Stray Dogs

SallyUK

I seen from reading my local site for the RSPCA that the responsibility for stray dogs has now been passed to the Council and not the police.

Apparently the council can only keep it for a maximum of 7 days!

The RSPCA say they can't collect it, except in cases of extreme emergency.

This is what they say on their site:

Recent legislation, the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, will place full responsibility with your local authority for dealing with stray dogs and associated stray dog services.


From Sunday, April 6 2008, the local Council will have full responsibility for the catching and safe-keeping of stray dogs throughout the borough. As a result of this new national legislation the Local Authority will be taking over some of the responsibilities previously managed by the police.

Members of the public who find stray dogs will now need to contact the council in order to obtain advice on how to deal with them. The Council is arranging for a kennel to accept dogs on the authority's behalf throughout the year.

The daytime telephone number for the local Council is 0845 245 6000.


When the local authority accept a stray, they have to hold it until it is claimed or for seven clear days, whichever is the shorter.

The RSPCA and other animal welfare charities cannot pick up stray dogs or accept them from people who find them and will direct those people to their local authority. In fact we can only deal with a stray dog in an absolute emergency, ie. if the dog is in imminent danger of death or severe suffering and the authority is unable to attend.

If you find a stray dog please ring the council on 0845 245 6000.

If you're like me and have found yourself having to ring the dog warden, you quite often find that it's an answering machine and they never get back to you very quickly!

What happens to the dogs after 7 days?? Surely that's nowhere near enough time to track down the owners or for the owners to try and find their animals?

Sally
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pboae

It's not a huge change, previously the police were responsible for strays out of hours, now the council are responsible 24/7. In practice that means no-one is responsible out of hours, because the councils don't provide 24/7 cover. The RSPCA have never been allowed to take in strays, except in extreme circumstances.

Pounds are not obliged to make any particular effort to contact owners. If they have a tag they are supposed to telephone the number. That's about it. Most will send someone round to the address if there is one, and most (but not all) will check for a microchip or tattoo. It's mainly up to the owner to find the dog themselves.

What happens after 7 days depends very much on the pound concerned. Some are very pro-active about rehoming and will keep dogs as long as they can. Other refuse to re-home at all and automatically kill them after 7 days. Other pounds have arrangements with rescues and will pass dogs on to them when their time is up or they run out of space (rescues call these last day or death row dogs and where an arrangement is in place they will usually give them priority).

The contract for pounds is by competitive tender. Pounds get paid per dog, they are obliged to give basic vet care, i.e. alleviate pain, and that's all. Anything else they do, rehoming, keeping them after 7 days, etc, is done at their own expense. They get paid the same whether the dog is rehomed or put to sleep.

I see you are in West Yorkshire, not so far from me. Did you know Yorkshire is one of the worst areas in the country for animal cruelty and abandoned animals? Some of the pounds up here work very hard to find places for dogs when their time is up, but the sheer volume of dogs make it virtually impossible for them all to be re-homed and many end up put to sleep. The dogs that are lucky enough to find a place are often taken to rescues elsewhere in the country, where they don't have such a huge stray problem (HWAR take a lot of yorkshire poundies, I have done transport runs for them from kennels here).

If you want to know what is happening in your area phone or write to your local council and ask. You should be able to find out how many stray dogs are taken in each year, how many are re-united with their owners, how many get rehomed and how many get put to sleep.

SallyUK

Hi Pboae

Thanks for your reply. I have today written to the council and asked them exactly that.

No, I didn't know that Yorkshire was one of the worst areas for animal cruelty, I find that really shocking. I've only been here for three years, so it's made me even more disillusioned with the place knowing this.

Think I'll have to find a sugar daddie or try to win the lottery and set up a shelter like those ones they have in the States!

Sal
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snowman2_2

The best thing to do is get your cat or dog microchipped. Vets, RSPCA, dog wardens and a variety of rescue centres should have scanners and along with a clear dog tag, is the best way to ensure that your lost pet comes back to you. The 7 day rule has applied for a long time and is no different than from before April 6th. For cats, there is no legal rule, although most places will stick to 7 days but cats don't have the same legal protection as dogs.

pboae

I'm a big fan of micro chipping, but it would be more effective if pounds and dog wardens were obliged to scan for a chip, rather than it being optional as it currently is. What's the point of them having scanners if they don't use them? :-(

SallyUK, there's loads of rescues/shelters here, including many in Yorkshire. Pounds serve a different function. Their primary purpose is to providing holding facilities for lost or stray dogs. Some pounds also operate as rescues or as boarding kennels, but the pound side of things is still a seperate facility (or at least it ought to be). Rescues/shelters are there to rehome unwanted animals, they are not allowed to take in strays, only animals that have been handed in by their owners. The situation with unwanted dogs being put to sleep is worse in the USA than it is here.

SallyUK

It's just so sad no matter where it happens. I hate the thought of any animal being put to sleep, needlessly.

Did you see the woman on TV the other morning who brings dogs back from India and rehomes them in this country? She was nipped by one that had been in quarantine, and which was then found to be rabid. Fortunately, she'd already had her shots and just needed a booster.

Sally

pboae

Yes, I saw the news on that. I'm in two minds about it really. I know someone who is involved in animal work in Sri Lanka through this organisation http://www.dogstarfoundation.com/ they do amazing work out there vaccinating, neutering and offering vet treatment. They work with stray and temple dogs as well as with pets.

It seems to me that that is a far more efficient use of limited funds than bringing dogs back over here, where we have more dogs than there are homes for already. There are transport and quarantine costs, and the dogs lose weeks of valuable training and socialisation time while they are quarantined.

It makes more sense to me, for the dogs to be helped in situ.

LillyJ

In Birmingham we are very lucky as all dogs go to Birmingham Dogs Home, which has space for over 100 dogs! Then they rehome them after the 7 days and never put a healthy dog down. They aren't the best rescue in the world but I admire their euthanasia policy, and to take all strays within this huge city is a massive undertaking.

SallyUK

Hi Lilly

If only a lot more places had that same policy, eh

Sally
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LillyJ

SallyUK wrote: »

Hi Lilly

If only a lot more places had that same policy, eh

Sally
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Exactly. And I am grateful as that is where I got my little baby (I say little but he is actually huge!) from, and the thought of him being put down if he had been in another city breaks my heart.

SallyUK

It breaks my heart too Lilly, I hate thinking about all those poor animals that are put to sleep needlessly.

I really wish I could do something about it.

Sally
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