Assisting a criminal (dog)

Around our estate is a Staffy that pretty much roams the streets all day long, he's owned by the crackhead on the end of the road and getting any sense out of him is impossible as he's always off his face, the dog in question is called Buster and is a lovely fawn and white with a surprisingly nice coat, add to this the fact he is a lovely dog and you tend to turn a blind eye to the fact he's roaming the streets. At one point he was a nuisance but last year the owner had him castrated and he has calmed down a lot and rathef than bounding at people and jumping up he cassually strolls over for a fuss. He is let out in the morning when the owners kids go to school and has his own little routine, this involves him walking to the butty shop where he is given bacon and sausage, up to the frozen food shop where he is given a chewstick and then to the pet shop for his pigs ear, he does this religiously every morning. Throughout the day he calls at a few neighbours who give him treats and * bits and an old fella down the road saves his leftover meat from Sundays for him, needless to say this staffy has pretty much been accepted and in a way adopted by most people on the estate. So today when I take Stig out I catch up with Buster at the end of the street, he gets up and follows and as he does a council van turns into the street, guy jumps out and asks if both dogs are mine, I instinctively say "one is, the others a friends I'm taking him for a walk", he then asks why he isn't on a lead and informs.me that a stray fitting Busters description has been reported in the area, I inform him he is not stray and he then asks me for the owners details, I refuse to give them and inform him I have a spare lead and I'll puy it on him, I put my emergency slip chain on Buster and attached him to mmy training lead and after a little interrogation I take buster for a walk with me and Stig., when I get back I take Buster home and tell the owner to keep him secure as the warden almost had him and all I get is "cheers Dave I'll keep an eye on him". I have no doubt the same will happen tomorrow and I know the next time the warden comes there may be nobody there to help Buster, I didn't step in for the owners benefit I did it because I couldn't bare the thought of such a nice loving dog being pts, I have offered to take the dog from the owner in the past and he refused, so I can't physically do anything long term for him and the fact somebody has reported him means he's annoying somebody, when I told the missus I had to help this dog out she was a little annoyed with me as I apparently broke the law, and being seen to be walking a dog at the roadside with no lead could harm my new dog walking business' reputation already, I understand what she's saying but I couldn't let the warden take him, and if I were in that position again I would do the same thing again. Anyone know what laws I have broken by doing what I did and also would you have done the same thing in my position?

Don't know what laws you've broken, I guess it's just the whole thing about lying to the dog warden about it. I probably would've done the same thing, sounds like a nice dog. Maybe you'll have to have a long talk with his owner about how his dog could be put to sleep if he isn't kept on a lead and whatnot, but sounds like he wouldn't listen. In that case there isn't much you can do

Believe me having the owners attention for more than one sentence is near on impossible, his drug habit is pretty much all he cares about and he's just lost a pitbull type to the warden so he knows what will happen, what annoys me is he is happy to risk the warden taking him but wouldn't allow me to take him and give him a stable home and the attention he deserves, I've even offered money for him in the past but the guys not interested. As you say there's not much more I can do, my only other option would be to take him and give him to a family member who doesn't live round here but none of them want a staffy, and if the owner were to find out I'd probably have to move as his family are lunatics, currently I have no problem with them and I would like to keep it that way as I like having glass windows.

That's a tricky one Dave, as I see it what law could you have broken by taking a friends dog for a walk

The chances are that the warden will be seeing the dog loose again and as you say he may not be quite so lucky next time. Only time will tell

You've not broken any laws - the dog warden isn't the police, so you're fine. I admire you for what you did! Good on you!

I hope that daft man comes to his senses soon.

i think i would have done the same then kidnapped the dog..........but then untill in ure in that situation you just dont know. Sounds very stupid but would they take any tips or help?

Fair play to ya Dave. Nope you aren't breaking any laws and what you are doing is totally right in my eyes. If the dog is no danger to anyone he should be left the way he is.

Crack head or not the person could totally love the dog.

Good for you

As others have said no laws broken unless there has been a dog control order slapped on the street your walking him on. I would have done the same tbh as its not the dogs fault and you stopped it from spending its last few days in a kennel before being pts. In fact i think you did an honourable thing looking after the dog. I would love to hear a happy ending to this but i doubt so with an owner like that.

Job well done Dave, shame it wont make any difference to the eventual outcome, its just a matter of time Can't you kidnap him and give him to some loving family at the other end of the country

Tony n Jane wrote:Can't you kidnap him and give him to some loving family at the other end of the country

I was thinking that!

Paul H wrote:

Tony n Jane wrote:Can't you kidnap him and give him to some loving family at the other end of the country

I was thinking that!

Not that i would ever condone such behavior

It would be difficult to kidnap him without being seen as the crackheads family are all over the village and they'd probably smash my windows or torch my car if they found out, I've tried all roads to get the dog from him I even offered to take him to the vets and foot the bill when he cut his paw on glass, on the condition he would hand the dog over to me as he had no money for the vet, he declined and was going to leave him suffering, another neighbour ended up taking him and paying the bill. Whilst the owner is high on crack nothing will change he can't even look after himself and his missus has enough on with him and the kids. The only thing I can do is take him with me when I walk Stig just to get him off the street for an hour or 2 but as mentioned the warden will catch him eventually, I only hope if they do he'll be given a chance in rescue and be rehomed, he's an extremely gentle dog and would suit most households

Truly a sad story and hopefully the warden will keep missing him or only find him when you have him on a leash.

Hi Dave, a bit of a rock & a hard place. I would have done the same btw & can tell your intentions are good and that you genuinely care for Buster and have his best interest at heart. A couple of thoughts, idea's:

Is there anyone in 'his' family, extended family, that is alright, has some influence over him that you can talk to, get on your side to get him to let you have the dog. Does the girlfriend have any influence left? Can you offer to take Buster for a couple of days while the dog warden is looking for him, with the intention of him spending more time at yours & eventually staying, c'head might not even notice, (plus it's under the guise that you're doing him a favour).

Can you discreetly, on the qt, get any of the neighbours, people in the village who know busters gentle nature to write a short note saying what a lovely dog he is. Ring the dog warden and ask if you can meet him at the office, take a picture of Buster. Go to see the guy and be absolutely straight, apologise for the little deception, I'm sure he suspected anyway. Explain the whole situation, and all that've tried to do for Buster. If the warden then does pick Buster up (which is on the cards really) he then has the option of asking a rescue to take him after the 7 days, assuming c'head doesn't go in for him, you could also ask the warden to let you know if Buster does get picked up, if the wardens ok with it, you could try to find a local rescue that would offer him a place. (We got our rescue staffy Jasper because the warden liked him so much, he did exactly that. He came from a similar family too). If all that worked and I know there's risk involved, you could then adopt Buster or if you think he'd come the,' thanks I'll have my dog back now mate', buster would have the chance a good home with a new family out of the area.

Good luck mate

Well a bit of a breakthrough today, his wife came and thanked me yesterday for saving him from the warden as one of the neighbours told her yesterday morning, c/h must have neglected to mention it, or been that high he probably doesn't even remember seeing anyone that day. She asked how I keep Stig in to which I replied "I close my gate" and then went on to explain the ins and outs of dog lockdown. After explaining about high fences, paving slabs around the boundaries, moving bins and semi high objects from the edges and still having to keep an eye on them as they're clever I imagined by the look on her face I'd wasted my breath. However today I walked past their house and see a guy putting up a fence about 7ft high and a pile of slabs in the front garden, when I get to the shop his wife is in there and tells me they have ordered a big kennel and Buster is going mental at being locked in the house until it's done.

I'm hoping the fence keeps him in as it's obvious that she actually cares about him as do their kids, and I understand it must be difficult for her as I have 3 kids and 2 dogs myself and it's hard enough for me and the missus to manage, throw in a crack addict that keeps letting the dog out and that would push me to breaking point, because of this I don't mind walking buster with Stig in a morning and the occasional evening for free as I wont walk Stig with customers dogs for various reasons, so overall there might actually be some hope for Buster, I must admit the fence is an eyesore but I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over it.

An eyesore is better than a dog at risk of being put to sleep, of course. Brilliant news though, hopefully it's one step towards them all looking after Buster more

That's good, sounds like the close call with the warden was the push they needed to sort it out!!

WIN!