ownership

when i went to get petrol yesterday there was a staffy cross tied up outside when i came out from paying a woman was struggling with it because she had slipped her collar a really use-less collar for this kind of dog took us ages to get her sorted and secure her properly her lead had been hooked over a handle she could easily walk away from if she went in the right direction by this time everyone but myself and the lady had gone the man inside diddnt know whos dog it was but said he would call someone and give her some water so i left i have to drive back past the garage on my way home so i called to see if she had gone this was around an hour and 45 minutes after id first seen her the man in the petrol station said he was going to call the local dogs home to come and get anyway i went and petted her and she broke my heart shes such a lovely little dog so i came home told the hubby what had happend and he went and brought her here we introduced her to our staffy and they love each other have spent the whole time curled up sleeping together or playing we have taken her to the vets shes not chipped and seems to be in good health ive left my number there and also at the petrol station my question after that very long tail is can we keep her and if no one rings how long until she is OURS i really diddnt want her to go to the dogs home because its full of staffy's but if she stays here i would her to be neutered?? thanks x

The law in England is that you have to call the dog warden/local concil who will have to put her in a shelter, I think its for a max of 2 weeks and then if she is left unclaimed then yes you have first refusal!

Failing that I'd just keep her, you've left your number in the relevant places! But I never suggested that!

Hiya and welcome to the forum

ok thank you ...i cant stand the thought of her going to the dogs home shes such a gentle little girl :-)

We got our first dog Judy in a very similar way to this. She had been abandoned in a car park where my Dad was working (this happend about 25 years ago). He saw that she had a collar on and the empty part from an ID tag, the old barrel kind. There was no other ID on her.

He gave her some of his packed lunch and she never left his side all day. Dad was doing some construction work in the area. We thought she may have peed on a carpet and so she had got abandoned. At the end of the day she jumped into my Dads car and home she came. Judy was with us for about 10 years until she had her spleen removed and we lost her about 18 months after that. I will never forget her, she was a lab/alsation cross and just beautiful.

He left our details in a local pet shop to see if anyone would get in contact but they never did so we kept her.

Sorry I don't know what the correct procedure would be for keeping yours.

matthew went out for a run one night and a staff pup followed hime home. cos he was running the dog followed thinking he was playing. i rang the dog warden and tehy sent someone round the following day and we were given the option of keeping it with us untill the owners were found. luckily though when he checked it had a chip and was soon taken home but its worth asking or if you really dont want to ring the pound its not chipped so if you feel that strongly and think the dog is worth it and that it was abandoned then just keep it and dont say anything but what condition is it in. does it look neglected if not then it belongs to someone and it down to your conscience

janey wrote:

The law in England is that you have to call the dog warden/local concil who will have to put her in a shelter, I think its for a max of 2 weeks and then if she is left unclaimed then yes you have first refusal!

Failing that I'd just keep her, you've left your number in the relevant places! But I never suggested that!

Hiya and welcome to the forum

Hi & welcome to the forum.

As Janey says, the law says you must call the dog warden.

Personally, however, if it gets on well with your dog, I'd take her to a vet to get her checked over & ask them to run a scanner over her. If she's chipped then you'll have to let the owner know - but otherwise, I'd just keep her. If she's been left hooked outside a garage, then the owner can't be all that bothered!

she is in good condition and has been scanned but has no chip, ive left my number with the petrol station and also at the vets but they are getting on great she is so lovely

hope the situation comes out like ya want. btw, hi from me and Herman

well, I would keep her - I don't think it is law here to report it -
do everything you can like maybe an ad in the paper and you have put your number out there, I don't think the shelter is going to do any more than that so if you do your best to find the owner and they don't contact you I'd say she's yours!

people should have their dogs microchipped these days anyway!

If she isn't chipped then I'd keep her. Anyone who ties a dog up outside somewhere & then forgets to pick them up again doesn't deserve to have a dog anyway!

If shes not chipped I wouldn't worry about it. You've left your telephone number at the petrol station where she was left, if they really cared about the dog why would they leave her there for all that time?
I won't ever leave Romeo tied up outside anywhere for even 5 mins, i'm too worried someone would steal him.

Caryll wrote:If she isn't chipped then I'd keep her. Anyone who ties a dog up outside somewhere & then forgets to pick them up again doesn't deserve to have a dog anyway!

don't know the law in England, but in principle i agree completely Cayrll

shakespearesdog wrote:I won't ever leave Romeo tied up outside anywhere for even 5 mins, i'm too worried someone would steal him.

Same here.

shakespearesdog wrote: I won't ever leave Romeo tied up outside anywhere for even 5 mins, i'm too worried someone would steal him.

absolutely! dogs are stolen all the time here, and what they're used for is horrifing if that's all someone cares about their dog they should not be allowed to have one!

sue&nick wrote:she is in good condition and has been scanned but has no chip, ive left my number with the petrol station and also at the vets but they are getting on great she is so lovely

Whatever you decide to do, please stick around & post here. We'd love to hear more about your other dogs as well!

I they are not looking for her everywhere then they don't deserve her, are you likely to bump into the ex owner though? what if someone tries to take her off you in a few weeks?.I just saw this page?. http://www.doglaw.co.uk/stray.php

You will have to report her to the dog warden but tell them you don't want her going into kennels and you will keep her with you and try and do everything to find her owner or not thats your call you will have to sign a retaining form, legally with this it is 28 days not the 7 that kennels have before they rehome. Or hand her to the dog warden but put your name as 1st reserve if her owner hasn't claimed her within 7 days and hope. I have never been able to do this can't see them in kennels. Good Luck anyway.

Caryll wrote:If she isn't chipped then I'd keep her. Anyone who ties a dog up outside somewhere & then forgets to pick them up again doesn't deserve to have a dog anyway!

The owner must have had to walk past their dog on the way out of the petrol station... That's clearly forgetting on purpose - surely?

absolutely! dogs are stolen all the time here, and what they're used for is horrifing if that's all someone cares about their dog they should not be allowed to have one! .

It doesn't even have to be an expensive or good looking dog to get stolen! I remember reading a story last year of how an old lady tied up her old collie cross outside Tesco and went in to do her shopping. She came out and the dog had gone! Turned out a tramp had seen the dog, some sympathetic dog lovers had come along and he'd pretended the dog was his and sold it to them for twenty quid!
Luckily the woman ran down the street screaming her dog had gone and someone told her the way the couple had gone and she caught them just as they were about to get on a bus and got him back. (The dog was called Tetley-great name)
Thats why all dogs as well as being micro chipped should wear a tag on it as well, so at a glance you can see where the dog lives!

I think shes clearly been abandoned. I would keep it as it is and keep her at home but give your number to the shelter and just get on with it. Legally you have tried to find the owner, but its classified as a stray and if your willing to keep her noone can say anything about it unless the owner comes forward. Claim her as your own now!

I suppose she could have been stolen and then dumped, someone looking might phone local vets but she could be from anywhere? I think you should report it to dog warden etc, how would we feel if one of ours vanished?.Also that link earlier says you are committing a criminal offence if you don't?.

I wouldn't worry about it and keep her safe !! Like you say you've had her scanned and she's not chipped, to me that's the fiorst indicator that the owner wasn't responsible, she's in a good place with you and you've left phone numbers around , you can't do any more than you are doing and hope she gets the home she deserves, and hi from me and Tilly (Leekies )

tbf you cant say a dog owner isnt responsible JUST because they havent got their dog chipped.

given the amount of time she was left at the petrol station I would say the owners aren't coming back if they had they would have asked in there by now and got your contact details even if the owner had some kind of accident it would be likely that someone else would have come looking on their behalf

It would be interesting to view the CCTV off the forecourt and see who did leave her there

Equi wrote:tbf you cant say a dog owner isnt responsible JUST because they havent got their dog chipped.

that's true.

her owner went back to the petrol station this afternoon and then on to the police station where we had left contact details so shes been re united with him he seemed high when we dropped her off to him the police gave him a ticking off about not having her chipped she seemed REALLY happy to see him though he is what i would say is the kind to give staffys a bad name him and his group of friends arrived to pick her up but suppose i shouldnt judge by appearances she was a lovely well trained dog so hes doing something right although me n connor r a little bit sad and having cuddles tonight lol x

Aw, that's a shame.

You can never tell, can you?

You did everything you could and looked after the little mite. Well done.

What will be will be. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, maybe its time to adopt another Xx

bummer

janey wrote:
You did everything you could and looked after the little mite. Well done.

What will be will be. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, maybe its time to adopt another Xx

janey's right. you did a good thing

well, hopefully he is responsible and your first impressions of him are wrong.
sorry it didn't work out in your favour but you did do the right thing.

as Janey said: maybe it is time to adopt another

Equi wrote:tbf you cant say a dog owner isnt responsible JUST because they havent got their dog chipped.

Disagree unless its only a very young pup, many areas do free chipping service for people that are strapped fro cash apparently but its not that expensive anyway. Surely you would want to maximise any possible chance you have of getting your dog back , and chipping is a big one , so I am 100% confident in saying it is a sign of responsible dog ownership

aww least you gave her a warm house to rest in, sorry it has not worked out in your favour, maybe it is time to get another

While I agree whole heartedly with microchipping, quite a few of the dogs I have rescued have not had up to date information on them. When they have been chipped as pups and then passed on the details cant be changed without the original owners permission.
A simple identity tag with a phone number would be a big help with a lot of dogs.