[Aaarg]

I'm looking for advice regarding a stray dog.

There's a pit bull that's roamed the area since well before I moved here. She frequently sleeps in a box of old rags on our porch, we feed her when she's around in the mornings, and I pet her/talk to her/play with her when she's in the yard.

She's a sweet sweet sweet dog, though territorial and a night-time barker.

She has had babies before (unsure of if they were even born alive), and she's missing an eye. She's got a bunch of other scars, too.

We always figured she lives with some pieces of shit across the street, because that's where she tends to come from when we see her moving across yards. Apparently, however, she was some other people's dog and when they moved away a while back, they left her behind.

I feel so bad for her. I was petting her the other day and almost started crying.

We've already taken in one stray, and we have three cats and a lizard in addition. We can't really bring her inside (plus the mother cat (also a former stray) hates this pit.

I hate to think about this dog sleeping outside and freezing every night, and I'd be devastated to see her body in the road or to discover somebody shooting her to "put her out of her misery."

Her tail's always wagging, she loves attention, she goes crazy for food--she's not "in misery," but she deserves a better way of life.

I know if I drop her off at the animal shelter, she'll just be put down. That's not fair.

Is there anything I could do for this dog that doesn't involve bringing her into the house?


If nothing else, I'll make a cheap little insulated dog house on the porch and she can sleep in there.

But maaaaan, she's too sweet a pup to live outdoors.