FOUND DOG- NOW REHOMED :)-What to do with a dog we found 2 weeks ago?

krlyr

I would perhaps try adverts/dog wardens/vets further afield, could be that someone's moved, the dog was stolen and dumped in your area miles from home, etc.

Just as a side note, if the dog warden hasn't taken the dog to the pound to serve its 7 days, it is 28 days in a private home before the dog is OK to be rehomed, and you still don't officially regain ownership - just something to be aware of, if you rehomed the dog then the original owners would be within their rights to reclaim it 6 weeks, 6 months, or even 6 years down the line.

Person_one

If you've only had her two weeks you can't decide what to do with her, you'd need to hand her over to the dog warden. I take it the dog warden has her details?

gettingready

Sorry but I would NOT hand a dog to a dog warden unless I am 100% sure the poor dog won't be PTS.

OP is trying to figure out what is the best for the poor dog not merely trying to get rid of it...

There may be a farntic owner somewhere looking for his/her fury friend...

Why people do not microchip their pets?



Zara is chipped and has a collar with 2 discs attached to it.... all my cats are chipped....

Person_one

There are legal issues here. If you agree to take a found dog into your home instead of letting it go to the pound for its 7 days then you are expected to hold onto it for 28 days to allow the owner to claim it.

She can't pass it to a third party yet.

gettingready

I see, that is a usefull bit of info, I was not aware of that.

OP, are you able to keep the dog for another 2 weeks to 28days?

Person One - does it also apply if the dog was not microchipped, how can anyone prove ownership in that case (legally) and blame the OP for trying to find a dog a home when OP is uneble to keep the dog long term?

At the end of the day, OP is looking after the poor creature, doing more than average person would - most people would just hand over to dog warden/leave to wander around...

Person_one

Yes of course it still applies! Microchipping is not a legal requirement, the owners still have the right to claim THEIR dog back. Its just the same as when people claim their lost dogs back while they're doing their 7 days at the pound, the dog is just in a different location.

It was good of the OP to take the dog in, but it would be wrong and illegal to pass it on to a third party rescue before the 28 days are up.

gettingready

TBH that is a bit unfair.. on anyone trying to help a lost (?) dog and wanting to avoid the poor dog being PTS after 7 days in a pound, isn't it?

If owners have the right to claim their dog back after so long, they should also have a dute to chip/tag their pet to enable whoever finds it to notify them.

krlyr

gettingready wrote: »

TBH that is a bit unfair.. on anyone trying to help a lost (?) dog and wanting to avoid the poor dog being PTS after 7 days in a pound, isn't it?

If owners have the right to claim their dog back after so long, they should also have a dute to chip/tag their pet to enable whoever finds it to notify them.

But the latter isn't a legal requirement, whereas the former is. It sucks that people don't have to microchip their dogs, but it's not the law. OP didn't have to take the missing dog in for 2 weeks, she could have given it in to the dog warden (and not all dogs handed into the pound will be PTS - many pounds will do their best to rehome, or rescues will step in and take the dogs after the 7 days) but she decided to keep it. We're just stating that as she made the decision to let the dog "serve its time" in her home, the length as set out by the law is 28 days.

[URL]http://www.ddawatch.co.uk/other_dog_law[/URL] wrote:

If you find a dog.
If a person finds a dog they must report it to the dog warden. The dog warden must make a note of the dog’s details (as above), attempt to contact the dog’s owner and list the dog on the register. If the finder then wants to keep the dog and the dog warden is satisfied that the person is a suitable owner for the dog then the dog warden may allow the person to keep it however the finder must keep the dog for at least 28 days. If the finder disposes of the dog in that time period they could be liable for prosecution. If the finder of a dog does not want to keep the dog then the Dog Warden will seize the dog and the same principles apply with the “seven day rule”.

OP has a few options here:
- keep the dog for the 28 days and rehome it privately, but consider what will happen if the new owner struggles or their circumstances change, is the OP willing to offer "backup for life" like a reputable rescue?
- keep the dog for 28 days and in the meantime approach rescues to see if they have space for the dog when its 28 days are up
- keep the dog for 28 days, liase with rescues, and try to find a direct home but with the backup of the rescue. Rescue doesn't have to cram an extra dog in, but the dog has a rescue to take responsibility should issues occur with the new home
- give the dog to the DW to serve its 7 days and hope for the best
- give the dog to the DW to serve its 7 days and help find a new home by posting the dog on rehoming websites, contacting rescues who may have a space to offer it, continuing to try to locate the original owner
- rehome the dog now, but be aware of the legalities of this option

Things don't often happen overnight is rescue anyway so if OP is in the position to hold onto the dog for a couple more weeks, it will give them time to try to find a rescue that can help. Don't limit it to local rescues, dogs have been transported nationwide to get to a space in a rescue. I'd recommend joining several dog forums for advice and offers of help - Dogpages and Dogsey are two that I use.

caro100

Thanks to everyone who has taken time to reply to my op. There is certainly a lot of information to take in and digest.

The dog was found at teatime on 15th December and by the time my son had spent a couple of hours walking up and down the area (a known dog walking path- of which my son is a well known member of the dog walking 'community' there despite only being 15) looking for someone who may have lost her.

We phoned the police when he got home and they gave us the number of the dog warden who took our details. I rang the council the next morning from work and gave the details to a lady there (who said she would put details on the computer to be matched up if anyone phoned to report their dog as lost) and asked her advice. At no point was I told of the implications of keeping the dog at my house either by her or the dog warden. She said we could take the dog to any vet to be scanned free of charge- which we did as soon as I finished work later that day only to find she wasn't chippped.

I genuinely thought this dog had just escaped from her home. She was well cared for, nice natured and friendly and immaculately clean considering she is mainly white ( when our golden retriever comes back from walking in that area she comes back pitted with mud and filthy). I tried to think what I would want to happen if one of my own dogs got lost and I would hope that some kind person would look after him/her till I got in touch as I would be absolutely frantic. It was always my intention to reunite this dog with her owner and still is if thats possible. Maybe I should have surrendered her to the warden straightaway, but if I had, where would she be now? pts? I wouldn't want my dogs going there, mind you mine are all chipped so hopefully would be returned to me as their chips were read- if thats what happens?

It's incredibly difficult to do the right thing nowadays as with the best of intentions I can't do right for doing wrong in this case

caro100

gettingready wrote: »

TBH that is a bit unfair.. on anyone trying to help a lost (?) dog and wanting to avoid the poor dog being PTS after 7 days in a pound, isn't it?

If owners have the right to claim their dog back after so long, they should also have a dute to chip/tag their pet to enable whoever finds it to notify them.

It's very unfair and in hindsight would I do the same again? I probably would as I'm too soft and love dogs too much.