Surrendering Found Dog To Rescue Rather Than Pound?

[Pailin]

Can anyone tell me what the legalities are surrounding what to do with a found dog?

He was here overnight, but it is not a permanent option as my own dog cannot go into the backyard at all with him here, nor can my children. I have him plastered all over the local FB sites but am being inundated with people telling me to surrender him to a rescue rather than take him to the Dakabin RSPCA (which serves as our local pound) as he will only be *killed* at the RSPCA come Friday.

Is that legal?

On the one hand he seems like a lovely old dog, and I am upset that he may be put down at the RSPCA as I am not entirely convinced he will have owners looking for him given his poor condition BUT if I was looking for my missing dog that is where I would go to find her, so on the chance that he DOES have owners, the RSPCA would be the best place for him...

I always thought that legally people HAD to surrender found dogs to their local council pound??

[~Anne~]

It depends on the State.

In NSW the rescue cannot legally accept the dog and ethically should not accept the dog.

[julesluvscavs]

our local council are good, they try their best to locate owners around here, even if its AH's.

Would you be able to get him to the vets to check if he's microchipped at all? council can do that too.

Heaps of dogs arn't around here tho, but usually via facebooking, someone will usually know where the dog belongs unless its been dumped.

Sorry i can't help you with the legalities of it all, poor dog. Thanks for looking after him in the meantime as hard as it is..

Edited April 22, 2013 by Jules❤3Cavs

[tdierikx]

http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=650

I think this will give you an idea of the procedure required...

T.

[Rosetta]

If you are in Brisbane this page has some info - though not really what the "legal" obligations are - perhaps you could contact a local rescue and ask for advice? They may be able to hold him until after the 5 days.

http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/community/pets/lost-found/index.htm

[darlingdog]

Surrender the dog to the pound....they legally have to hold the dog...put your name down on the dog to adopt if the owners don't show...once you have adopted the dog then surrender him to rescue for re homing. Of course this will cost you as you will have to pay the adoption fee from the pound and also probably for treatment of kennel cough when he comes out as it's almost inevitable he will have kennel cough after being in there.

[minimax]

http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=650

I think this will give you an idea of the procedure required...

T.

Interesting link, nowhere does it say the animal must be taken to the pound, only that you have to notify the council that you found an animal, and can take it to the pound. I wonder if that's just lazy wording, or if like some other councils you are able to keep it as long as the council know where it is if the owners call/come looking for it.

Prob best to call the council and ask, either way.

[~Anne~]

http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=650

I think this will give you an idea of the procedure required...

T.

Interesting link, nowhere does it say the animal must be taken to the pound, only that you have to notify the council that you found an animal, and can take it to the pound. I wonder if that's just lazy wording, or if like some other councils you are able to keep it as long as the council know where it is if the owners call/come looking for it.

Prob best to call the council and ask, either way.

Each State is different. Maybe Queenslanders dont have to take them to the pound?

[Sheridan]

If you're unsure about taking the dog to the RSPCA is there another pound you could take it to, one that allows adoption directly from the pound?

[FalconRange]

On the one hand he seems like a lovely old dog, and I am upset that he may be put down at the RSPCA as I am not entirely convinced he will have owners looking for him given his poor condition BUT if I was looking for my missing dog that is where I would go to find her, so on the chance that he DOES have owners, the RSPCA would be the best place for him...

Please don't let physical condition influence your decision. Dogs can lose physical condition very quickly. He may have been on the run for a while, or just a short time but have become very stressed. They can also pick up parasites whilst on the run which can deteriorate condition quickly as well.

Take him to a vet for a microchip scan if you can. Otherwise, I would notify local vets, councils, shelters, the local paper's found classifieds and online lost and found sites that you have found him, and then take him to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA/AWL/council pound is the first place owners go looking for lost pets, and if they are looking for him, it's the best place for him to be. Tracking a dog through websites and/or rescue groups is much more difficult, and has failed in some cases altogether when a bad judgement call is made.

If you are concerned that he won't be reclaimed, as another poster said, I believe you can put your name down to adopt after the reclamation period is up, and you can organise for a rescue to take him on.

Edit - I used the wrong bracket to bold...

Edited April 22, 2013 by FalconRange

[Linda K]

ITA with above - who are you to judge his living conditions and treatment based on what he was like when he was found, you have no idea how long he has been missing or how far he her also travelled. Put yourself in the reverse shoes - would you like one of your dogs to go missing, and someone find him, decide that since he had lost condition that this meant you were a bad owner, and just keep him, denying you the chance to ever be reunited again? There is a law regarding what to do with found animals for a reason, so that owner is given a chance to reclaim the missing animal. To keep him and rehome him without following that process is theft, IMO., pure and simple

[mita]

I know of a dog rescue that operates in the area of Dakabin Pound (run by RSPCA). From one case, I know that the RSPCA at Dakabin wisely turned over to them a small dog that was not coping with the shelter situation. So there seems to be some working relationship... or was.

Maybe that rescue would be able to advise you on laws about finding lost dogs in the area. Phone no is on their entry here:

http://www.petrescue.com.au/groups/10025

We're close to the borders with Moreton Bay Council. I was at a meeting inside their boundaries recently.... & found a lovely well-cared for Border Collie playing alone in the park nearby. I couldn't drive away & leave her (just over the hill was a 4 lane busy road).

She had a phone no on her collar ... but I didn't have my mobile. I rang the Council from the meeting venue... & the officer who answered was very helpful & understanding. She tried the phone no. No answer. Tried again & again.

Speaking only for herself, she asked me could I take the dog home, while still trying to get the owner to answer. As I was not going straight home.... couldn't do that. So she alerted the dog control people. Went back to the park.... & there was the owner playing with the BC And talking on his mobile!!!

Told him what'd happened & asked him to phone the Council and tell them the dog was now safe. It was his habit it seemed to let his dog go ahead of him when going to the park.... & he'd got distracted by a phone call. So she was in the park alone for some time.

Edited April 22, 2013 by mita

[*kirty*]

A huge number of people don't use facebook. Get him scanned for a chip, if no chip take him to the pound.

[Dame Aussie]

On the one hand he seems like a lovely old dog, and I am upset that he may be put down at the RSPCA as I am not entirely convinced he will have owners looking for him given his poor condition BUT if I was looking for my missing dog that is where I would go to find her, so on the chance that he DOES have owners, the RSPCA would be the best place for him...

Please don't let physical condition influence your decision. Dogs can lose physical condition very quickly. He may have been on the run for a while, or just a short time but have become very stressed. They can also pick up parasites whilst on the run which can deteriorate condition quickly as well.

Take him to a vet for a microchip scan if you can. Otherwise, I would notify local vets, councils, shelters, the local paper's found classifieds and online lost and found sites that you have found him, and then take him to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA/AWL/council pound is the first place owners go looking for lost pets, and if they are looking for him, it's the best place for him to be. Tracking a dog through websites and/or rescue groups is much more difficult, and has failed in some cases altogether when a bad judgement call is made.

If you are concerned that he won't be reclaimed, as another poster said, I believe you can put your name down to adopt after the reclamation period is up, and you can organise for a rescue to take him on.

Edit - I used the wrong bracket to bold...

Agree with this. You don't know anything about the dog so can't assume things due to condition etc. he needs to go to the pound so he can be found by his owners and you can put your name on him if you're worried.

[LisaCC]

You can could always get him scanned at the vet first, if he has a chip they could be contacted while he is still with you.

If no microchip, then to the pound. We found an old golden with no chip, took him to the RSPCA and were able to put our name down so that if the owners were not found after the amount of days we were the first to be contacted so that we could adopt him (I didn't think many people would want to adopt a dog that looked over 12yrs old). Fortunately his owners found him after a few days.

[RiverStar-Aura]

When I found 'Peanut' wandering around it was late at night so I kept him with me. In the morning I took him to the vet who scanned him and found a chip. Turns out the owners are clients at the clinic, so they kept him until his owners showed up.

Definitely take him to be scanned for a chip and if he is, you could do a search on CAR to see if he's listed on that.

[Pailin]

On the one hand he seems like a lovely old dog, and I am upset that he may be put down at the RSPCA as I am not entirely convinced he will have owners looking for him given his poor condition BUT if I was looking for my missing dog that is where I would go to find her, so on the chance that he DOES have owners, the RSPCA would be the best place for him...

Please don't let physical condition influence your decision. Dogs can lose physical condition very quickly. He may have been on the run for a while, or just a short time but have become very stressed. They can also pick up parasites whilst on the run which can deteriorate condition quickly as well.

Take him to a vet for a microchip scan if you can. Otherwise, I would notify local vets, councils, shelters, the local paper's found classifieds and online lost and found sites that you have found him, and then take him to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA/AWL/council pound is the first place owners go looking for lost pets, and if they are looking for him, it's the best place for him to be. Tracking a dog through websites and/or rescue groups is much more difficult, and has failed in some cases altogether when a bad judgement call is made.

If you are concerned that he won't be reclaimed, as another poster said, I believe you can put your name down to adopt after the reclamation period is up, and you can organise for a rescue to take him on.

Edit - I used the wrong bracket to bold...

Thank you, I am very aware that condition is not a factor to be judged by. My mother's elderly staffy who has cancer has difficulty keeping condition on and has a patchy coat as a result. She looks poorly looked after but is doted on, so I do know that it happens.

There is no way I could afford to adopt him from the RSPCA once he has done his time, it is simply not feasible unfortunately.

- I have put a poster at the local shop, put him on local FB sites, listed him with the vet's in the area and had him picked up this afternoon by the council ranger.

I was not able to have him scanned myself as I had car issues this morning.

ITA with above - who are you to judge his living conditions and treatment based on what he was like when he was found, you have no idea how long he has been missing or how far he her also travelled. Put yourself in the reverse shoes - would you like one of your dogs to go missing, and someone find him, decide that since he had lost condition that this meant you were a bad owner, and just keep him, denying you the chance to ever be reunited again? There is a law regarding what to do with found animals for a reason, so that owner is given a chance to reclaim the missing animal. To keep him and rehome him without following that process is theft, IMO., pure and simple

Please don't jump to assumptions. I didn't judge his living conditions and treatment at all I merely said that I had DOUBT, due to his condition, that there *may* not be owners looking for him. I didn't say that they wouldn't, I said nothing about keeping the dog or that it was my intention to not reunite him with his owners if he does indeed have them. I never said a single negative thing about the possible owners and I really do not know what post you read but it is clear you did not read mine properly before responding.

I was asking what the law was BECAUSE I had people telling me NOT to surrender him to the RSPCA and emotionally blackmailing me on FB websites because I had stated that the dog would be surrendered to the RSPCA today. I had one lady claiming to be from a rescue organisation asking me to give the dog to them, if I did not find his owners, instead of impounding him and so I asked a question on here asking what the legalities were because that didn't seem like the proper process to me.

I know of a dog rescue that operates in the area of Dakabin Pound (run by RSPCA). From one case, I know that the RSPCA at Dakabin wisely turned over to them a small dog that was not coping with the shelter situation. So there seems to be some working relationship... or was.

Maybe that rescue would be able to advise you on laws about finding lost dogs in the area. Phone no is on their entry here:

http://www.petrescue.com.au/groups/10025

We're close to the borders with Moreton Bay Council. I was at a meeting inside their boundaries recently.... & found a lovely well-cared for Border Collie playing alone in the park nearby. I couldn't drive away & leave her (just over the hill was a 4 lane busy road).

She had a phone no on her collar ... but I didn't have my mobile. I rang the Council from the meeting venue... & the officer who answered was very helpful & understanding. She tried the phone no. No answer. Tried again & again.

Speaking only for herself, she asked me could I take the dog home, while still trying to get the owner to answer. As I was not going straight home.... couldn't do that. So she alerted the dog control people. Went back to the park.... & there was the owner playing with the BC And talking on his mobile!!!

Told him what'd happened & asked him to phone the Council and tell them the dog was now safe. It was his habit it seemed to let his dog go ahead of him when going to the park.... & he'd got distracted by a phone call. So she was in the park alone for some time.

Thank you Mita. Hopefully he has a chance, whether that be finding his family or finding a new one.

[Remarkabull]

I see this a lot on the FB sites.

I always tell people to take the dog to the pound as I know I would be searching frantically if it were my lost dog and the pound and vets are the first places I would be looking. I would be furious if someone kept my dog for who knows how long because they felt bad about it going to the pound.

There are always people offering to 'look after' the dog until owner is found and I have to wonder how hard they would be searching for the owner. (Not saying that's what you are doing, but that it happens regularly)

[Kajirin]

I shush up on things like this now, got raked over the coals on FB for saying that a found dog should've been taken to the council at least [pretty much got called a heartless b$@#*]. Thankfully the dog's owner got found after a few days from a letterbox drop...but meh I was always taught contact the council first, they send dogs to AWL after 72 hours. But it's true not everyone is into social media and may be using old ways of finding their lost pet. My first port of call would be local council, then local vets [last thing on my mind would be social media].

[Loving my Oldies]

Take the dog to the nearest vet for scanning and, if the vet clinic doesn't do it, ring a ranger or take the dog to the pound.

Apart from trawling all the streets in your neighbourhood, the first place you'd go if your dog was lost was to the pound.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Danny's Darling