Ashtown Dog Pound

sapper

Hi - I live in an one bed cottage in the city centre. Two weeks ago late on a Friday night a dog showed up at my front door whining. She had a collar with no tag and wouldn't leave. She's a lovely dog - not sure the breed seems to be a corgi terrier or something...like a corgi with longer legs - she's very affectionate, docile and house trained.

We brought her up to Ashtown Dog Pound the next day and I asked to be called if no-one picked her up in five days. The guy said that they don't put dogs down anymore there, but that if we thought we might want to keep here we would be better off bringing her home as she would might catch a disease or something in the pound.

Much as we'd love to keep her, we live in a small two-room house with a tiny yard and we are gone for up to 10 hours on weekdays. So we're going to try and get her re-homed.

Any ideas on how we should do this? We both work during the week and we are out all day tommorrow (Sat) Can I trust the guy in Ashtown that she will be re-housed if I leave her there on Sun?

Otherwise how do I get her to a shelter? As I say, Sunday is the only day we are free until tommorrow week....

Sigma Force

Surrenders get 1 day and if no owner turns up are put to sleep the likely hood of her being rehomed are slim. Strays get 5 days and if no owner turns up are pts, if they are lucky someone involved in rescuing dogs from the pound will come along and save her but there are so many it may not happen.

Log on to www.irishanimals.ie or pets ireland and if you can get a pic of the dog and a bit about them also put ads up around the area and notify the local garda station, add on radio and take the dog on a lead around the area sometimes dogs will show you where they live.

sapper

Guineapigrescue wrote:

Surrenders get 1 day and if no owner turns up are put to sleep the likely hood of her being rehomed are slim. Strays get 5 days and if no owner turns up are pts, if they are lucky someone involved in rescuing dogs from the pound will come along and save her but there are so many it may not happen.

Log on to www.irishanimals.ie or pets ireland and if you can get a pic of the dog and a bit about them also put ads up around the area and notify the local garda station, add on radio and take the dog on a lead around the area sometimes dogs will show you where they live.

All been done unfortunately (except the radio thing) - and it's been two weeks now with no calls. The Ashtown Dog Pound specifically told me that they re-house all dogs now - were they lying?

Arcadian

sapper wrote:

The Ashtown Dog Pound specifically told me that they re-house all dogs now - were they lying?

Yes

Our man in Havana

Yes the pound lied to you!!! They have a very strict kill policy.

aare

sapper wrote:

All been done unfortunately (except the radio thing) - and it's been two weeks now with no calls. The Ashtown Dog Pound specifically told me that they re-house all dogs now - were they lying?

Not exactly lying, more like dreaming.

All dogs are rehomed from Ashton by pound staff and rescues WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

The catch is that it isn't always possible.

Ashton has improved their record for rehoming tremendously in the past 12 months, but it is still far from 100%, particularly this close tp a major holiday (Whitsun) when some people REALLY DO seem to surrender a dog to the pound rather than pay kennelling.

The man you spoke to was probably HOPING no more dogs would be put down, but they will be...

Sadly...

EGAR

There is no excuse for misleading the public. Pounds have a pts policy and should say so. I have taken in quite a few dogs from Ashton over the years.

Sarah

aare

EGAR wrote:

There is no excuse for misleading the public. Pounds have a pts policy and should say so. I have taken in quite a few dogs from Ashton over the years.

Sarah

I quite agree, there is no excuse for ANYBODY to mislead anyone.

Sigma Force

Have you tried contacting the DSPCA or other rescues around your area

luckat

I know it's a lot of work, but if you put up A4 posters on the streets near you - at the junction of streets, where people pause - someone who knows her owners might tell them.

And at the entrance of local parks. And in local vets. And last, in schools.

sapper

Hiya - did all that with the posters. No genuine calls though - one little polish boy has been calling us under increasingly similiar aliases telling us that it is dog. Cassie (for that is her name now!) is being stalked by a 10 year old!

Thanks for the advice re Ashtown. Has it happens we have found a home for Cassie with family who love dogs, are looking for one now and are constantly in and out of the house during the day to keep her company. She's moving over there next Mon.

Looks like she did the right thing coming to our front door!

SuzyS1972

Ah well done - it's great to see people make a bit of an effort with a stray dog to hold onto her and re-home her.
Good News all round !!!!!!

Tabitharose

for those interested the numbers of dogs put to sleep by the pound for the fingal area are as follows:

In 2002 590 dogs destroyed
In 2003 468 dogs destroyed
In 2004 243 dogs destroyed

information compiled by Anvil Ireland (animals need a voice in legislation)

www.anvilireland.ie

the dspca will be of no help in rehoming - can almost guarantee that

try the rescues listed on irish animals

http://www.irishanimals.com/dogs/index.html

good luck

aare

Let's be realistic though TabithaRose.

Ashton Pound has improved dramatically since late 2005 (we don't HAVE those figures yet), and that improvement deserves recognition. It also needs to be considered in the light of the number of dogs who pass through Ashton Pound every week.

Homed:

2002 - 418
2003 - 382
2004 - 632

In search of the official figures I also found this:
http://www.etenders.irlgov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?ID=MAR054760Fingal County Pound is now up for public tender. Anyone who thinks they can do better should tender.

It is too easy to knock the pound staff, it's a very bad idea to knock them when they are trying their best and things are really getting better.

Dogs homed directly from Aston Pound are now homed on condition that they are neutered, that is HUGE progress.

The DSPCA will be even less use than usual in this case, because, in case you hadn't noticed, the original poster already homed the dog.

Irish-Lass

Aare I note your comments and will agree that the Staff in Ashton Pound are very nice, and do a job that most of us would admit that we would not be able to do.....I for one know I would not be able to do.

What I have a problem with is the Management in the Pound. The cases of abuse that have gone on in that pound is unreal and I am not talking about heresay I am taking about dogs that I have had in my house. Some with chemical burns as a direct result of being in the pound, dogs that have needed vet treatment being left to sit in pain in cages the list is endless.

What is scarey thoe is that Ashton is one of the better ones can you image what the ones are like that no rescues etc. can get into and most of the pounds in Ireland are run by the ISPCA. So on one hand we have a group who are all about looking after animals and rehoming them, yet they are the ones that put most of the dogs down.

aare

Irish-Lass,

You seem to be assuming I don't know very much about dog pounds, if so, you are incorrect.

I could say a lot of bad things about Dog Pounds, and they would all be true, I could say as many, and more, bad things about Rescues in this country, and they would all be true too.

But I am not going to do that because I am not on the side of either the pounds or the rescues, I am on the side of the dogs, and it is definately not in the best interests of the dogs to completely ignore the huge effort and improvement that has been made at Ashton over the past 12 months in a public forum.

If what you object to is management at Ashton then I provided a link to the current tender, I suggest you try to do better yourself.

Irish-Lass

Aare not being smart but alot of the improvements were done when the public tender was coming up for renewal the tender has already been awarded back to Ashton Pound the deadline for the tender ended in March. I am aware of a number of groups that put in a tender to Fingal County Council.

aare

Irish-Lass wrote:

Aare not being smart but alot of the improvements were done when the public tender was coming up for renewal the tender has already been awarded back to Ashton Pound the deadline for the tender ended in March. I am aware of a number of groups that put in a tender to Fingal County Council.

WHOOPS!! Mistook the date late at night, May/Mar Mar/May...

But that still doesn't change my main point which is that it is definately not in the best interests of the dogs to knock Ashton Pound in a public forum, after the huge effort and improvement that has been made at Ashton over the past 12 months. Which is why, as I understand it, you would not be allowed to do so on your own animal rescue forums. So why do it here?

Tabitharose

As you say Fingal has improved their record, in 2004 they destroyed 28% of the dogs that were seized / surrendered, compared with 2002 where they destroyed 59% - this is large improvement, and much better than some - Dun Laoghaire Rathdown for example, destroyed 78% both in 2005 and 2004.

Considering I am stating facts - as received at the Stray Dogs & Cats Forum held on 27th November 2005 I don't see how this can be called "knocking" Ashton Pound. I only posted the figures relating to that pound as it was the one being discussed - if you want I will post the figures for all the pounds around the country quite happily.

serenacat

Can you get a dog for free from this pound? what is the procedure?

FAYESY

The procedure is not to drag up 5 year old threads. Start a new thread.