Neighbors join forces to rescue the abandoned

By Rebecca Aguilar

Linda Bess-Cade’s coworker noticed two dogs tied to a bench at a baseball field outside their office building at the Village Dallas apartment complex on Southwestern Boulevard in Dallas. The white Husky and a small grey and white Aussie were left there to fend for themselves. It was Good Friday. 

“My coworker brought them to our office, and we kept them for the day,” said Bess-Cade. “I decided to take them home and, since then, I have been looking for the dog’s owners.” 

She posted information about the dogs on NextDoor, the app for neighborhoods, in hopes of finding the owner. Today, NextDoor and Facebook neighborhood group pages have become popular places to post about dogs that are abandoned or may be lost.

Dallas Animal Services (DAS) and the SPCA of Texas are dealing with the growing problem of abandoned or lost dogs of all breeds, ages and sizes throughout the city. 

“The majority of the dogs coming in are lost pets. We know that many more dogs are finding themselves out on the streets for one reason or another,” said Sarah Sheek, DAS assistant general manager-community engagement. 

Why dog owners abandon a dog can vary from being unable to care for the animal to no longer wanting them. But dumping a dog is considered animal cruelty in Texas and against the law. 

Maura Davies, vice president of marketing and communications at the SPCA of Texas, said holding a dog owner accountable for abandonment can be difficult but possible. “It depends on what can be proven. A lot depends on the evidence. If a dog is tied to a fence, that is cruelty,” she said. 

“It’s so critical that if you find a dog, the first thing you do is scan it for a microchip, especially in Dallas,” suggests Davies. “There is an ordinance on the books that you have to make a reasonable effort to find the owner of an animal that appears to be lost.”

The DAS website has instructions on how to get the dog listed on PETCO Love Lost, where owners often go to find their lost pet. “The platform uses face recognition software,” said Sheek with DAS. “If a dog owner has already posted a picture of their lost pet, PETCO Love Lost will match you with them once you file a found pet lost report, and you can get the pet back to their family quickly.” 

Finding a lost or abandoned dog a temporary home can help save a dog when a shelter has run out of room. 

“This is the fourth year that animal shelters are so overwhelmed,” Davies said, adding that taking in more dogs than they can handle can create a harmful hoarding situation. “We don’t want to have so many animals that the animals in the shelter are experiencing trauma and abuse.” 

Currently, the SPCA of Texas has 773 animals in its care, of which 420 are dogs. DAS is also out of the room; it has 400 dogs in its care. 

“If someone is willing to hold a pet for a few days after they find it and try to find its owner, there is a higher chance of a pet getting reunited in the area where they are found,” said Sheek at DAS. “Pets are usually found close to where they were missing.”

The sad reality is that many dogs face being euthanized after three to five days if no one claims the animal at DAS or the owner cannot be found. “No one wants to make those hard decisions,” said Sheek. “There are times when we have to euthanize for space, and those decisions are also made based on various factors that play into how placeable the pet is.”  

THE PUBLIC’S HELP CAN SAVE A DOG AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO SURVIVE

Officials with DAS and SPCA of Texas say they need more people like Linda Bess-Cade, who, after two weeks, still has the abandoned dogs found near her job. 

They have settled in at her Dallas home, where she has a 10-year-old rescue dog. “I just took them to get fully vaccinated and have one month of flea and heartworm medication.” Finding the owners may be difficult because the dogs were not microchipped.  

There are resources to help anyone who has found a dog. The SPCA can provide pet food. It has a monthly pet food pantry drive-thru and offers low-cost spay or neuter services. DAS also has foster volunteers but needs more fosters to help.

Fostering a dog is only sometimes a three to five-month commitment. Sheek said a foster can be for a weekend to give the dog a break from the shelter, and foster volunteer feedback helps the dog. “We get better notes on pets and how they do outside the shelter, and that information helps us place the dog faster with a new family.”

The SPCA also recommends reaching out to friends and family for help if you can no longer care for your dog or if you find one that needs a home. 

Linda Bess-Cade learned that strangers are also willing to help, too. She was surprised by how many strangers offered to help her with the dogs after she posted about them on NextDoor. “Thank you for caring,” one person posted, and another wrote, “Hey, if you need help with food, I would be glad to help.” 

She has yet to decide if she will keep the dogs permanently but admits they grow on her every day: “They are sweet as can be. Since they have been at my house, they are so much happier. They know they have people who are talking to them and playing with them. They are safe.” Bess-Cade hopes others will consider opening their hearts and homes to an animal in need, because she says, “They deserve a chance.”