I finished my sentence he asked me if I wanted the dog and seemed very nonchalant about it like he would be happy to give him to me. I said no but that I cared for the dog very much and told him that I could help him find someone who would take him. I told him I would come back to check on Kiko...
I left reluctantly and about 2 hours later I received an interesting call from the Animal Control officer who was at my house earlier that morning. He said that he had apparently made a mistake and that he no longer thought the dog I had was Kiko. I asked him why he changed his mind and he said that he just went over to the trailer park and that he met Kiko's owners and that Kiko was there. He said he asked them if someone (me) just brought this dog over and that they said NO that Kiko had been there the whole time...
The owners told AC that they were behind on Kiko's shots because of the hospital visit and showed the scar. AC told the owners that if they didn't get the shots by Tuesday (today) that they would be back with the Sheriff to take Kiko...
I let AC know that they were lying and that I did, in fact, drop off Kiko to them just before their visit with the owners. AC said he thought it was possible that they lied because someone in the house was illegal.
Anyway, I was and still am torn here. They are Kiko's owners and they said they would do the right thing. I do not feel the dog is in the best situation with them but do I really have the right to decide if I have not witnessed any abuse?
SO...
I am going to try to find out if they followed through and got Kiko his shots. I am going to drive by their place today and check on Kiko. I will let you know what I find out...
Thanks to everyone who is trying to find options for Kiko. We still might need the help depending on how this turns out...
G