Usually petting a dog is a conscious decision that people make. And once the decision is made it is followed by a chain of events such as searching for contact details of local breeders and kennels, checking out the pups, choosing one and finally getting it home. But sometimes pet ownership just throws itself in your laps and you don’t go through the usual run of the mill procedure to get a dog. This usually happens when you discover a little wandering fur ball with innocent eyes and a pink nose that has nowhere to go. Very few people have the heart to just leave a wandering puppy alone and come back home.

So if you have just found a wandering puppy and don’t have the heart to leave it on the road or in the park here is what you need to do. To begin with try to find its owners. Maybe he wasn’t abandoned and his rightful owners may be looking for him. But even if after all efforts the owner is untraceable and you wish to share your home with this pup you will have to follow certain guidelines to make sure that your new companion is healthy and will be good for you.

Veterinary Treatment

If you find a wandering dog the first thing that you need to do is offer it some food and water. Once that is taken care of the immediate next step should involve you taking him to the vet. Since you don’t know for how long the dog has lived on the streets and under what conditions, let the veterinarian give him a complete check up to determine if there are any health issues or contagious infections that you may have to deal with. If he is sick the vet will take care of him for you and if he is in good shape you can promptly take him to his new home.

The Dogs Mental and Emotional state

Many dogs that are abandoned have a history of abuse and neglect behind them. Needless to say these negative experiences can scar a young puppy for life and make him aggressive or extremely fearful and reticent. Unfortunately if you have found your puppy on the streets there is no way to really find out what he has been through. So if you intend to house this dog be very patient and gentle with him, try to understand him and his behavior before you start training him. The most important thing is to never be aggressive with this dog because you never know what kind of a response it may trigger.

Incase you change your mind

When people see a puppy abandoned on the streets looking for food it is a heart breaking scene and most of us would want to take him home. The puppy responds to our act of generosity by getting very attached to us. Unfortunately, after a while some people discover that they cannot keep him due to various reasons. So now what do you do? You certainly cannot leave him back where you found him that would be inhuman. So the only thing that you can do is find him a good loving home where he will get everything that he needs to lead a happy healthy life. Don’t keep him because of a guilty conscience because in the long run you will make yourself and him unhappy. If you feel you can’t keep him give him to somebody who will appreciate him and take good care of him.