dogs being dumped - the credit crunch?? see UPDATE on pg. 5

moomin5

Glad you were able to help the 2 oldies before they got injured. I'd like to think they just got out, but does sound more like they were dumped.

Do rescues charge to hand in unwanted pets or are some so full that people are getting turned away? I really don't understand how people can just dump a dog which could then suffer, get injured or cause an accident rather than just handing into a pound or rescue.

I'd have to be in a very desperate situation, before i'd consider rehoming my dogs and i certainly love them enough to take them to a rescue and deal with any embarassment rather than just dumping, although i did sign a contract to say they'd go back to rescue in that situation.

I'm not sure how a dog ownership scheme would work but in theory its a good idea. Perhaps they could also crack down on irresponsible breeders too while their at it. Too many people seem to get a puppy/dog on a whim and the dump it when they are no longer cute, not toilet trained, had a baby or because it now has issues due to the diddly squat training it was given. The number of people i've seen with a pup at the pet store and they are buying the lead/bowl/bed/food, so obviously not a well considered puchase of a dog.

Even the ones you do think are senible owners can suprise you, I couldn't believe how many people in our training class didn't have an ID tag on their dog. Apart from being against the law in public place which they may of been ignorant of, surely you'd want to ensure a better chance of finding you dog if it got lost?

lemontart

maytaurus wrote: »

I despair about the ammount of money and advertising the R.S.P.C.A. get.
I think their are many people who DON'T realise how many healthy animals they destroy ! :mad:
Please encourage peoplet o donate to the P.D.S.A.
http://www.pdsa.org.uk/
and The Dogs Trust
http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/topnavigation/about_us/
Who never destroy a healthy dog.

Sadly it is true but the rspca have the powers that the local smaller sancturies do not have to rescue animals and bring people to court over there treatment which is why every time I hear someone is looking for an animal I say go to an animal rehomer first and go to all you can find to stop breeders and promote neutering I am one viuce but the more of us that do this and promote animal adoption the less animals will loose their lives unescearrily

MrsTinks

I think many people are promoting rescue dogs these days, the issue is a lot of people want that cute breed puppy "because it looks cute"... A very good friend of mine has had 2 rescue dogs and when they tragically lost one of them in an accident they eventually got a pedigree Dobie... Much to my dismay - she knows better than most as she's a vet but they desperately wanted a Dobie... I have to say he's a lovely handsome boy and despite everyone (apart from me) saying they should breed him they had him done He's a much loved dappy loopy pet and nothing more And they'd never get rid of him - but I know that I one day want a GSD and a Rottie... and I know they will be rescues

sammy_kaye18

I'd nevr dump my pets because fo the credit crunch.

Granted I only have one pooch and two terrapins but they are my babies, as well as my actual baby Benji (well hes 4 years old) but I could still never get rid of them - although I will admit it did breifly flitter in my mind with pooch when he decided to piddle all over my bed the night before last!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: hes not normalyl allowed in the bedrooms so saw the prime chance when the door didnt latch properly - little bu@@er.:rolleyes:

But we've had some rough times with him when we rescued him 3 years ago. We were there when his previous owners dropped him off and they seemed quite well to do, but the attendant at the dog rescue (it is a small local one not a big named rescue) told us that he was the womans dog and the gentleman had come into her life, taken a disliking to him (he is very much a womans dog and very clingy) and had then taled her into getting rid of him.:eek:

Now Im sorry but if my bf said right its me or the dog then it would be a very cold night for the bf indeed.

Although I have jsut had a friend rehome her dog with the excuse that shes pregnant and cant walk the dog and she said he sits there constantly and howls all day and wont go near anyone/wants no interaction etc. So I went up to see her and the dog one day (dog is about 8 years old - male) and he came flying out the door, straight to me and sat at my feet being stroked/cuddled/tummy tickled the entire time i was there. So offered to walk him for her to get him out for 5 minutes and she said ok so leaded him etc and took him for a walk - in fairness i have more trouble walking my jack russell than i did this dog and he is a collie/staff cross (build of a staff but long haired like a collie) i barely knew he was on the lead. i would have loved to have had him, as him and my dog get on well, but we are in a small two bedroomed flat and i think 2 dogs would have been too much for the flat we are in

Thankfully now though he has been rehomed to a nice couple and they also took her pet rats so she is now petless which tbh i think is the best way for her atm.

sammy_kaye18

MrsTine wrote: »

but I know that I one day want a GSD and a Rottie... and I know they will be rescues

We are agreed in my household that any dog we have will be rescue. We have had 2 so far - one we only had for a week as he was a big 8st bassett hound who turned aggressive to me, then bf and tried to smother my son on the sofa when he was about 18months.

So we took him back ( the week before christmas - that was a killer) and left it 6 months.

Went back and fell in love with the little squirt who was dropped off as we were looking round and was only thanks to the attendent mentioning him that we went back in to have another look, he was absolutely petrified when we took him for that first walk , so much as three steps forward, two steps back and cowering, but hes been here almost 3 years now and although he has his naughty moments - hes staying.

We are hoping though that if the council are nice enough to give us a house with a garden that we will be finding him a little companion to play with

LillyJ

I would do anything for my dog, he is part of the family. I just couldn't ever get rid of him.
We have even made sure that my in laws will take him if god forbid something happened to me and OH. (He came to us after his owner died and the next of kin handed him in to the dogs home).

I am so glad we got a rescue as well. He has a problem with dogs but apart from that is an amazing dog with such a nice temperament.

I would like to say he doesn't cost that much, but if I'm honest, he was one of the reasons that we ended up getting a mortgage! We were renting when we got him and the landlord said it was fine. We needed to move from that house this summer, and couldn't find any rentals to take him, apart from a few really horrible ones. So we bought a house. Had to be a house too, not a flat.
When the estate agents asked what my priorities were for a house (ie double glazing, parking, number of bedrooms) I said I needed a big garden and space for a huge dog bed.
We love him so much and it makes me wonder as to how people manage to live with a dog and NOT fall in love with it. I can't even sleep when we go on holiday cos I think about him at home wondering where his mum and dad have gone.

pboae

moomin5 wrote: »

Do rescues charge to hand in unwanted pets or are some so full that people are getting turned away? I really don't understand how people can just dump a dog which could then suffer, get injured or cause an accident rather than just handing into a pound or rescue.

Rescues can only take hand ins, they cannot take strays. Pounds must take in strays but don't have to accept hand ins. Some rescues and many pounds charge for hand ins.

Generally, you cannot just turn up at a rescue with a dog and hand it in. They won't have any space. Many have waiting lists, sometimes of many months. That is one of the reasons why some people end up dumping dogs or tying them up outside rescues. Some do charge people to hand in dogs, but most don't. But then some rescues are run as profit making businesses, not as animal charities.

It's not the rescues' fault, they have a finite amount of space and it is always full to bursting. Because pounds are not allowed by law to say they are full, almost all have of them to put animals to sleep sometimes. Some do all they can to rehome them first, or have arrangements with local rescues to take animals when their time is up. Some make no attempt to rehome and just put them to sleep at the end of their 7 days.

LillyJ

pboae wrote: »

Rescues can only take hand ins, they cannot take strays. Pounds must take in strays but don't have to accept hand ins. Some rescues and many pounds charge for hand ins.

Generally, you cannot just turn up at a rescue with a dog and hand it in. They won't have any space. Many have waiting lists, sometimes of many months. That is one of the reasons why some people end up dumping dogs or tying them up outside rescues. Some do charge people to hand in dogs, but most don't. But then some rescues are run as profit making businesses, not as animal charities.

It's not the rescues' fault, they have a finite amount of space and it is always full to bursting. Because pounds are not allowed by law to say they are full, almost all have of them to put animals to sleep sometimes. Some do all they can to rehome them first, or have arrangements with local rescues to take animals when their time is up. Some make no attempt to rehome and just put them to sleep at the end of their 7 days.

Oh god it's so sad.
I am so glad we have Birmingham Dog's Home who never put a healthy dog to sleep. They take all the strays in the area, and that is where we got our dog from.
If I lived somewhere that put strays down I would probably feel guilty for reporting a stray, whereas here I have caught a few strays in the garden and called the dog warden.

One was only last week, a lovely little staffy girl, couldn't have been much older than 12 months. She was running along our street on bin day, taking food from the bins because she was so hungry. The bin men came and stroked her and fed her a biscuit. She was friendly so I put a lead on her and put her in the garden with a bowl of food which she wolfed down. I called the dog warden and they came while I was at work and took her to the Dog's Home. Its so sad, so many staffies especially.

Milford_Cubicle

moomin5 wrote: »

Even the ones you do think are senible owners can suprise you, I couldn't believe how many people in our training class didn't have an ID tag on their dog. Apart from being against the law in public place which they may of been ignorant of, surely you'd want to ensure a better chance of finding you dog if it got lost?

This may be little OT, but I'd like to expand on this a little if I may?

When we get our pup next week, we'll be walking her with a harness and lead, not collar. She will be getting microchipped ASAP - does this negate the requirement for an ID disc? The terms of her insurance state she must have an ID disc for the insurance to be valid - but isn't microchipping more failsafe than a collar and disc? I feel it a little pointless her having a collar if we're not going to be using it for walks?

I don't even slightly think that the 'credit crunch' (I hate that term so much, almost as much as I hate the phrase 'carbon footprint' :mad: ) is an excuse for dumping your pet. Even if you're skint, dog food isn't all that expensive and walks are free. I wonder how many 'skint' people dump their pets but continue to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and eat takeaway?

MrsTinks

Milford_Cubicle wrote: »

This may be little OT, but I'd like to expand on this a little if I may?

When we get our pup next week, we'll be walking her with a harness and lead, not collar. She will be getting microchipped ASAP - does this negate the requirement for an ID disc? The terms of her insurance state she must have an ID disc for the insurance to be valid - but isn't microchipping more failsafe than a collar and disc? I feel it a little pointless her having a collar if we're not going to be using it for walks?

I don't even slightly think that the 'credit crunch' (I hate that term so much, almost as much as I hate the phrase 'carbon footprint' :mad: ) is an excuse for dumping your pet. Even if you're skint, dog food isn't all that expensive and walks are free. I wonder how many 'skint' people dump their pets but continue to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and eat takeaway?

No the ID tag is a requirement BY LAW - the microchip sadly IS NOT

The point I guess for now is that not everywhere has an ID chip reader... Increasingly they do I know
However when Kira one day managed to open the front door and made a dash for freedom I had her back in 15 minutes because she had a tag on - a lady the other end of the estate found her and took her indoors and called the number on her tag. Now if she hadn't had that then the lady would have had to call the dogwarden or take the dog to a vet (not likely to happen as this particular lady is a childminder and couldn't just leave the children in her charge to drop a random dog off at a vet 8 miles away) in order for someone to scan her chip and then call the register and THEN they would call me and tell me where she was.

I always have a collar on Kira with her tag on - Anything could happen - the lead COULD snap and she might get scared and run away. Someone might accidently let her out the front door, she might manage to open it herself again!

Tag It costs so little and you COULD get a fine (and as you have found your insurance won't actually cover her if she doesn't have a tag and gets lost...)