Do Vets Send Found Dogs Straight To A Shelter?

[corrie]

Fair enough going easier on people for a first offence. I don't think it has to be about blame, just responsibility.

[tdierikx]

I found 2 Dalmatians running around in peak traffic here one evening... managed to coax one of them into my car and got him to the pound where his chip was scanned and his owners contacted right then and there. They were a little miffed at having to pay a fee to release him, but were also grateful that someone had taken the time and made the effort to make sure he wasn't hit by the myriad cars zooming up and down the road he was found on. They found the girl safely hiding on the oval near the road where I had managed to herd her to before I took the boy to the pound - so she wasn't in the traffic either even though I couldn't get near enough to her to get her into my car.

If any of my dogs got out, I'd be eternally grateful to anyone who got them to the pound quickly... as that would be my first place to call to find them.

T.

Edited April 12, 2014 by tdierikx

[Diva]

I don't really respond to the lost child analogy, lost children don't usually attack other children walking down the street with their family, rush aggressively at adults, or harass livestock or wildlife, and they seldom cause traffic accidents. I am waaay past the point of being tolerant of loose dogs and the 'he has never done it before' excuses.

I know anyone can have a bad situation and a dog gets out, and if I could quickly return it to the owners I would rather than drop it at the pound.

But I believe that a fine even for first offense is reasonable if a dog does enter the system, and if an owner cannot be found quickly they need to go to the pound. Alternatively, I would require a fence inspection of any property a dog got loose from before the dog could be returned. I know if mine got out, I would be so grateful someone had got them out of harms way on the road that a fine or proving I had proper fencing would be the least of my concerns.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Diva

[OSoSwift]

If my dogs get out and impounded I don't care, I know they are safe. If they get out and I get a fine I sick it up as they got out, I then try to rectify it.

Most rangers should you have a serial escape artist will go reasonable easy on you if you are making an effort to stop them escaping. But if they do get impounded they are safe and that is the most important thing.

[Rascalmyshadow]

I 100% agree with Erny, we had our 10 year old dobe x pointer jump the fence and try to find me when I moved out of home, she travelled 3 suburbs and was picked up and sent to a pound we didn't even know existed, after 3 days my dad finly found her.

She went from a bomb proof confident dog to a noise phobic nervous wreck in that time, if she had just been taken to one of the local vets we would have had her back that afternoon.

When I was working at the vet myself and the nurses would do our best to locate an owner ASAP so the pound could be avoided but the vets prefered they go straight away because they weren't making them money, pretty disgusting IMO, especially since most people I know would try the local vets first.

[VizslaMomma]

ing them money, pretty disgusting IMO, especially since most people I know would try the local vets first.

Had the reverse about 6 weeks ago.

The old boy of 14 years took himself out the open gate. (Neither humans noticed) He managed to wander off about 1/4 of a mile over a playground.

People there found him and took him straight to their Vet. The clinic checked & found him microchipped. They tried the contact phone number. It was the land line. We were already out searching so noone answered the phone.

Found the people and went to the Vet at once.

Had to laugh, the Vet said we knew someone would turn up for this lovely quiet old boy.

Said old boy heard my voice and started barking to be taken home. Vet said she did not believe how loud he barked.

People should remember to update microchip details.

[corrie]

My thoughts exactly, Ososwift.

The way I look at it is by cracking down on wandering dogs it is making people more aware that allowing their dogs to wander is not acceptable or financially viable.

I have had too many bad experiences with dogs on the road to mention but thinking of the night I helped a devastated young P plater lift a beautiful big long hair GSD off the road that she had just hit with her car and killed (not to mention the heartbreak the owners must have felt) makes a fine seem so insignificant.

[Dogsfevr]

I would personally be grateful that A a person made the effort to catch the dog & take it to a facility whether it be the pound or the vet .

Not every person is going to place a starnge dog in the car nor would i expect them.

We do but we have crates,leads & muzzles if required & dog savvy.

Most vets are simply clinics & can not keep dogs over night via council laws .

If we lost a dog we would contact the local vets but i w ouldn't expect my dogs to be taken there by a local person i would expect the they would phone the ranger & dog taken to the pound ,

I also have no issues with first time fines ,i would be grateful the dog was still alive & returned & agree to many people use the hasn't happened before excuse or the dogs escape because they have had workman & not provided a safe option for the dog .

Many people don't update details,they change phone numbers or never have the phones witched on ,many have ID tags that the details have worn off i picked some fancy written because it was pretty but no readable .

There are many lists on FB where people find dogs & yep hold them until the owners are found,they use a crappy photo & pluck a breed out of the magic hat & say i have found this .many have no clue & make it harder for others & already judge the owners & like its there god given right to be the better owner & not return it ,very scary really

[tikira]

Update- The owner had to wait all weekend to pick his puppy up from the shelter, as he could not before today. The puppy is depressed and quiet, and I hope his owner has learned a lesson, but gee, I do feel for him about not even being able to find out for certain if it was indeed his Pup all weekend.

I am pleased I was at least able to help by sharing the original ad via Facebook to over 13,000 members, not to mention these peoples own networks. At least he knew there was a little dog at the shelter who may be his, and the puppy was safe- but I know I still would have been searching all weekend- in case!

Di

[Mystiqview]

Depends on the vet. Some vets cannot hold dogs for long as they don't have large facilities to do so. It is the right thing to notify council they have a dog/cat as generally that is one place the owner will ring first rather than all the vets in surrounding areas. Small town a bit different as there may only be one or two vets. Depending on council. It can still take up to 4 hours to collect the animal from the vet to take back to the pound.

Even if the dog has a microchip, I can say from experience that at least half do not have the correct details of the current owners. And to get info out of the nsw registry is damn difficult at best "for privacy reasons". Even for pound officers with ID's and passwords.

[Erny]

Even if the dog has a microchip, I can say from experience that at least half do not have the correct details of the current owners. And to get info out of the nsw registry is damn difficult at best "for privacy reasons". Even for pound officers with ID's and passwords.

Really? Wonder what the use of it is then .... save for revenue.

[Mystiqview]

Even if the dog has a microchip, I can say from experience that at least half do not have the correct details of the current owners. And to get info out of the nsw registry is damn difficult at best "for privacy reasons". Even for pound officers with ID's and passwords.

Really? Wonder what the use of it is then .... save for revenue.

When I microchip my puppies, they have to go into my name. I sign and complete the transfer form and all the new owner has to do is sign it, add their contact details and send it off and the owner details are changed. Simple right?? Must be too hard. I sold a pup 18 months ago. I got a letter from the microchip company the other day, saying the pups microchip registration is up for renewal? WTF? Firstly when the dog was sold interstate with this document, the new owners did not complete the transfer. Secondly, microchip registration renewal fees?

When I was at the pound, you would get a dog, scan for the chip and log in and search the registries. If it was the companion animal registry, they would take your details, contact the owner and request the owner to contact you at the pound. Any other registry, they would give you the name and contact number for the chip. I could not be joe smith of the street ringing in and asking for details. We had our authorisation ID and password.

There are many NSW dogs sold interstate. The companion animal registry there has to be the most un user friendly and had the worst customer service if you don't live in nsw.

[Simply Grand]

Even if the dog has a microchip, I can say from experience that at least half do not have the correct details of the current owners. And to get info out of the nsw registry is damn difficult at best "for privacy reasons". Even for pound officers with ID's and passwords.

Really? Wonder what the use of it is then .... save for revenue.

When I microchip my puppies, they have to go into my name. I sign and complete the transfer form and all the new owner has to do is sign it, add their contact details and send it off and the owner details are changed. Simple right?? Must be too hard. I sold a pup 18 months ago. I got a letter from the microchip company the other day, saying the pups microchip registration is up for renewal? WTF? Firstly when the dog was sold interstate with this document, the new owners did not complete the transfer. Secondly, microchip registration renewal fees?

When I was at the pound, you would get a dog, scan for the chip and log in and search the registries. If it was the companion animal registry, they would take your details, contact the owner and request the owner to contact you at the pound. Any other registry, they would give you the name and contact number for the chip. I could not be joe smith of the street ringing in and asking for details. We had our authorisation ID and password.

There are many NSW dogs sold interstate. The companion animal registry there has to be the most un user friendly and had the worst customer service if you don't live in nsw.

I think things may have changed as I believe if someone (vet, shelter, assume pound) is a person registered to access to the NSW registry you can log in online and access the microchipped owner's details yourself.

And I just checked, it's actually the responsibility of the 'old' owner to send in the change of ownership details.

[melzawelza]

Even if the dog has a microchip, I can say from experience that at least half do not have the correct details of the current owners. And to get info out of the nsw registry is damn difficult at best "for privacy reasons". Even for pound officers with ID's and passwords.

Really? Wonder what the use of it is then .... save for revenue.

When I microchip my puppies, they have to go into my name. I sign and complete the transfer form and all the new owner has to do is sign it, add their contact details and send it off and the owner details are changed. Simple right?? Must be too hard. I sold a pup 18 months ago. I got a letter from the microchip company the other day, saying the pups microchip registration is up for renewal? WTF? Firstly when the dog was sold interstate with this document, the new owners did not complete the transfer. Secondly, microchip registration renewal fees?

When I was at the pound, you would get a dog, scan for the chip and log in and search the registries. If it was the companion animal registry, they would take your details, contact the owner and request the owner to contact you at the pound. Any other registry, they would give you the name and contact number for the chip. I could not be joe smith of the street ringing in and asking for details. We had our authorisation ID and password.

There are many NSW dogs sold interstate. The companion animal registry there has to be the most un user friendly and had the worst customer service if you don't live in nsw.

The NSW CAR is really really great if you are an authorised officer in NSW, much better than all the other privately run ones. But I've heard the same thing as you have said for interstate officers, it is nigh on impossible to get the info. It is because it is Government run and privacy is seen as paranount.

Needs to be one Gov- run registry Australia wide to fix that issue.

[Erny]

Needs to be one Gov- run registry Australia wide to fix that issue.

So it really needs to become a Federal Government Registry. That would make more sense to me anyway, as it is a permanent ID and should be able to cope with migration within the States.

[Diva]

Don't hold your breath, the Federal govt doesn't have a head of power, I can't really see why any Federal govt would have the slightest interest in getting involved. States can always sort out a national system themselves if they see value in it, they don't need another level of govt involved.

Edited April 18, 2014 by Diva

[disintegratus]

The vet I used to use was great, I believe they do have to send them straight to the pound, so I would take the dog there and have it scanned, its owners would then be contacted and passed on my name and phone number so they could collect the dog from my place. saves the vet time and money, saves the owner money, and saves the dog stress. if there was no microchip though, I'd have to leave it with them and it would go to the pound

ETA: every dog got its chance once. If I saw the same dog wandering again, i would leave it at the vet and it would go to the pound. I'm happy to go out of my way to help people out, but I'm not a doggy day care service.

There was one exception, the old feller who lived not far from my old old house. His neighbours had demolished and were rebuilding and the builders kept messing with the temporary fence, moving it slightly etc in the course of their work. He had a teeny little JRT x who would've fit through the eye of a needle, but the dog was old too and not quite continent, so he couldn't leave him inside when he went to dialysis. I used to tie him up on our front verandah if I picked him up, and his owner would pick him up on his way home.

Edited April 18, 2014 by disintegratus

[Lynn168]

In Brisbane I believe if you bring a found dog to a vet, they are supposed to keep them and then they hand them over to the Council pound. Some vets try to hold on to strays for a few days though.

I found a dog a few weeks ago and took her to the vet to get checked for a MC.. she had a MC but it wasn't registered to anyone. I asked to hold on to the dog instead of leaving her with them and they didn't say anything against it - a dog going to the council pound always seems like such a one way trip to me I had her for three days before the owner saw her found dog profile on the RSPCA website and contacted me.

[Katdogs]

Luckily our closest vet is the council pound so we (TD or me) will deliver. We're right on a council boundary though so sometimes I might imagine the dog has crossed the road - otherwise it's Renbury which is a long way away.

Fairford Rd are quiet but have close links to rescue and will also sometimes contact me to get a higher profile for a long-termer. They're good people.

[Everythings Shiny]

In our clinic - we have access to the database via an authorised person. If the dog has been a repeat offender - off to the pound they go. If it's a first, we contact owners - if no contact is doable - we then send to the pound as we do not have the facilities to deal with strays on top of our veterinary case load.