Adopted A Dog What Would You Do?

[Cosmolo]

Thats just not correct. Does that mean that prior to a breeder chipping a litter of pups, they are not 'owned'- i don't think so.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

this is totally wrong ...

[Moselle]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

I would not agree that an unmicrochipped dog belongs to noone. Ideally every dog should be microchipped BUT if a dog is not microchipped but is a very much loved member of a family and one day through someone leaving the gates open, the dog wanders out and is lost and someone collects the dog....the dog does not belong to them UNLESS they go all out to find out who its previous owners are. If they do make all attempts to search for the dog's former owners and nothing transpires then they are entitled to keep the dog, I wouldn't be insistant that they hand the dog to the pound in that case. Heard one too many horror stories of things gone wrong with pounds.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Moselle

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

I would not agree that an unmicrochipped dog belongs to noone. Ideally every dog should be microchipped BUT if a dog is not microchipped but is a very much loved member of a family and one day through someone leaving the gates open, the dog wanders out and is lost and someone collects the dog....the dog does not belong to them UNLESS they go all out to find out who its previous owners are. If they do make all attempts to search for the dog's former owners and nothing transpires then they are entitlted to keep the dog, I wouldn't be insistant that they hand the dog to the pound in that case. Heard one too many horror stories of things gone wrong with pounds.

and of they don't look in the correct places? if they don't try hard enough?

there is a legal process in place for managing abandoned and lost dogs and i suggest people stop advising others to break the law as you have no idea of the consequences of your advice

[espinay2]

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council.

Not true. Saying that it is fine to take and keep an unchipped dog is a bit like saying it is fine to steal a car because it is not registered or has no number plates!

A microchip is a means of identification. It can make proof of ownership easier, but even in cases where a dog is stolen and then chipped by the person who steals it, it does not make them the legal owner (though it does make the case messier). The dog is still stolen and if the owner shows the dog is theirs (which they can do in all sorts of ways including photos, DNA, witness statements, other documents etc) then the person who took the dog (or the person who recieved the dog or pup from the person who took the dog) has no leg to stand on.

[raz]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

this is totally wrong ...

Yep. And incredibly stupid advice to give on a public forum. That is NOT his dog!

[Miss B]

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone

What a load of bollocks...

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

so i am wondering what the consequences are if someone takes up bad legal advice given with such authority on a forum.

i wonder if it is possible to sue when they are arrested for theft?

hmm maybe better to be stick to the facts rather than make up stuff you aren't sure of

[espinay2]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

I would not agree that an unmicrochipped dog belongs to noone. Ideally every dog should be microchipped BUT if a dog is not microchipped but is a very much loved member of a family and one day through someone leaving the gates open, the dog wanders out and is lost and someone collects the dog....the dog does not belong to them UNLESS they go all out to find out who its previous owners are. If they do make all attempts to search for the dog's former owners and nothing transpires then they are entitlted to keep the dog, I wouldn't be insistant that they hand the dog to the pound in that case. Heard one too many horror stories of things gone wrong with pounds.

and of they don't look in the correct places? if they don't try hard enough?

there is a legal process in place for managing abandoned and lost dogs and i suggest people stop advising others to break the law as you have no idea of the consequences of your advice

Have to agree with JB on this one. You don't just 'find' something on the side of the road, take it home 'try' to find an owner then decide to keep it. You hand it in to the proper authorities or by law you are at the very least recieving stolen property. IF the rightful owner is then not found, often it can then be returned to you. Making all attempts to find the owner includes putting them into the 'system' to allow the legal process to take place. I find it irresponsible that people are recommending on a public forum that the law be broken.

[Red Fox]

Slightly OT but:

Without going into what is right, what is wrong, what is legal and what is not, how often does the law actually follow up on things like this?

People "find" dogs every day, many keep them. If the dog is not chipped then how does the real owner prove that the "found" (or stolen) dog is in fact their dog? And even if the dog is chipped or the owner has some other kind of "proof" (ie, papers, ear tattoo, photos, etc) will the police take it seriously and bother to follow it through?

[Steve]

thanks for helping the dog out siks3, i hope whatever you decided goes well for you and your dogs

if the dog has no microchip it is not legally owned by anyone, and you wouldnt be breaking the law. you do not legally have to hand it into a shelter or over to your council. As long as you try to notify its 'owners' of its whereabouts then you are also not breaking a 'moral' law.

If the dog has no chip its not legally owned by anyone???? Wrong.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

not sure SK but if i lost my dog i know where i would look for it and one place i wouldn't look is in peoples back yards.

i would be concerned that the original owners get "dumpers regret" and report the OP for stealing the dog which technically they are doing.

i also think we have a responsibility to give as accurate information as possible to people who are asking for advice.

[espinay2]

Slightly OT but:

Without going into what is right, what is wrong, what is legal and what is not, how often does the law actually follow up on things like this?

People "find" dogs every day, many keep them. If the dog is not chipped then how does the real owner prove that the "found" (or stolen) dog is in fact their dog? And even if the dog is chipped or the owner has some other kind of "proof" (ie, papers, ear tattoo, photos, etc) will the police take it seriously and bother to follow it through?

It is a matter of theft and if the owner is serious about following the matter up, it will get followed up. If the owner finds out where the dog is, they have a legal right to follow it up as either a criminal matter (theft etc) or as a civil matter (issues relating to money).

It may not happen every time in this situation but it legally can and does happen. Just because someone is not always caught or prosecuted for a crime does not make it ok to commit it.

[Moselle]

Is there a legal process in place? Is one obliged to hand a dog in to the pound? Or are you just assuming there is.....???

Sicks3, given that you do know who the dog originally belonged to, why not approach the former owner and get them to sign the dog over to you so therefore the dog would then be legally yours, no ifs or buts and no need to hand the dog to the pound! You cannot rely on human nature and you just never know if the former owners are going to change face in the future so do your bit and you won't have anything to worry about.

As for the pound or shelter doing the right thing? That is NOT always the case and I won't go any further right now....

Edited December 4, 2010 by Moselle

[Fleuri]

Slightly OT but:

Without going into what is right, what is wrong, what is legal and what is not, how often does the law actually follow up on things like this?

People "find" dogs every day, many keep them. If the dog is not chipped then how does the real owner prove that the "found" (or stolen) dog is in fact their dog? And even if the dog is chipped or the owner has some other kind of "proof" (ie, papers, ear tattoo, photos, etc) will the police take it seriously and bother to follow it through?

My dog that is missing/stolen was chipped and - Once i called my local police to enquire what I could do to get my dog back if I knew say.... a neighbour had it. He said that I had to be absolutley sure it was mine (able to identify scar or tatoo, something), then I can call them to come by with me to check it out.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

Is there a legal process in place? Is one obliged to hand a dog in to the pound? Or are you just assuming there is.....

as has been pointed out several times in this thread, there is a legal process that must be followed otherwise the law is being broken.

dogs are chattels/goods so theft of goods/chattels is a crime

additionally, there is a process for the management of lost and abandoned dogs. in every council area.

[raz]

I find it irresponsible that people are recommending on a public forum that the law be broken.

Yep! Absolutely disgraceful.

[Steve]

Is there a legal process in place? Is one obliged to hand a dog in to the pound? Or are you just assuming there is.....???

Sicks3, given that you do know who the dog originally belonged to, why not approach the former owner and get them to sign the dog over to you so therefore the dog would then be legally yours, no ifs or buts and no need to hand the dog to the pound! You cannot rely on human nature and you just never know if the former owners are going to change face in the future so do your bit and you won't have anything to worry about.

As for the pound or shelter doing the right thing? That is NOT always the case and I won't go any further right now....

It not up to what is always the right or wrong thing - you cant just decide you are going to keep a dog without making sure the owner is the owner and has signed over ownership. The pound process is in place to prevent people making assumptions about whether the dog is homeless or abandoned or not.

thats FULL STOP. Its against the law and no matter what your personal views are you can not advise someone on a public forum to break the law.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Steve

[Moselle]

Is there a legal process in place? Is one obliged to hand a dog in to the pound? Or are you just assuming there is.....???

Sicks3, given that you do know who the dog originally belonged to, why not approach the former owner and get them to sign the dog over to you so therefore the dog would then be legally yours, no ifs or buts and no need to hand the dog to the pound! You cannot rely on human nature and you just never know if the former owners are going to change face in the future so do your bit and you won't have anything to worry about.

As for the pound or shelter doing the right thing? That is NOT always the case and I won't go any further right now....

It not up to what is always the right or wrong thing - you cant just decide you are going to keep a dog without making sure the owner is the owner and has signed over ownership. The pound process is in place to prevent people making assumptions about whether the dog is homeless or abandoned or not.

thats FULL STOP. Its against the law and no matter what your personal views are you can not advise someone on a public forum to break the law.

That is what I was trying to clarify, Steve. I wasn't sure if there was a law stipulating that upon finding a dog, one has to hand it in to the pound. If there is such a law then I guess it is a case of doing what the law requires when one finds a dog and has no idea who it belongs to but in Sicks3's case, he/she knows who the dog belonged to therefore I can't imagine any laws being broken if he/she approaches the former owner and gets her to sign the dog over. Handing the dog to the pound in this case is totally unecessary and there is no such law in place that forces someone wanting to rehome a dog having to hand it over to the pound, one can rehome one's dog to whomever one wishes.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Moselle

[Missymoo]

call me cynical (sp) but i dont know why the OP even asked for "advice" they will not take it...sounds like his old neighbours or whomever used to own said dog used to breed for profit and OP wants to to the same...

-from an unhealthy and timid bitch

-owning a dog aggressive dog

-left in a 'yard'

-a extra small breed cross with an unknown sire...

Sorry this spells kaos, but good luck with it all, you know it will prbably all go smoothly and everything will work out perfect...

Real breeders never have good luck...