Almost Rescued

Have you ever seen a Bulldog sprint? My friend was almost home from work when 2 English Bulldogs ran across the street in front of her, she had to slam on her brakes to avoid hitting them. She watched as they continued to race recklessly through the neighborhood and across streets. She circled around and caught up to them about 3 blocks away. She stopped the car and got out, they ran right up to her when she called to them. They were panting heavily. She lifted them into the air conditioned car and proceeded to drive around the area for about 30 minutes looking for any one who might know the dogs or appear to be looking for them. She then took them home to get a much needed drink of water. They both appeared to be young, one was a male who we called Buster; the other a small female,(about 1/2 the size of Buster), we called her Fiona. I was on my way home when I received the call about the dogs. I then drove though the neighborhood looking for any signs or anyone looking for these dogs to no avail. When I got home we loaded the dogs back into the car for a trip to the vets to find out if they were Micro chipped as neither dog had a collar on. Again to no avail. We left the vets and circled through the neighborhood one last time before it got dark, we found nothing. The dogs both smelled strongly of urine, neither were fixed and they had no social skills what-so-ever. They didn't seem to know how to walk on a leash or what to do with toys. They were both very hyper and desperately wanted to be near us. Neither were house trained and didn't seem to know what to do when we took them outside. A friend who has a Bulldog,( from Rescue), agreed to take the male as he was too large and out of control to be with our Gaggle of little guys. We kept the Fiona at our house. We spent the next few days teaching these sweet dogs how to walk on a leash, started potty training and getting them to play with toys. Everyday my friend and I would circle the neighborhood before and after work looking for any signs of someone looking for their dogs. We checked the local papers and craigslist. We were very upset that these wonderful dogs seemed to be badly neglected. They seemed to be well fed but that's about the only good thing I could say. To be honest I was hoping the owner would not come forward so we could re home these dogs to better homes. To people who would love them and care for them.
Finally after 72 hours signs were posted with a picture" Lost Puppies", it was definitely Buster and Fiona. We tried calling the dogs by their real names and they did not respond as well as they did to the names we had been using . I very reluctantly contacted the owner. It was a young woman who was planning on breeding the dogs. I interrogated her as to why the dogs did not have collars or microchips. Why they were not fixed. Why they were not housebroken. Why they smelled of urine and feces. Why they did not know how to walk on a leash. Why did they not know how to play with toys. Why these dogs were kept together since they are not fixed. Why did it take you 3 days to start looking for these dogs. I tried to educate her on the importance of all theses things. I tried to stress the danger in mating this small female with a male twice her size and tried to point out some of the imperfections these dogs had, such as droopy eye lids, corkscrew tail, hip clicking and a swaggering gait. She tried to impress me with her limited knowledge of breeding Bulldogs but showed no concern for their welfare. She tried to convince me that she had been frantically looking for these dogs for days, even trying to lie to about when she put the signs up. She told me she,"paid", for an Ad in the paper Tuesday but they couldn't run it until Saturday. Lost ads are free and they go in no longer than 48 hours of the request. She was very upset with me and I with her. Unfortunately I had no choice but to return them. We agreed I would bring them to her the next day. When I called to let her know I was bringing the dogs back she seemed annoyed. When we got to the house, 2 blocks away, she strolled down the driveway with an annoyed look on her face. She made no attempt to help me get the dogs out of my SUV other than to stand 4 feet away and said" come on". Both dogs jumped to the ground as I tried to keep them from hurting themselves from jumping from that height. I gave her some printed information on some of the concerns I had raised the day before. We awkwardly stood in the driveway waiting for her to lead us to the house as the dogs were secured with our collars and leashes. I finally ask where she wanted me to put the dogs, as I was still holding the leashes. We walked to the side door and let the dogs inside. My friend and I headed down the driveway back to our SUV when the young women stuck her head out the door and mumbled, "Oh, by the way, thanks."
As we drove away I wanted to cry, I wanted to get the dogs back, I wanted to shake that young woman who showed no love, no excitement, no gratitude, no nothing. I don't understand why people have animals if they don't want to take care of them, protect them and love them. She provided food shelter and water and that is all that is required from Animal Control so there was nothing more I could do. Maybe she'll think about what I said or look at the information I gave her, but I doubt it. I tried to help those poor neglected babies as best I could. I will definitely be on the lookout for Buster and Fiona just in case they break free again. If they do the outcome will be different.