When to take a stray dog in?

SantaHoe

Just nipped out to the all-night petrol station to get some smokes and came across some lovely little doggy with no collar... he followed me for a bit (almost heeling), then got distracted by a interesting-smelling pillar and wandered off the other way.
At the time I put it down to a local pooch who's used to being out and about and will find his own way back when he's finished taking himself for a walk... not that uncommon for a few local dogs around my way.
Then I got to thinking... it's got to be pretty dangerous for a dog wandering around Dublin on his own this close to halloween, what with the amount of sick ássholes mutilating animals with fireworks (etc).

Do you think it's better to take dogs like this home with you?
Considering this prevents:
The dog finding its own way home.
The owner finding it on the street, as it may only have gotten off the leash and been missing 5 minutes.
The warden taking it to the pound, where the owner may call and ask if they've seen it. (this is how we got back our dog when he went missing for a few days)... although on the other hand you could prevent the animals possible "destruction" after his time-slot in the pound has expired.

I know you could take him home, give him a feed and post on a few lost&found's... a few flyers in shop windows and what not.
I'm actually half-thinking about going back out to see if I can find him again, I'm really not sure what to do tbh.
What do ya think?

delly

Ye thats a tough one all right. I'm of a similar mindset myself, wondering about any stray looking dog or cat that I come accross. The amount of stray cats that have gone tru' my mothers house is quite high (sorry ma ).

I do know that my brother would usually let his dog out for about 20 minutes or so every night around midnight, just for a wander around. That was a good neighbourhood, that was kinda self enclosed tho'. He never went far and would return to the front door within about 20 seconds or so of my brothers whistle.

PeadarofAodh

I personally think if anyone's so irresponsible to let their dog wander round the road with no collar on then it should be taken away from them. If I were you, I'd ring the local pound and get them to take it in and check around to see if anyone owns it. A lot of pounds work on a warning basis whereby if they see it wandering loose again they'll take it away for good. Doing it this way means that if nobody comes to claim it, its yours. If somebody does claim it they'll hopefully pay heed to the warning and the dog will be kept in a more responsible manner.

Its a win-win situation!

SantaHoe

If I were you, I'd ring the local pound and get them to take it in and check around to see if anyone owns it.

I'd say he's already been taken by the warden or by an individual... I've seen them in action before, they're fast
I'm thinking I'll give the pound a ring and see if they have him and if anyone has claimed him and if not then I will... since I think they only keep unwanted dogs for a certain period before euthanizing them.
It's really freaky, but he looked up at me with those big brown eyes as if saying (in a doggy voice) "I'm lost help me!"... kinda feel like I'd be letting him down if he ended up alone and scared in a pound waiting for his last injection.
And although he didn't have a collar, he definitly had a flattening of hair where one used to be... clearly someone cares about him somewhere.

PeadarofAodh

They should have thought about how much they cared about him before they let him stray around roads. I feel pretty strongly about this after having to clean the aftermath of accidents involving animals and cars during my work experience with a vets. I have no sympathy for people when they start saying how much they'll miss their little pooch after receiving the bad news

SantaHoe

It's not always that way though... dogs can get out the front door when your back is turned for a second... or if a visitor forgets to close a side gate, these things can happen which doesn't nessesarily imply an uncaring and unfit owner.

PeadarofAodh

SantaHoe wrote:

It's not always that way though... dogs can get out the front door when your back is turned for a second... or if a visitor forgets to close a side gate, these things can happen which doesn't nessesarily imply an uncaring and unfit owner.

You're right, its just a horrid thing to see an animal in that condition. Excuse my outburst!

seamus

It's usually pretty easy to spot a stray dog. Signs of damage from fighting, dirty in general, poor teeth, eyes full of crap or slightly swollen, etc. In years gone by, they'd be obviously skinny and malnourished, but like the foxes, they've learned to live off of people's garbage.

SantaHoe

I dunno Seamus, I use the term "strays" to include well-looked-after dogs that have been recently lost... they may only be missing a day or so... probably not long enough to have gotten into any fights or be noticably starved.
And if the wardens are doing their job, dogs will be taken in long before they ever reach this stage.
I know what you're saying, that a dog in this condition must be a stray, but not all lost dogs will be so badly fukced up... and so it's not always that easy to know.

seamus

Sorry yeah, I was talking about homeless dogs. There certainly seems to be a hell of a lot less dogs roaming the streets these days than when I was a kid (Lost or otherwise). Maybe that's just in Dublin.

Personally, if I found a collarless dog, close to my house, I'd take it home and ring the wardens. If it did have a collar (and I had a few minutes to spare), I'd sit with the dog for five minutes, if no-one came along, I'd take it home and check out it's tag for any numbers, etc.

Our man in Havana

I personally would take him home - & put up found notices near where you pick him up. You can always rehome him if no one comes forward or else ask for help on www.irishanimals.ie the guys on there run rescues & try their hardest to help.

Faye-Bond

Sleipnir

Some dog followed me home last year and slept on the doorstep. Eventually I let her in and she felt right at home. Curled up on the kitchen floor without a bother!
Called the gardai and this rescue centre I know.
The rescue centre came around and said that they had re-homed her a few weeks before along with another dog in the same house.
She took her away and then called me two days later to say that she had brought the
dog back to the 'new' owner who seemed 'surprised and annoyed' that she had been returned.
She's just tried to dump one dog and keep the other. I think it was sort of an evaluation period.

Nala

That sucks. They should have taken the other dog back from her considering she might well do the same to the other dog.

seamus

neev wrote:

That sucks. They should have taken the other dog back from her considering she might well do the same to the other dog.

Unfortunately in this stupid country, only the Gardai have the power to seize animals, and only with court order.

Alun

seamus wrote:

Unfortunately in this stupid country, only the Gardai have the power to seize animals, and only with court order.

I believe that was also the case in the UK wrt the RSPCA until recently, i.e. they could ask an owner to sign over an animal to them, but not forcibly remove the animal, without police assistance. In these cases though the police always accept the word of the RSPCA officer in cases of neglect or cruelty, so it's just a formality really and only serves to waste police resources. I seem to recall that the RSPCA recently got increased poiwers, but I'm not sure.

What we really need here are some "Animal Cops" like on the various US series they show on Animal Planet, who have full powers not only to seize animals, but also full powers of arrest for the owners who can expect hefty fines, and even jail sentences for cruelty and neglect cases!!

ToxicPaddy

A young stray dog wandered into my parents yard there last year, you could
see he was tried and very underfed as his ribs and spine were clearly visible
through his fur.. so we fed him, cleaned him up and just let him hang around
for a few days.. much to the delight of our other dog who was a bit lonely
since out last dog had to be put down due to illness..

We put ads in the local newspapers, on local radio and in supermarkets and
not one reply.. so over a year later, he's still there and happy as could be in
his new home, being well fed and a warm place to sleep at night...

In return he's a very affectionate dog and has brought a whole new life to our
other dog whos nearly 15 years old and running around like he's a pup again
and all in all a very welcome addition to the family..

We often wonder who used to own him as to be honest his coat was fairly
clean and he didnt look like he had been living roughly for any lenghty period
of time but he had a few marks on him from where fur was only just starting
to grow back after a wound or something.. so we figure because of the look
of him he may have been mistreated and decided to make a run for it..

Sometime its good to offer a dog a second chance and who knows if you
have done your best to find its owner and to no avail you could end up with
a very grateful and loyal companion

Tox

karlin

Just a reminder that if at all possible it is much better to get a stray to a rescue rather than the wardens. Pound dogs get 5 days then are killed. Surrendered dogs (eg brought in by their owners) get 24 hours then are killed. Only a tiny percentage are ever reclaimed. Most dog owners don't seem to realise they should even try the pound.