dont pick up strays

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milo'n'molly

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Really really cross!!!!
Sunday lunch time I was on my way to the yard for a lesson before going away for the week and saw a very old dog pottering down the white line of a very busy A road with wagons flying past so I stopped stoppers picked him up and asked around if anyone knew the dog and nobody did. I took him with me to the stables and rang the out of hours dog warden only to be told they don't work weekends. They told me to take him to a kennels they use so I rang them to book him in and they asked if he was healthy and I explained he was was fine just very old and I think blind. They then said I need to take him to a vet to get a certificate to say he was healthy enough for them to take grrrrrrrr.
The vets were closed and offered emergency only cover. So, ring council back and they said phone rspca so I did and they just said it was my responsibility to look after him untill the dog warden gets there on Monday sometime and again explained I was going away and couldn't possibly keep him. I was then told that since I found him I was legally responsible.
Really flustered now and a friend suggested phone the police to see if they could keep him so I did and they said I had tried everything so I should put it back where I found him and see if it went home. I wasn't about to put a blind deaf dog back on an A road.
Really flustered as supposed to be long gone by now and managed to get a friend to take it overnight as she is a foster cater for rehoming charity and they managed to track down the owner. I rang the council to tell them he had gone home.
Yesterday boyfriend came home mid morning to find the dog warden and rspca trying to climb into the back garden to get to my dog. Do they even have a clue?
As bad as i felt for the dog, makes me wonder if I'd do it again.
 
our dog warden for the council area has gone due to job cuts.

But no they dont have a clue, its a shame poor old dog. My friend picked up a stray that had been dumped from a van. Didnt manage to get the vans reg number as it was midnight and couldnt see, I think the emergency vets took him in for the night.
 
Stencilface said:
I hope the owners were pleased at having him back?

I hav picked up loose dogs before and would do again :)
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yeah, they were turns out he will be 20 this year but did suspect initially he had been kicked out coz he was very slow so hadn't done a high speed runner and looked like he normally wore a collar. Just cross that nobody wanted to know
 
I did much the same, a call to the police got the following response " why don't you keep him ? or just let him go, he'll find his way home...". It was 10pm, dark and raining.
 
I once found a husky-type dog roaming around our old yard, right near a very busy road. I was also worried about it scaring the horses so I shut it in a stable and rang the number on its tag (thank god it had a collar on!). No answer but there was a bit of an address with a house name on, and it was local so I drove round there (without the dog as I had my own dog who won't share and I have a very small car!).
No one was home but found the gardener who said (in a very rude tone) it was always escaping and why hadn't I brought it back. I told him I couldn't in my little car (its ok to transport a jack russell in, but not a huge husky!) and if the owners wanted the dog back they could come and get it themselves- hopefully they would think twice about letting the dog loose if they kept having to go pick it up!
I honestly wondered why I'd bothered, as they obviously didn't care about the poor dog :(
 
We had a similar experience a few years ago though we didn't actually get hold of the dog. Driving along we spotted an obviously distressed dog running along, it kept weaving into a busy road and was just getting more and more panicked. We dashed home, got dog food, biscuits and a lead and went back but I couldn't get near the poor thing.

Unfortunately it was a bank holiday so the dog warden wasn't on duty. I was horrified to also find similar applied to the RSPCA, rang them to be told they had minimum staff on and there was nobody to come out. Rang the police to be told that even though it was running in and out of a busy A road it wasn't enough of a hazard to warrant coming out until they'd had more reports from other motorists that it was posing a danger.

We never did get hold of the dog, I still wonder what happened to it and really hope it was somehow reunited with it's family :(
 
"Don't pick up strays if you naively believe someone in authority actually gives a ****" should be your thread title, unfortunately.:( RSPCA - hopeless when responding to a found dog and not just at weekends, dog wardens -appears to be a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job these days, the Police - "not our responsibility, Madam", your best bet is your local vet ime. :)
 
Hmmm, we had a elderly lab and elderly jrt arrive at the farm a couple of years ago. We're in the middle of nowhere so they were probably dumped from a vehicle nearby. Dog warden came out and tut tutted and said if they couldn't find the owner they would be unlikely to get such elderly dogs rehomed.

Don't worry, says I, we'll have them if you can't find the owner. DW said he'd ring and let me know.

So the weeks went by and I heard nothing, then bumped into the DW and asked how the dogs were and ...... dead, put down, owner not found, and clearly nobody could be a***d to ring me and give those dogs a home for their remaining days :(
 
This has happened twice to me and three times to a friend of mine, the two I have found we have kept and just advertised to see if a loving home has lost them but no one claimed them so they stayed here. Had both for many years and they were lovely well loved dogs, both passed away at good old ages. The three my friend has found she has rehomed herself after keeping them for as long as it has taken to find homes. Not sure what the RSPCA do if they can't take in these abondaned animals it seems mad. I have also ended up with a stray very poorly cat that the RSPCA also refused to take, he cost me a fortune in vet fees and eventually had to be put to sleep as he had feline aids. A friend of mine is a dog warden and believe me s he is very frustrated with the situation as the council she works for does cover 24/7 as they work on call after hours and weekends but the neighbouring council does not and she is unable to cross the border to pick up any stray dogs which drives her mad.
 
Well re the police, it is not their responsibility to care for or catch lost/stray dogs unless causing a traffic hazard or a danger to people etc.

Re the DW, as you have found out RR, a lot of councils give dogs seven days before they rehome, sell or PTS and they are all pretty overwhelmed at the minute.

The onus is on the owner to look for the dog, not the other way around. If you lose a dog the dog warden is the FIRST place to call.

Any strays I have found I have actually taken home as I do have the space. I did find one late at night on the road, took it home, it chewed a hole in the pen I put it in and escaped :o

I would not entertain the idea of contacting our equivalent of the RSPCA.
 
It isn't the police's responsibility to look after strays. Do you really think their hard work should be taken up dog sitting for someone?

As for the appropriate welfare charities/orgs - Crrrrrrrrap in my experience.

The dog warden is your man, just make sure the dog is wearing a watch because they are on the clock ;) crrrrrrap again!
 
Glad the dog got home :)

I have picked up stray/lost dogs in the past and will again if necessary.
It does help that I have the dog warden's personal phone number ;)
 
CaveCanem said:
Re the DW, as you have found out RR, a lot of councils give dogs seven days before they rehome, sell or PTS and they are all pretty overwhelmed at the minute.

QUOTE]

Yes, which is why when the DW didn't ring me to say come 'n' get 'em after 7 days I assumed they'd found their owner again. Seems a shame to pts two perfectly healthy looking but elderly dogs when there was someone like me, who the DW knew btw, who would've given them a home :(
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Twice I have taken stray dogs to the local police station and twice they have taken the dog into their care - first time me and my mum found a little Scottish Terrier whimpering inside our gate late at night during a storm so we brought it in kept it for the night and took it to the station the next day. I got a call the next day to say they had found his owners who lived 4 miles away. Second time I found a little boxer type puppy while on my way home from the pub, it followed me home so I took it in and next day took it to the police station - it was taken to the cat and dog home and I was even called when they rehomed him a few weeks later.
 
It isn't the RSPCA's responsibility to take in healthy stray dogs. That is the council's job. RSPCA will authorise payment of up to £75 for emergency treatment for sick strays. If it is a healthy dog then it is solely the council's responsibility - which is what we all pay taxes for.

As for the person (sorry can't remember who it was who mentioned it!) who took in the sick cat and paid a fortune in vet's fees only to find out it had FIV, I'm afraid the vet's had you good and proper there!! They should ALWAYS suggest an FIV test before undergoing any further treatment (other than emergency to make comfortable obviously).
 
I am forever picking up stray dogs - mainly Labs around here:rolleyes: - usually working dogs who have hopped off the back of 'dads' truck or are after a bitch in season....:rolleyes: I have always found their owners and got them back home - on a couple of occaisions I have found the owner out looking for them, others the Dog Warden has come out and found thier chip and taken them home and others I have taken to the local vets for scanning to find the owners have phoned round in case they have turned up:rolleyes::D All of them have happily hopped in my car to be rescued - one of them even got given a pigs ear at the feed merchant and proudly took his prize home......:rolleyes::D:D

As thanks I have also had a couple of phone calls of grateful owners - a couple via the dog warden and the one whose dogs got the pigs ear gave me a bottle of wine:D:D
 
That was the issue, council kennel wouldn't accept dog coz it was old, rspca said not their problem because it wasn't sick, just old. I got cross because I was in a rush and was left on my own to deal with it and on the Monday despite being told the dog was home they found the time to climb into my garden to get to my dog. I'm lucky in that my dog is like my shadow so the chance of me losing him is small but I hope it's not on a weekend
 
So,you've picked up a stray dog on a Saturday afternoon. You have drawn the short straw in the dog warden lottery and discover your local dw is on "normal, working hours" - because stray dogs at the weekend/bank holidays, amazingly, don't exist. It's a fecking joke. The police couldn't give a stuff, the RSPCA don't give a stuff, the County Councils don't give a stuff either and so you're left responsible for an unknown quantity of a dog. I will iterate - YOUR LOCAL VET IS THE BEST BET.:)
 
The Borough I live in has an arrangement that a local 24/7 vets take in any strays on their behalf. In fact, even if you ring the DW during business hours they will ask you to deliver the dog or ask if you want to hang on to it (foster basis) in the hope that an owner will contact them and they can save the kennel fees :). They pop in at some point to scan for a chip. After 28 days they will sign the dog over to you FOC if you want it.

The kennels that they use make every effort to rehome strays after their 7 days are up and I hear they are usually successful.
 
Slinkyunicorn said:
I am forever picking up stray dogs - mainly Labs around here:rolleyes: - usually working dogs who have hopped off the back of 'dads' truck or are after a bitch in season....:rolleyes: I have always found their owners and got them back home - on a couple of occaisions I have found the owner out looking for them, others the Dog Warden has come out and found thier chip and taken them home and others I have taken to the local vets for scanning to find the owners have phoned round in case they have turned up:rolleyes::D All of them have happily hopped in my car to be rescued - one of them even got given a pigs ear at the feed merchant and proudly took his prize home......:rolleyes::D:D

As thanks I have also had a couple of phone calls of grateful owners - a couple via the dog warden and the one whose dogs got the pigs ear gave me a bottle of wine:D:D
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Note to self: Only pick up Labs, their owners are clearly the grateful sort;):D Honestly, the amount of dogs I've picked up and had not so much as a thankyou! The only time I've ever recieved thanks was from a cat owner when I was eight, She brought round half a pound of penny sweets!:D
 
The two dogs we found on Xmas eve on year were cold and wet running along a country lane. We happened to ring the dogs trust at the same time as the owners, and got their address and it was very local so we dropped them off. Turned out heir drunk early morning returning son had stupidly let the escape and they had been gone 12 hours. Grateful owner and angry mum gave us a bottle of wine, which was appreciated at Xmas ;)
 
We picked up a jrt that was running around a main road, nearly got run over several times, no collar or tag It was one midweek evening, the warden was off duty and the woman at the kennels was going out!! We left our number at the police and at the kennels. The jrt owners phoned us about 10pm, they had been looking for him all over! I advised them to get a collar and tag, cos we could have returned hours earlier if we had known where he lived. We were expected to look after him overnight if his owners hadn't phoned.
 
Hevs said:
Twice I have taken stray dogs to the local police station and twice they have taken the dog into their care - first time me and my mum found a little Scottish Terrier whimpering inside our gate late at night during a storm so we brought it in kept it for the night and took it to the station the next day. I got a call the next day to say they had found his owners who lived 4 miles away. Second time I found a little boxer type puppy while on my way home from the pub, it followed me home so I took it in and next day took it to the police station - it was taken to the cat and dog home and I was even called when they rehomed him a few weeks later.
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:):)

My OH has taken several dogs back to the station (where they have kennels) and would have broughtone home had the owner not turned up. It's unfair to say the police are useless! He went out, bought food, walked the dogs.
 
Moomin1 said:
It isn't the RSPCA's responsibility to take in healthy stray dogs. That is the council's job. RSPCA will authorise payment of up to £75 for emergency treatment for sick strays. If it is a healthy dog then it is solely the council's responsibility - which is what we all pay taxes for.

As for the person (sorry can't remember who it was who mentioned it!) who took in the sick cat and paid a fortune in vet's fees only to find out it had FIV, I'm afraid the vet's had you good and proper there!! They should ALWAYS suggest an FIV test before undergoing any further treatment (other than emergency to make comfortable obviously).
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That was me and it was about 20 years ago when it was not such a well known illness and treatments were tried before the final diagnosis was made. You are right now it would be the first thing the cat would be tested for.
 
Me & a friend found one on a roundabout whilst out riding early one morning. It was quiet but in another hour would have been heaving. Ended up catching it with a stirrup leather as it was making its way down the slip road to a mway. We walked a mile or so to nearest police station, with two horses only to be told by the idiot on the desk to take it back to the roundabout & if it went on the mway they'd deal with it then. Or keep hold of it till 9. Given the police station is in a town centre we didn't have any desire to hang about with a dog till the dog warden started work then ride back through heavy traffic later, nor could we have safely taken dog back to the yard. Even after explaining all this she wasn't having any of it & tried threatening to charge me if I didn't leave with the dog asap. Had just decided to let it go in the waiting room & leave when a policeman with more sense came in & said given the circumstances they would take it. Had numerous dogs either at home or the farm all day too whilst awaiting dog warden. Plus a few with tags & local worried owners. They seem to always latch on to my dog & follow us home.
 
yeah only do it Mon - Fri during normal working hours. We did it outside my parents there is a rescue up the road from them after not getting hold of DW or rspca took it there then said no space and take it home we can't our dog would have killed it. Told them to take him or we would have to release him (we wouldn't) they tried a guilt trip on us but we had already stopped him being killed and this is after all there business they took him in sharpish when we wouldn't back down and keep him.
 
Rowreach said:
Don't worry, says I, we'll have them if you can't find the owner. DW said he'd ring and let me know.

So the weeks went by and I heard nothing, then bumped into the DW and asked how the dogs were and ...... dead, put down, owner not found, and clearly nobody could be a***d to ring me and give those dogs a home for their remaining days :(
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This does seem to happen. My parents picked up a stray dog and were quite smitten with her. They duly informed the Dog Warden who took the dog away. When my father rang to see what had happened to her as, if no-one had turned up for her, he'd have been quite happy to rehome her himself, the DW had no idea what had happened to her. We never did find out.

When I picked up a very elderly terrier one evening and, with my parents scenario in mind, I refused to let the DW take her but left my details and said her owners could contact me. Luckily they did and were thrilled and relieved to get her back.
 
Mu auntie rang me one wet night saying she'd found a cat huddled in her back yard and being scared of cats I went to her house I rang all the vets in the area to see if there was anything I could do got told nothing to do with them ring rspca (not a chance in yell) so i drove to Lancaster and brought him back to mine in Manchester and then set about looking for owner put fliers up in all the vets and post office and I put one on the bus shelter 5 miles from my auntie's house and the owner rang he'd been missing for 8 days and it was his disabled wifes companion cat got scared with fireworks they gave me £100 and I get a xmas card every year from them and Henry the cat.
 
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