Lost Puppy

This past Wednesday, our family grew by one more.
I spotted a dog in the neighborhood since the weekend, sniffing around they way dogs do, and walking seemingly with a purpose. This guy seemed to be pretty much a loner.
By Tuesday afternoon, after a grocery shopping trip to Tecoman, I spot him again in front of the house, limping now and pretty exhausted. I run downstairs as we have cans of dog food out and ready to put in the car to feed the various hungry dogs we see now and then. So I grab a can, and run out to the street, and he's already passed, but he turns around to look at me and must smell the food. I use my high pitched doggy voice on him and he slinks over to me, and a foot away, flips over on his back and cries. Well... that just broke my heart. He ate 2 cans of Pedigree, a cup of kibble and drank some water. Now, I've fed other dogs before and they just move on. Not him. He was so tired that he plopped down in the shade behind the van out front.
Then, I was able to check him out. He's a rather large pup, has a lot of German Shepard in him, but he's a sweetheart. He looked a little beat up, was pretty smelly, and I noticed had a nasty wound on his left back paw. This dog was in distress.
Bob and I decide that the right thing to do is get him to the vet in Armeria. I call to let them know we're on the way. The Vet isn't there until Thursday, but I tell Assistant Veronica to check him out, attend his wounds, bathe him, and she says to return the following day. I go to pick him up on Wednesday afternoon, and he's looking better. BUT again I get stuck holding the pup so she can inject an anti-inflammatory. (He and I both yelped.)
I got him home, he immediately knew to go out back to do his business, and then he cried and cried out by the front gate. He would not come inside. We picked him up twice to bring him inside, and he'd go back out whining. Not even a nice meal would entice him in.
Now, my thinking all along is that some family left him behind from the weekend. I don't claim to know every dog in Cuyutlan, but I do get around town enough, and I certainly know the dogs that live in our area. I am almost positive I saw this pup out on the dunes over the weekend with a family. AND--- Sunday, I did see a family pulling out from the beach in a dark SUV and a dog running along side down towards town that looked a lot like this pup. (In case you're wondering... yeah, we have binoculars...) Anyway---I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.
Finally, we got him settled in for the night. He had a nice dinner, Bob shut the gates, I pulled out a comforter, and he slept downstairs and very soundly. I woke up a couple of times during the night to check on him, and he was sleeping like a baby.
Yesterday, he seemed a little better. And he finally ventured upstairs to hang out with us. He's still a little sad, he likes to sleep on his back, he likes to be petted, and he likes to lick people. AND--He and Ratzo have obviously been talking. When I'm in the kitchen, so is Ratzo. Well, yesterday, he joined Ratzo. I turn around and those two are sitting up at attention, side by side, just watching me. Oh brother. So I give each one a hot dog so they'll get lost, and then I realize how stupid that was...So, now I have two kitchen moochers.
Anyway, I took him back to the Vet last night, he got another shot, which the Vet took care of as I walked around the corner. The Vet agrees that he was not a homeless dog, that he may have been abandoned or may live in town, that there's no way of knowing. He's maybe 18 months. His foot wound is healing, and now he also has a terrible ear infection, so I will be back at the Vet Sunday morning as they will need to put him to sleep to clean his ears. He'll also be starting parasite treatment.
I've decided when his foot is healed enough, I will take him to the little Abarrote store in town and speak to the Owner who we call, "Don Perro". If anyone would know if this pup is local, it'd be him. I figure that if the pup does have a family here in town, we must give him back, and I'm prepared to do so. If not, we'll keep him and look for a family that might want to make him part of their family.
Well, he slept upstairs on his comforter last night. Again, he slept very well as I spied on him twice last night. Now---Ratzo seems to be handling his arrival quite well. She's not overjoyed, but she tolerates him and even shows concern when he cries. She did throw a hissy-fit when she saw him get into the car with me and she was left behind. But, she's our girl, and no one can replace her.
I will post a photo of him shortly. Later...