Rescued Am.staff

[Prada09]

Hello everyone.

I am new to the forum as we just adopted our dog about a week ago from a shelter. He is a beautiful, lovely 10 month old American Staffordshire boy. However I am a bit concerned as I was hearing/reading some pretty horid stories about how these breeds are treated by some rangers and councils. We haven't registered him yet with the council and we want to be well-prepared for this. He was de-sexed (on the certificate is written that he is "Staffordshire Bull Terrier") and he was also microchipped when found (I think the ex owners hung up the phone when contacted about the dog). However on the vaccination certificate is written "Am. Staffy". The people from the shelter assured us that he is really an Am. Staf., they even said he is registered with the association (but we did not get any papers) so should be no problems with the registration. I am concerned that on the Am.Staff association website I was reading that an Am Staff with no papers is really not an Am.Staff. He is a wonderful, gentle dog, I am not worried about what breed he strictly is but I am a bit concerned that the rangers might say he is a restricted breed....I think I can't really find out if he is registered with the association if I cannot contact the previous owners (which seems to not be an option). Any advice on how I can find out more about my dog and also about all measures I need to take to make sure we will have no problems with the council are most welcome. In fact any advised at all will be great!

I am not really worried that there will be any other problems with him/caused by him as he really seems like a sweet natured dog and we will start obedience classes asap.

Thanks!

PS I am attaching a photo of our boy

[dogdude]

You are right to be worried.

You need to find the original owners and, and hope he is actually registered with your state canine council. Association papers mean nothing as far as I am aware.

The restrictions on your dog vary from state to state.

Without rego papers from DogsVictoria or DogsNSW etc your dog can be branded a pitbull.

Vet or microchip breed will not help you in court if you end up there trying to prove his breed.

[db_sampson]

if you have any paperwork from the shelter stating that he is an amstaff, then keep that, if hes been released once as an amstaff theres no good reason that they can say he is a pitbull. i wouldnt stress to much, but always be aware and careful..

[WreckitWhippet]

if you have any paperwork from the shelter stating that he is an amstaff, then keep that, if hes been released once as an amstaff theres no good reason that they can say he is a pitbull. i wouldnt stress to much, but always be aware and careful..

You need to know the state the dog resides in first.

If it's NSW, any ranger from any shire can issue an NOI if they suspect they dog to be of a restricted breed, regardless of what a pound has chipped it as. Rangers, pound staff and vets are not classed as "breed assessors".

[Prada09]

thank you for all the replies! We are in Sydney, so I will have to check DogsNSW. I will contact them, maybe there is a way to find out if he is registered with them using his microchip number....

[WreckitWhippet]

If he was chipped by the breeder and his chip was recorded on his papers at some stage, be it at the time of registering the litter or as a later addition , you should be able to find out if he is registered.

If the dog is not registered and he comes to the attention a ranger, you may well be issued with a "notice of intent" to declare him to be of a restricted breed or cross.

If you cannot find ANKC registration details, you do have the option of requesting an NOI from your council and have him breed assesed at your expense. If you go down that path, you need to be aware that you will have to adide by the requirements of the companion animals act, until your dog has been breed assessed and temperament tested if required.

Be aware that it's not just your local council that can seek to have the dog declared to be of a restricted breed or cross, it can be done by any council or ranger in NSW.

ETA: In order to comply with the CAA, you must register the dog immediately, as he is over 6 months of age. Take your copy of the chip papers and desexing cert to your local council ( you don;t need to take the dog ) and register him.

If a ranger decides to be nasty and your dog is not registered, you open yourself up to fines and an even harder time council.

Council cannot do anything with regards to breed, without issuing a notice of intent to declare, so registering with the council is not going to put you in a bad position, it will mean you are a responsible pet owner, who is doing the right thing.

Edited March 12, 2009 by PPS