Stray /abandoned Staffie

[linedancer3]

Yesterday evening while walking my dog, I found a gorgeous young Staffie running up the main road near home. I expected someone coming after it but no one came so it followed me home. I took it out round the area but didnt meet anyone looking for it so took it home. I took it to the vet to see if it was chipped but it wasnt so it spent the night with me! It was so well behaved ,clean in the house and so friendly I could have kept it, but my own dog - a Border Collie( an old lady with arthritis!) wasnt over keen- it was too boisterous for her- so this morning one of the nurses from the vets took him home temporarily. Despite leaving details all over the place today nobody has rung so its odds on he was abandoned perhaps dumped out of a car. If he goes to the dog warden, he will be only given 7 days in the pound! I dont know what to do next! Any ideas?

[boxtops]

Do you not have any sort of dog refuge near you? It would be so sad for a healthy young dog to be put down after only 7 days.

[linedancer3]

I will have to try that if nobody phones over the weekend but I know a lot of them are full(especially of Staffies which now people dont seem to want because of their reputation) and have a waiting list.

[carmalee]

my answer is based on a lifetime spent working in animal welfare and rehoming both here and abroad. The animal wasn't microchipped which means the owners weren't overly responsible or worried about what would happen should their pet go missing. She had no apparent scars and was friendly, apparently well socialised and therefore not attractive to the dog fighting fraternity other than a bait animal. She may well have been nicked from another area and released locally to you because she was no use to the dog fighting world because of her good nature. Be interested to know whether or not she was speyed because many bitches are used as puppy machines even though they themselsves won't fight. . She may well just be an unfortunate stray you just happened upon- - maybe a freak occurance happened and she was parted from a very caring family - the fact that she was comfortable in your domestic environment suggests she has had a happy pre -life - put her details on a national lost dog website. Given her breed, she doesn't stand a good chance in kennels and there are those who trawl dog pounds for nefarious reasons.

[carmalee]

sorry I got the gender of the dog wrong - either way it doesn't matter - is he neutered? appreciate the suggestion about breed rescue societies but they are just over whelmed -this breed is (wrongly) becoming a no no and so many people are abandoning staffies.

[linedancer3]

I do volunteer dog walking for the RSPCA and there are always have several staffies in at a time so I agree that going into kennels mightn't be successful for him. He did seem well cared for but as you say, in that case why hadn't he a name tag or a chip. He was too good natured to be anything but a pet but the vet said he hadn't been neutered and was about three years old so a responsible owner would have had it done by now. I will put his details on a few websites and hope for the best! I will never understand why people can be so heartless!

[carmalee]

we are talking about seven days here - this dog is in the local pound and not in a rehoming kennels. Technically it can be euthanased at the end of the holding period - what area are you in?

[dotty.]

I am dogless now and have said i wouldn;lt have another but i really really miss them both, this story may have made me decide to go to the rescue again, that's where we got Max 13 years ago, mind you i would need proof this time that the animal would not be capable of opening a fridge door with it's nose, i couldn;t go through all that again!

[linedancer3]

He's not gone to the local pound yet because the nurse at the vets has taken him home with her for the weekend , or a bit longer if he gets on with her dog, and she didnt want to have to give him to the dog warden either, although technically it isnt ours to do anything with until after a month. The animals from the dog warden are taken to the pound and then then supposedly either rehomed or sent to a rescue kennels after 7 days but this didnt used to be the case and I'm not sure thats true when rescue centres are so full. I am in West Yorkshire , near Huddersfield.

[carmalee]

things are not matching up here - is the local dog warden on the scene ? if he/she is -then you and the vet nurse shouldn't be involved - if DW is not involved we are talking aout individuals taking responsiblity for a dog and that is a whole different ball game

[lankeela]

DogLost has a 'found' section (as well as the 'lost' section of course).

[lankeela]

http://www.doglost.co.uk/

Two male Staffies lost in South East region - not sure where you are.

[linedancer3]

The dog warden isn't available till Mon as they dont work weekends and it was too late on Friday. I was hoping someone would have claimed him over the weekend.

[carmalee]

ah, understand now - hope all goes well and please post an update for us. Have an interest in this as a friend has done a lot of reasearch on a particular dog warden company who hold local authority contracts all over the country - they place their employees as dog wardens and then steal and sell on some of the animals - particularly pedigree dogs.

[linedancer3]

Thanks ! I'll let you know what happens!