Bad circumstances have landed a 13 yr old boy (pit bull) at the vet clinic that I work at, minus his owner, and he is likely to be sent to animal control to be put down soon (actually, they were supposed to call today, but I think no one's really eager to do it). He has some joint issues, and I don't know what sort of health he's in overall. Tomorrow I plan on having one of the doctors look him over, and we'll see if the joint problems are something he can be medicated for or if he'll be uncomfortable even with meds. If it's the latter, he'll be put down, but if it's the former and all other systems check out, I can't help but feel like he deserves at least a chance.
I've been taking him out for strolls around the clinic yard for the past week, and he's a gentleman from what I've seen, though I haven't pushed him to test his reactions much as until this evening I had no hope for him, but something has come up that might allow a bit of time to find him a home if he checks out ok tomorrow. He's probably around 50-60 lbs, brindle with white blaze and socks, natural ears. He definitely has a problem with stairs right now, but I don't know if meds would increase his mobility to where he could handle a few steps to go in and out or not. He loves his trips outside, and has come to expect it when he sees me coming with the lead, today he was headed out of the kennel as soon as I opened the door. I haven't tested him with cats or dogs, but he met a dog through a fence today and was calm, wagging his tail.
I'm honestly at complete odds with myself right now, as the logical side of me says it's a complete waste of resources to even try and place an old dog with possible health problems. On the other hand, I see how eagerly he plods out of his kennel for his walk, he's obviously still got a bit of spunk left, and I can't help but want to give him the chance. At the same time, I know he can't be kenneled long, and though my Mom said that he can come here for a short while if need be, our house is already packed to the gills and I don't know how long we can keep him with us, which is why I'm posting now, even with limited info. I don't know what we'll find tomorrow, but I want to at least know I did what I could for him. We are in Baltimore, MD, but if we could find someone commited to keeping him happy for the rest of his life, would probably be able to travel within a 5 hr radius, maybe further.