What would you do? (Found a dog)

[Scrappi&Monty]

Hi everyone, 

thought I would ask what others would do in this situation. 

Yesterday a few friends and I were waiting outside of school, when a staffy ran out of the school driveway (a teacher told some boys to "get him out") and ran across the busy road and over to where we were. We called him over to try and keep him off the road as he was pretty excited and trying to sniff everything and dart around. He was very friendly and sat on command but didn't have a collar and looked exhausted and a bit worse for wear. The boys gave him their water and I gave him a little piece of crust to keep him from running off again. We didn't really know what to do as we didn't have a car and he wasn't wearing a collar, nor was there anything we could use as a makeshift leash. So we had to get our friends' mum to pick us up and put him in the boot with the A/C blasting, he was quite dehydrated & hot and sounded like a pug he was panting and wheezing so much. One of the ladies at the Office said she'd seen him running about with another dog near her house this morning about 2.5km away, so unsure what happened to the other dog, she doesn't think they are well looked after though.  This staffy had also turned up at the school about a year ago they think (could've been any other brown staffy) We couldn't take him to the local vets because I have worked there and I know they don't have the capacity to take in strays, they would scan for a chip and probably get us to hang on to him until owner could pick him up or they would take him to the RSPCA anyway. We definitely couldn't take him home until owner could pick him up as we all have 2 dogs, and of course we don't know how he would react. So we had to take him to the RSPCA and he was impounded  Hope all goes well!! I am keeping an eye out in case he pops up for adoption, but hopefully the owners are responsible and it was an accident and can take him back. We gave all our contact details and I think they said they will call if they find out anything worth telling us. He was a tan/red and black boofa of a staffy, looked like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier rather than an Amstaff, was shorter legged but he was pretty hefty (I'd say at least 20kg, was harder to pick up than my taller staffy mix) had big hips & shoulders, and quite an exaggerated staffy head...! But I searched it to check, and pure staffies are supposed to be 11-17kg and he was much heavier but not too big or fat at the same time. I'm thinking he was probably from a BYB... Was probably quite young, had shiny pearly whites! He was intact too so wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for a 'girlfriend'.

Sorry that was so long! oops. Do you think we did the right thing? 

Edited February 10, 2017 by Scrappi&Monty

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

most recent dog I saw taking itself for a walk...

 

I tried to catch it - and it slipped it's slip collar (why do people leave their dogs at home wearing those things - ugh), but now I had a collar with a phone number - so I rang the number, had a chat with the owner who was at Gawler (like Newcastle is to South Sydney)... oh dear. 

 

Owner said she'd try to get neighbour to catch the dog.   But when I went back in the front yard of house to put the collar on the verandah - the dog came in with us (me and my dog) so I let him into his back yard... and sent the owner an sms.  And made sure all the gates were shut. 

 

Definitely a houdini dog.  Doesn't help that neighbour leaves gates open when they bring the bins in.

I've been stuck quite a few times on the beach when a dog with no owner has shown up but most times somebody has known the dog and been able to return it.  Last such dog belonged to Natasha Spot the Destroyer (Scuse name).  Friendly (I had food) wire haired GSP.

 

I do carry spare lead in my dog walking bag, and in my car... but usually don't get opportunity to use those.   Ie once a dog is taking itself for an off lead romp, definitely not keen to go back on.

 

Otherwise I would take dog to nearest vet for microchip check.  Semaphore vet seems to get many of these and works with council to find the owners.  Most vets have a system for dealing with strays. 

 

Council is pretty good at reuniting dogs with owners.  Especially if dog has a microchip.  But a collar with a phone number is very helpful too.

 

[rubiton]

A few weeks back came across a dog running like someone had left hte gate open.  Had a big collar on him that would have fit my dogs but theyd cut the excess off (jack russell type).  Anyway another dog walker took him with him (I didnt want him to follow me out on a walk and only option was to head home but we have an older dog and puppy so hard at this time to wrangle a stray so was happy the other bloke had him follow him home).  No tags.

Anyway other dog walker took him home then took him to local vet - no microchip.  So rang council adn turns out he'd clearly crossed a busy road from a neighbouring suburb and must have been heading back that way.  Ranger knew who the dog was owned by a couple of 20 something girls who were like 'oh he got out again' and ranger sent them to the blokes place to collect said something of oh might have to fine them next time.    Not their first time and seems they hadnt even bother to tag or microchip nor try and fin dwhere he got out (oh he was there and then he'd gone).  Nice dog shame about the owners - why would you not put tags at least on the collar let alone microchip.  Well at least I know to ring the council if we come across him again....

[Guest crazydoglady99]

I find random/lost/escaped dogs all the time!

 

If they have a collar/tags on I phone the owners. If not I always take them to the pound - because a) it's almost always outside of business hours, b) I feel like it's the safest place for them, c) the owners are more likely to find them. Our pound is pretty amazing and will try to find the owners.

 

Just earlier this week I was walking my dogs, when suddenly a male rotti went from being in his backyard, to in front of me! (Minus of bunch of his fence pailings).

I popped him on my lead (he had no collar on) knocked on his owners door, and the neighbours doors. No answer. 

Then it bucketted down rain on us as I proceeded to walk home. I towelled the dogs dry, got myself clean and dry, and on my way to take him to the pound drove to his house - and his frantic owners were home. Thank goodness!!

 

I think you did the right thing.

If my dog were lost, I would much prefer to be able to find them in the pound/RSPCA than them be in someone's backyard.

[Animal House]

 

 

I think you did great, most vets will scan the dog for a microchip and if no chip will deal with the pound.

 

If I'd lost a dog, the pound is the first place I'd ring, plus local vets, then probably look on Facebook as well.

 

Can you do a post on the local FB buy, swap and sell, or the (local) FB lost dogs page as well Scrappi & Monti?

[Scrappi&Monty]

19 hours ago, rubiton said:

A few weeks back came across a dog running like someone had left hte gate open.  Had a big collar on him that would have fit my dogs but theyd cut the excess off (jack russell type).  Anyway another dog walker took him with him (I didnt want him to follow me out on a walk and only option was to head home but we have an older dog and puppy so hard at this time to wrangle a stray so was happy the other bloke had him follow him home).  No tags.

Anyway other dog walker took him home then took him to local vet - no microchip.  So rang council adn turns out he'd clearly crossed a busy road from a neighbouring suburb and must have been heading back that way.  Ranger knew who the dog was owned by a couple of 20 something girls who were like 'oh he got out again' and ranger sent them to the blokes place to collect said something of oh might have to fine them next time.    Not their first time and seems they hadnt even bother to tag or microchip nor try and fin dwhere he got out (oh he was there and then he'd gone).  Nice dog shame about the owners - why would you not put tags at least on the collar let alone microchip.  Well at least I know to ring the council if we come across him again....

Oh that's lovely that the other person took him to scan for a chip. So sad that even though it's compulsory some people don't do it, I know some people can't afford it, but they offer free microchip days, and the "breeder" should've done it before selling. And realistically it might not be a good idea to have a dog if you can't pay for its rego & chip  

Especially if he's an escape artist!

That's a bit slack on the ranger's behalf of not fining or enforcing the law... or at least telling them to get it done or put a tag on!  

[Scrappi&Monty]

4 hours ago, Cazablanca said:

 

 

I think you did great, most vets will scan the dog for a microchip and if no chip will deal with the pound.

 

If I'd lost a dog, the pound is the first place I'd ring, plus local vets, then probably look on Facebook as well.

 

Can you do a post on the local FB buy, swap and sell, or the (local) FB lost dogs page as well Scrappi & Monti?

Our friend put his photo on the local lost dogs FB. 

We don't have a pound as such near us, only an RSPCA. We were going to ring the ranger but couldn't find a ph number. I might go check this afternoon and see if they found the owners. 

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

there was a puppy playing chicken with the traffic on Trimmer Parade near Tapleys Hill road this morning...

 

Chased it back home - it had made a puppy sized hole in the fence.   Me and another motorist banged on the door (7am hello?) until Mum surfaced.  Helped her block up the escape hole.

 

That family is a pet death waiting to happen, they live in a semi derelict house with insecure fencing everywhere... on a busy road.

 

Sigh.  Don't think there is anything I can do about that except maybe - drop a note about "housing improvement board" into the letter box.  I could report the house to HIB anyway but there is a risk they get evicted so the landlord can do "repairs"... and I don't want to do that to them.

[Scrappi&Monty]

Went to check today and he was taken home that afternoon.  The little fella was microchipped, but an escape artist.

When we walked into the stray/lost dog office there was a couple there who had lost their dog, they said: 

Lady: "oh he gets out a lot, but he usually comes home"

Rspca: "Does he have a collar and ID tag on?"

lady: "no. Oh! And he isn't microchipped either"

rspca: "oh... is he desexed?"

Man: "nope"

The RSPCA lady had a look of "okay, well then... umm" on her face haha. 

There was a sign next to them that said something about microchipping is compulsory and failure to microchip results in a hefty fine (I think it was $200) oops

[Papillon Kisses]

So irresponsible! Good to hear the dog you found is back home though.

 

I take dogs to the closest open vet to be scanned. When people lose their pets they call vets and shelters/pounds, starting with those closest to them. I helped a non-microchipped, non-collar-and-tag-wearing dog get back to his family that way. Oh boy were they irresponsible too. They thought a hedge !! would contain a toy poodle (or any dog) AND he had run away before! The poor thing had been running around in frantic circles on a busy road all day before I found him.

[Scrappi&Monty]

5 hours ago, Papillon Kisses said:

So irresponsible! Good to hear the dog you found is back home though.

 

I take dogs to the closest open vet to be scanned. When people lose their pets they call vets and shelters/pounds, starting with those closest to them. I helped a non-microchipped, non-collar-and-tag-wearing dog get back to his family that way. Oh boy were they irresponsible too. They thought a hedge !! would contain a toy poodle (or any dog) AND he had run away before! The poor thing had been running around in frantic circles on a busy road all day before I found him.

Some people probably shouldn't have dogs. :-( 

[BDJ]

I definitely think you did the right thing - council, pound, RSPCA and vets are the best options.   People putting them in their backyard and checking social media freaks me out - imagine if the losing owner either doesn't use social media or there is a different opinion on the breed etc - the chance of a successful reunite is so small.

 

I have found 3 dogs in recent years.  

 

 (1) A greyhound who was wandering around a local service station at 7am on a Christmas morning - bought him home, call to the council who took my details and passed them on to the frantic owners - picked up 10 mins later with profuse thanks

 

 (2) A SWF sitting under a tree on a 42 degree day panting like crazy.  Knocked on a few doors, no one knew the dog.  Took her home and rang the council who picked her up within an hour.  Don't know the outcome, but she was well cared for, so assumed a quick reunion

 

 (3)  A siberian husky playing chicken on a busy section of Main North Rd (very busy 6 lane highway).   Pulled over and called it - extremely friendly :-).  Had a collar, rang the owner who was out and didn't realise he had escaped.  She arranged someone to come an pick him up (we were sitting in a side street).

 

Unfortunately sometimes dogs do escape - I haven't had it happen in 20 years, but that is not to say that it wont happen in the future - stuff happens.   But i have no idea why some people think its ok for Fido to get out as 'he always comes home "-(

 

[Papillon Kisses]

6 minutes ago, BDJ said:

I definitely think you did the right thing - council, pound, RSPCA and vets are the best options.   People putting them in their backyard and checking social media freaks me out - imagine if the losing owner either doesn't use social media or there is a different opinion on the breed etc - the chance of a successful reunite is so small.

Same! I'm sure you've also seen the people who say "If I can't find the owners I will keep the dog."

 

That's stealing! And it's illegal!

[Little Gifts]

I get a lot of strays on my front lawn. If I can catch them I put them straight in the car and head to the vet for a micro-chip check. I can't have extra dogs at home with mine either so have been lucky - once contact is made with the owners my vet will hold the dog there. I had one recently where the dog had its name and a mobile number on the collar but I couldn't get anyone to return my call so we went to the vet for a micro-chip scan and it turned out the owner was OS on holidays and the dog was being looked after. The vet was able to get secondary contact numbers and the carers came and picked it up next morning. That was very lucky for the dog! I haven't yet had to take an animal to the pound but if there was no micro-chip that would be my next option. If I can't catch it I take pics and post them on lost and found pages for my area.

 

My theory is you have to take the dog to places the owners are likely to look. One of mine once did a runner a few years ago and got driven 20 minutes north to an after hours vet. She had a micro-chip but they were busy and hadn't called me. Luckily I was thinking logically about where they could take a lost dog on a Sunday and called there not long after she arrived (after I'd driven around the neighbourhood and been given bum steers about a loose dog). Some people wouldn't think about looking outside their local area so soon (or maybe ever if they didn't know the after hours hospital existed). Keeping it in your backyard and waiting is not the best option. I've also seen on local lost and found sites people saying "oh if the owners don't turn up I'll take it!". We don't know the owner's circumstances and we don't know the circumstances of the dog being loose. We lost mum's cat last year and despite extensive search efforts for months by two families we only had a couple of strange calls from one lady. I still think he is alive and living very close to where he went missing from, possibly with the lady. Whoever has him has no idea the grief we have gone through losing him on top of losing mum.

[ricey]

I seem to attract stray dogs, or maybe I just am on the lookout for them whenever I'm out. I carry two collars and two leads in my car's glove box as . My usual course of action when finding a stray is to get them scanned by my local vet and this usually gets more than 50% of them back with their owners (who get a mild lecture from the vet lol). If the dogs are wearing collars with contact details it is all really easy and I wish more dog owners would do this. A few years back two stray pit bulls rocked up at an aged care facility I worked at; both were red nosed reds (intact male and a female). They both had collars and registration tags, but no contact details. I contacted the local rangers but they would not give me any contact details; they said they wanted to impound the dogs. As they were very certainly "Restricted Breed" dogs here in Western Australia, that didn't seem like a good outcome to me. More like a death sentence actually.

 

I had one of those 'light bulb moments' and contacted a dog refuge that I knew had rehomed pit bulls, gave them the registration tag numbers, and 15 minutes later the hugely relieved owners had phoned me and made arrangements to pick their much loved dogs. A good outcome.

 

So, well done Scrappy&Monti; making the effort to look after stray dogs is its own reward.

 

ricey