stray dog hanging round outside

zaksmum

There's a stray dog in my road, he's been there a few hours now but won't come to me. I've never seen him before and I do know most of the dogs around here.

I've given him a bit of food which he ate like he was starving, and I put a bowl of water out too.

Doesn't seem to have a collar but he's long haired and unkempt so can't really tell.

Getting the answerphone on the Dog Warden's number so not much I can do before morning...poor thing. if I could get him indoors at least he'd be warm and safe overnight.

O/H says just leave him be as he might know his way home but I hate the thought of him being freezing out there all night.

krlyr

Perhaps try calling local vets to see if they'll help - most will have an answer machine with an emergency number. My vet often takes in strays and kennels them overnight, and if he needs any medical attention as least he'll get it (e.g. if he's been straying a while and needs fluids, treatment for wounds, etc. or was clipped by a car)

zaksmum

He doesn't seem to be injured and at least I know he's been fed and watered now.

I rang my own vet via the emergency number but they said there's nothing they can do as it's not an emergency...no obvious injuries, dog not suffering, trapped or in immediate danger. The vet did say he might live nearby and just popped out for a stroll but you don't really see that much nowadays do you? Certainly not living close to a dual carriageway and after dark in January!

Hope he's ok, poor thing.

krlyr

Could you go offer some food and have a quick feel for a collar? I'd feel the back of his neck (you could spin it around to read the tag if there is one) rather than approach under the mouth, and watch for any signs of being uncomfortable (growling being the obvious one, but also tension around the mouth as if he's 'smiling', looking away from you, yawning, etc) - don't put yourself as risk of a dog bite.
He might be local, it does happen occasionally (there's a dog near me that used to have free roam of the park that the garden backed onto - the owner actually cut a hole in their fence as a dog flap! But reporting it to the local council seems to have stopped them doing it, for now) but equally he may have escaped (perhaps he's being left with a sitter popping in every now and then, who didn't secure the door/garden, and no one realises) or bolted on a walk, or perhaps be a stolen and dumped dog from a different area. I'm not sure I could just ignore a stray dog and leave it outside, especially in this kind of weather, I'd be tempted to bring it in overnight if it's safe to do so. Worst case, if he has a genuine owner looking for him, they'll call the dog warden or police in the morning and you can call them to log that he's with you and they should get reunited. I'd rather be panicked overnight to find my dog safe in the morning, than to be getting a call to say my dog was hit by a car and killed (and, even worse, perhaps seriously injured or killed someone in the process) because people thought they'd wander back home.

Mankysteve

If the dog /won't let you near don't try a scared dog is more dangerous than an aggressive one.

Tried your local rspca?

zaksmum

krlyr wrote: »

Could you go offer some food and have a quick feel for a collar? I'd feel the back of his neck (you could spin it around to read the tag if there is one) rather than approach under the mouth, and watch for any signs of being uncomfortable (growling being the obvious one, but also tension around the mouth as if he's 'smiling', looking away from you, yawning, etc) - don't put yourself as risk of a dog bite.
He might be local, it does happen occasionally (there's a dog near me that used to have free roam of the park that the garden backed onto - the owner actually cut a hole in their fence as a dog flap! But reporting it to the local council seems to have stopped them doing it, for now) but equally he may have escaped (perhaps he's being left with a sitter popping in every now and then, who didn't secure the door/garden, and no one realises) or bolted on a walk, or perhaps be a stolen and dumped dog from a different area. I'm not sure I could just ignore a stray dog and leave it outside, especially in this kind of weather, I'd be tempted to bring it in overnight if it's safe to do so. Worst case, if he has a genuine owner looking for him, they'll call the dog warden or police in the morning and you can call them to log that he's with you and they should get reunited. I'd rather be panicked overnight to find my dog safe in the morning, than to be getting a call to say my dog was hit by a car and killed (and, even worse, perhaps seriously injured or killed someone in the process) because people thought they'd wander back home.

FOUND A COLLAR! Thanks so much krlyr!! He wouldn't come near me at first so I made sure my two dogs were indoors and started throwing him some bits of chicken. He seemed to be a bit more trusting after that and let me stroke him and there was indeed a collar buried in all that fur!

Rang the number on it and the owners were SO relieved.

He'd apparently got out when visitors had left a door ajar and they'd been looking for him all day...he'd travelled a couple of miles to be in my area.

So thank God for that...and thanks again krlyr for the good advice.

ljonski

Brilliant News -Well done to all concerned !

_Andy_

Awesome, good for you

Sally_A

Nice one Zaksmum! :T:T:T

jaqui59

Phew .. Thankyou goodness :j

Deep_In_Debt

Brilliant news. Well done