What to do if you find a dog.

[Emm]

If you find a dog -

The law says you must:-
Return it to its owners if you know who they are OR
Contact a Dog Warden in the area the dog was found OR
Take it to a Police Station.

You must not give the dog to a rescue society – as this is legally theft, and both you and the rescue society could be charged.

If you want to keep the dog, rather than have it put in the local pound, ask the dog warden for written notification entitling you to do so. If you just keep the dog, – again, you could be charged with theft.

Some people have difficulty getting the Police to accept strays when the Dog Wardens are off duty.
They do have to do this (under the Environmental Protection Act, Control of stray dogs order 1932).


If you see a dog enclosed in a car during hot weather, and the animal is suffering, then you should call the Police – not the RSPCA.
The Police have the authority to break into a car – whereas the RSPCA do not.

[Monsy]

I have called the Police on a few occasions, when I have seen a dog in distress locked in a car.

It's the same as being in an oven when the sun is shining through the windows. People should leave their dogs at home when they come to the seaside. It's not much of a day out for the dog is it?

[Suzi Wong]

What do you do when your next door neighbours get a dog from a rescue center, and the bugger off to work leaving it on its own for nine hours a day?

[Emm]

If you know the Rescue Centre, Suzi - contact them.
No good getting in touch with the RSPCA - been there, done that. They just say that unless the dog is being starved or physically ill treated, there is nothing they will do.
It is besides the point, that it is psychologically bad for a dog to be fastened up for that length of time alone.

Where animal welfare is concerned, the law is still in the dark ages.

[Monsy]

I agree with Emm, the RSPCA are bliddy useless.

I phoned them about a kitten that was running about. They told me they were not coming for it, and suggested I found out who it belonged to! They said I had to leave it out so the owner could see it. I said if the owner was concerned it would not have been out in the first place, and the RSPCA would be one of the first places they would look if they wanted it back.

I had five cats of my own at the time, but made up my mind I would not leave it out if it was still there by the evening. I went to work and my daughter rushed round in great distress to tell me that it had just been run over!

Didn't I give them laldy! I registered a formal complaint, but heard nothing.

[Emm]

Well, you put into words what I think, Monsy.
That story is so sad, and could have been avoided.

I could write a book about that lot.