I Tried To Be A Good Samaritan Last Night

[kirsty79]

So, last night OH and I got back from work, after an hour commute on the train like everyone else, exhausted after a long day at work. We noticed a stray dog running around the train station car park (peak hour with approx 200 cars in it) which is also next to a busy main road. It was black with GSH in him I think, extremely thin, terrible coat condition and suspected fleas as he was scratching horrendously. Sooooo friendly, came bounding up to me, tongue lolling out and tail wagging, and promptly sat down for ear scratches. He bounded off again (wouldn’t keep still for me to hold on to) and kept approaching lots of other commuters. He would wander and follow them to their cars. To my shock, everyone ignored him. One man tried to check for a collar, but upon seeing he didn’t have one, just walked off. He followed one lady to her car, she jumped in and reversed out of her parking space almost hitting him. I had to frantically wave and shout at her to stop otherwise she would have hit him. Clearly no one else was going to do anything, so I rang my usual vets for advice. They gave me the number for the local RSPCA centre. After 15 minutes on hold I finally got through to a guy who asked if the animal was hurt, I said I wasn’t certain but I didn’t think so, so he said well we can’t do anything, we could only come and get him if he is hurt (that’s after 15 minutes on hold listening to them offer assistance for lost or found animals). I was so angry but clearly not going to get anywhere. He offered no advice whatsoever. He said he could give me a local council number but they’d be closed and the nearest one open that he had was the Gold Coast. I rang off and decided to call our local police station. The dog was a hazard – he had almost been hit by vehicles and at one stage had jumped onto the train tracks. After again “please select option blah blah blah” and sitting on hold, I got through. I was told that they are extremely short staffed, had no available cars and they wouldn’t be able to send someone out, and that actually, they were Petrie Police Station and Narangba isn’t in their jurisdiction (10 minutes drive apart). He asked if I could take the dog home, to which I explained , no we already have a max of two dogs, one of which is fear aggressive of other dogs. He then offered me the number of Moreton Bay Council animal department. I said not only did I not have a pen on me but I was almost out of credit on my mobile. He said he’d ask someone to call me. 10/15 minutes later they did and said the ranger was on his way, had been given my details and that he’d call if going to be delayed. Phew! Sigh of relief.

In the meantime, two vile teenagers turned up shouting “hey, you found our dog”. I explained the ranger was on his way – they would need to speak to him because:

a. The dog had no licence.

b. He was entire

c. He was neglected and in poor condition, with a large lump on his stomach

d. Was abandoned by them at the station (they admitted) whilst they caught a train to see friend and then came back and hour later

The kids went on to explain that a friend of theirs had found the dog two weeks ago, but decided he didn’t want to keep it anymore and so had left it with them. They had no money to feed or care for it and didn’t see overly fussed about doing so. As they stated “they ain’t paying any money for it”.

By now, almost two hours have passed of standing at the train station, in the dark, our own dogs at home alone. I decided to retrieve the rangers number and find out how much longer he thought he’d be.

I explained to him about the kids turning up, and his response was “well, I’m going to be quite a while so you may as well just let them take the dog”. It turns out the ranger wasn’t even on his way and hadn’t even been given my name and number, just told a stray dog was at the train station. I explained the condition of the dog and he said well if I come and get it he is just going to be put down anyway. I asked what about the fact that the dog isn’t licensed, he said, oh well, we’ll catch up with them eventually. I said, but the kids can’t afford to look after him, get him registered, desexed,any vet care or anything and he said well if they say the dog is theirs, there is nothing legally we can do and we should let the kids take him.

I walked away in tears.

What the hell has happened to the world? When did people become so cold and uncaring? More importantly, how did the very people who are meant to care about animals welfare and are even PAID to assist, not give a rats ass. I’m devastated and I know in my heart that dog is not going to have a happy ending......

Can anyone tell me what else I should have done?

Does anyone know if its ok for me to post the reply I received from the RSPCA?

[HugUrPup]

Not sure why it wouldn't be ok.

Just edit out names.

[kirsty79]

XXX the call centre operator you spoke to is actually a volunteer. We are forced to rely heavily on volunteers and some of them simply don’t have the training of our paid staff.

Having said that, what he said is basically correct. We have one ambulance that has to cover an area from Caboolture to Beenleigh. As you can imagine this makes dealing with emergencies in different parts of Brisbane at the same time basically impossible. We have a 1300 ANIMAL emergency number that was set up so we put the caller in touch with the nearest wildlife carer. With domestic animals and livestock we try to enlist the help of the Police, the DPI or the Council. We simply don’t have the resources to attend to every animal in the greater Brisbane area. Sometimes those other agencies go out of their way to be helpful. At other times they don’t and this is particularly true of the BCC.

No doubt XXXX could have explained the situation much better but to be honest, unless the ambulance was close by (and it wasn’t) there was nothing we could have done.

We firmly believe that it’s the people who need licensing, not the animals.

Media And Community Relations

RSPCA Queensland

[♥Baxter♥]

XXX the call centre operator you spoke to is actually a volunteer. We are forced to rely heavily on volunteers and some of them simply don’t have the training of our paid staff.

Having said that, what he said is basically correct. We have one ambulance that has to cover an area from Caboolture to Beenleigh. As you can imagine this makes dealing with emergencies in different parts of Brisbane at the same time basically impossible. We have a 1300 ANIMAL emergency number that was set up so we put the caller in touch with the nearest wildlife carer. With domestic animals and livestock we try to enlist the help of the Police, the DPI or the Council. We simply don’t have the resources to attend to every animal in the greater Brisbane area. Sometimes those other agencies go out of their way to be helpful. At other times they don’t and this is particularly true of the BCC.

No doubt XXXX could have explained the situation much better but to be honest, unless the ambulance was close by (and it wasn’t) there was nothing we could have done.

We firmly believe that it’s the people who need licensing, not the animals.

Media And Community Relations

RSPCA Queensland

Very true

[ellz]

It may well be true, but it doesn't help the situation or give the OP (or anybody else) clear guidelines as to what they should do if it happens again! Obviously, the OP did everything they said that the RSPCA suggest (council etc) and STILL got no assistance.

That's really great. Incredibly handy. And so typical.

[doggywoof]

XXX the call centre operator you spoke to is actually a volunteer. We are forced to rely heavily on volunteers and some of them simply don’t have the training of our paid staff.

Having said that, what he said is basically correct. We have one ambulance that has to cover an area from Caboolture to Beenleigh. As you can imagine this makes dealing with emergencies in different parts of Brisbane at the same time basically impossible. We have a 1300 ANIMAL emergency number that was set up so we put the caller in touch with the nearest wildlife carer. With domestic animals and livestock we try to enlist the help of the Police, the DPI or the Council. We simply don’t have the resources to attend to every animal in the greater Brisbane area. Sometimes those other agencies go out of their way to be helpful. At other times they don’t and this is particularly true of the BCC.

No doubt XXXX could have explained the situation much better but to be honest, unless the ambulance was close by (and it wasn’t) there was nothing we could have done.

We firmly believe that it’s the people who need licensing, not the animals.

Media And Community Relations

RSPCA Queensland

Good on you for doing everything you could. I often wonder what the hell I'm supposed to do with a found animal after hours, it's not a simple matter of me just taking the animal home, i have 1 fearful dog and 1 fear agressive dog. The response above gives no indication of what the OP could/should have done different... Sad sad situation.

[darlingdog]

Putting my flame suit on........ok it's on and zipped up....here goes !

It's admirable that you stayed so long and tried to contact as many organisations as you did in the hope to get something done about the situation but the fact is at the end of the day no solution was reached other than this dog is still in the hands of idiots possibly to do the same thing again or eventually get run over because in the end you walked away.

Sometimes in life if there is no one else there who can step up and take action then, IMO, you have to do it yourself. It takes a village and all that as the old saying goes. I would have taken the dog home and taken it to a shelter or the vet the next day. Kept it away from my own dogs even if it had to sleep in the laundry or the shed.

This is not in any way a personal shot at you, most people would have done nothing and you did all you thought was appropriate.

[kirsty79]

Putting my flame suit on........ok it's on and zipped up....here goes !

It's admirable that you stayed so long and tried to contact as many organisations as you did in the hope to get something done about the situation but the fact is at the end of the day no solution was reached other than this dog is still in the hands of idiots possibly to do the same thing again or eventually get run over because in the end you walked away.

Sometimes in life if there is no one else there who can step up and take action then, IMO, you have to do it yourself. It takes a village and all that as the old saying goes. I would have taken the dog home and taken it to a shelter or the vet the next day. Kept it away from my own dogs even if it had to sleep in the laundry or the shed.

This is not in any way a personal shot at you, most people would have done nothing and you did all you thought was appropriate.

I couldn't have taken it to a vet or shelter next day -it was a weekday, I'm up at 5.30am, leave for the City at 6.30am and don't return until 18.30pm. What on earth would I have done with the dog all day? I am from the UK and have no family or friends over here to assist. I'm in a brand new job - I've been in two weeks, there is no way I could have called up and said I was going to be late / faked illness, I'm on a probationary period. In addition, my two furkids would have known there was another dog there - in another room or in the yard and got distressed - Jessie has only just started coming out of her shell again since she got attcked by another dog just 4 weeks ago. Dogs are not allowed inside our rental property so only option might have been the garage - which has a loose sliding door into the kitchen which even my daft basset hound can open with his nose. Even so, we need access in and out of the garage in the evenings- its where our fridge freezer, bins and washing machine are

The choices you mention weren't options for me unfortunately.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Tricky but even though you don't have friends or family - there is a huge community here that would assist with doggy transport and care. Someone here would have taken the dog for you if you could have held it for a short time. A crate in the garage might have helped. Maybe you could collect yourself a list of contact numbers for nearby rescue organisations from Pet Rescue or here, just in case you meet that dog or one like it again.

For home security (from dogs and bad people) bit of dowling rod to stop the opening of sliding door eg you put it in the sliding track so the door can't be slid open until you take it out. I do this to stop burglars from getting in, in combination with a couple of screws in the "closed end" of the track so the door can't be lifted out while it's in the closed (and dowel rodded) position but can still be lifted out for maintenance if it is fully opened. I doubt the rental people would even notice this kind of security addition you could make.

But otherwise - you did the best you could at the time, the available options (police, RSPCA, Council) let you down. Try not to beat yourself up about it. I don't think it's worth going out and buying a crate just in case either.

[darlingdog]

Kirsty have sent you a message. Cheers.

[Sheridan]

Tricky but even though you don't have friends or family - there is a huge community here that would assist with doggy transport and care. Someone here would have taken the dog for you if you could have held it for a short time. A crate in the garage might have helped. Maybe you could collect yourself a list of contact numbers for nearby rescue organisations from Pet Rescue or here, just in case you meet that dog or one like it again.

A huge community whose helpful members aren't always online or able to assist. I can't imagine contacting a rescue and saying, 'I've found a stray dog, come and get it' and have someone turn up on the doorstep and say, 'Sure, we'll take this stray dog for you!' A nice notion but frankly unrealistic.

[tdierikx]

If there is ever a next time event like this... call the police if no-one else will come to get the dog...

One morning I had a stray (and very nicely behaved) Husky turn up on my doorstep at 4:30am... on a Saturday no less. No council rangers on call, and RSPCA phone went to a voicemail telling me to leave a message.. so I called the local cops and explained the situation, and they sent a paddy wagon around, picked up the dog and took him to the RSPCA night pens. The cops have keys to those here...

You did what you could at the time - good on you for that! And if there is a next time, at least you have a few more options to explore now...

T.

[TsarsMum]

she rang the cops they did not help either.

you did all you could and thats all anyone can do. all the people in the world can say well this and that but they are not there and you done more then most thats for sure

[Guest Ams]

The RSPCA at Fairfield is open 24/7 for stray/surrenders and anyone is able to take a dog there. The local police do not pick up lost/found dogs. They will occassionally help with an injured dog if routine business permits. The OP did the best she could in the circumstances. There are huge holes in after hours services in Qld and this is simply one example.

[♥Baxter♥]

It may well be true, but it doesn't help the situation or give the OP (or anybody else) clear guidelines as to what they should do if it happens again! Obviously, the OP did everything they said that the RSPCA suggest (council etc) and STILL got no assistance.

That's really great. Incredibly handy. And so typical.

I totally agree with you & never said otherwise - I was just on/off the PC & quickly read the reply & couldn't be bothered adding anymore at that time, I highlighted one part to which I agree the rest is deceiving really

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Tricky but even though you don't have friends or family - there is a huge community here that would assist with doggy transport and care. Someone here would have taken the dog for you if you could have held it for a short time. A crate in the garage might have helped. Maybe you could collect yourself a list of contact numbers for nearby rescue organisations from Pet Rescue or here, just in case you meet that dog or one like it again.

A huge community whose helpful members aren't always online or able to assist. I can't imagine contacting a rescue and saying, 'I've found a stray dog, come and get it' and have someone turn up on the doorstep and say, 'Sure, we'll take this stray dog for you!' A nice notion but frankly unrealistic.

That is exactly what loads of the rescues do. In this case it was unrealistic, because the OP was unable to keep the dog safely for the time it would take to find a rescue volunteer to fetch the dog. It's not likley to be instant pickup. Even the council can't do that. But a phone call to a local rescue when nobody else would come would be one more thing to help the dog worth trying.

[chellz]

Thank you for everyone's kind words. I felt awful and couldn't stop myself imaging what might happen to the dog.

I would have taken him to the vets but by the time I got off the phone to the RSPCA (which was what I thought the right road to go down) they had closed. I wish now I'd just taken him to the vets straight away. If they could have taken him and assisted, would they not have said on the phone though? Instead they gave me the RSPCA's number.

Anyway - an update. I wrote a complaint and sent it to RSPCA Qld, Moreton Bay Council Animal Dept, the Mayor, and my local Councillor . Already had reply from Councillor stating it has been passed to the Mayor who will respond. The Mayor's PA has confirmed receipt and stated he is looking into. Confirmation of receipt from Council and RSPCA.

We shall see! Will keep you posted

You did everything you could (hey maybe you should be on the council) I dont think i would of taken her to the vet to check her for a microchip cause then legally wouldnt they have to give the dog back to the original owner? The one who didnt want her in the 1st place!! i could be wrong

The poor thing, it probally was a great dog who could of be an excellent pet, given the right care!! Its a pitty you didnt know someone who could keep her for a night, fed her then maybe called a ranger in the morning or ask for advice from your vet.. I am just shocked that one person gave a crap and all the rest just walked by.. its not as if it could of been an agressive dog.. so sad

Edited October 4, 2010 by chellz

[karly101]

One thing to keep in mind is all RSPCAs I've been to have night cages that are unlocked and available to place animals in after hours. Not ideal and technically they aren't meant to provide them, but they are available for these kind of situations where you can't keep a stray animal at home till opening hours. It's a shame that no one was able to help you with him but the problem is a lack of resources.

Interesting that the public around you were apathetic, I've found public are fairly good in my work area as we get a lot of people catching and bringing us stray animals...we can't always accept them due to cage space etc but do our best, if there is a 24 hour vet clinic in your area they may also do the same.

[conztruct]

Well done - you went to great lengths to do as much as you could for this poor dog. Hindsight always makes it easier for could'ves and maybes and ifs with a lot more information on hand than what you had at the time, but you have to work with what you know and what you had at the time and your actions were very admirable.

More than anything else, I think it highlights the need for more resources. Given the massive amounts of money that councils generate from registrations etc, you think they could provide more resources for situations like these. Mostly they just don't care though and near enough or a laclustre token effort is good enough as far as they're concerned.

Not good enough!

I think the saddest thing about this event is these people left this poor dog at the station and it waited and waited for someone to come back . I don't understand how people can do something like that.

Edited October 5, 2010 by conztruct

[The Teacup Warrior]

Hi Kirsty

I'm usually just a lurker on these forums (I'm in the local pet rescue scene so I just like to visit the forums to keep up on the latest news in the dog world), but I joined up so I could shoot you a message. Sounds like we live roughly in the same area. Listen, in the event that you see the dog again (fingers crossed; sounds like those grotty teenagers are locals), I'd suggest you phone Peninsula Animal Aid. They're located in Clontarf (Redcliffe), only about 20 minutes drive from Narangba.

Unlike the RSPCA, PAA is a no-kill shelter. I know that they're currently at full capacity with their dogs unfortunately - however if you visit their website, there's an after-hours mobile you can call (the lady is called Lynne, I believe - very no-nonsense but passionate about pet rescue and a huge dog lover). I'm sure Lynne would help you and would not fob you off like the council and the RSPCA did (who IMO are fairly useless).

I understand you may not have wanted to get into an altercation with the teens by taking their dog if they were there... in a situation like that, I'd recommend bluffing and telling the teens that the council have instructed you to take the dog to the nearest shelter facility. If they tried to obstruct you, threaten to phone the police. They wouldn't want to tangle with that and would get out of your face pretty quickly. Also if memory serves, Narangba station has cameras, which is another deterrent in case they wanted to get nasty.

Morally, they have no right to be owning that dog. From a legal perspective... well, there's no logical way you could get into trouble for taking the dog in this particular situation, I'll tell you that much. You're not a council representative, so technically you're not allowed to seize dogs. However: the dog is un-registered, unmicrochipped and is wandering loose in a public place, which means it can be impounded as a stray. Given that the dog had no registration or microchip, the teens have no legal way to prove that the dog is theirs. Any person whose dog is unregistered and is found wandering is subject to a hefty fine. The scabby teens can't be bothered to spend any money on the dog anyway, so they wouldn't pay to get the dog back. The dog would be held for the required number of days at the shelter, and would then revert to being the property of the relevant shelter. After which the dog can be desexed, given the necessary vet care, microchipped and re-homed to a place where it will actually be looked after and loved.

Realistically, if you see that dog again and it has no tags or ID, there is nothing to stop you from picking it up and taking it somewhere and saying that you found it wandering - people do it all the time. You're not stealing the dog, and again - scabby teens have no proof that they own the dog. (Trying to not rant about their abhorrent lack of care for the dog and just keep this factual...)

In the event that you're in a similar situation again, hopefully this might help?