Always Something

Every now and then I have strange dogs show up on the property. Nothing surprising or new, since I doubt very many people in this town own leashes or fenced-in yards.
Most of the time not a biggie, you run them off. And honestly, it doesn't happen that often.
The only time I ever had a tragedy was with Bustopher, which I'm not going to rehash.. it still makes me sad :(

Anyway... this morning, this dog showed up on the property. It was raining and cold and he was pretty dirty. ( well, not that dog, this is just a photo I found online that looks like him. Actually at this very moment, I don't even know if it's male or female.)
I ran him off, he left.
Later on, he showed up again. He was hanging out on our porch, but didn't seem to be bothering the cats or even eating their food. I let him hang out.

I was careful on approaching him, since you never know what you're dealing with, and he's a pretty big dog. He was very leery and stayed back.
He eventually just laid down on the deck and stayed there.
About an hour went by and I went to check on him. It was snowing and he was soaked and covered with snow. He still continued to just lay there.
I approached him slowly, petted him, talked to him. He seemed pretty laid back and just stayed where he was. And, I just chose to leave him there.

Another hour or so, I checked on him again. He had moved to the front porch, which is covered, and went back to sleep. I again, went out to see him and talk to him and noticed he was soaked and shivering.
I know you won't be surprised to know I brought him some blankets and food. The minute I laid a blanket down on the porch, he got up and walked over and laid down. He knew what the blanket was for. I then covered him with another and offered him food. He didn't eat.

This sounds repetitive I guess, but I once again left him alone and checked on him again later. It's getting darker and colder and he's still sleeping on his blanket. I was worried about him for many reasons, but the main one being that he was soaked and outside in freezing weather.
The idea of bringing him just wasn't at option at the time. I didn't know what he'd do around Taylor or the cats, or what they would do in turn. Again.. he's a big dog.
It was just so odd for a dog to just show up and stay.
Also odd that he wouldn't move much and wouldn't eat. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night for me. I don't sleep well if I have a sick pet.

I finally couldn't stand it anymore and I brought him in. I had a blanket laid out on the floor that Taylor or the cats usually sleep on, right in front of the fireplace.
He walked straight to that blanket and laid down. I gave him a new blanket, and there he stayed. The cats weren't too thrilled, but since he wasn't running the house or making noise, they've calmed down. Again.. I left him alone.
Later.. I found Taylor sleeping next to him on the blanket.

At this point, I really can't tell much.
Either he's sick, hurt, or worn out. I can't really tell age, but again I'm not messing with him too much at this point.

Kinda funny I guess, I usually collect cats... not large dogs. But.. here he is.

As I type this he's sound asleep in front of the fire with Taylor.
I have a feeling I won't sleep much tonight.