Can they be reported?

Melion

Not sure how this is going to come across so ill try my best to keep it simple.

Im working in a tattoo studio, i looked out the window yesterday morning and seen a pup running loose outside, didnt think too much of it as i presumed the owners were around. A few minutes later, i looked out again and he was still running loose but on the opposite side of the street. He was "nipping" at peoples feet as they walked past, i was watching this for a few minutes and then he ran out on to the road just about avoiding cars. I went out and had a look, no owners anywhere in sight and he had no collar or anything on.

I brought him into the shop, got him a bit of food from Dunnes and some water and then started asking around if anyone knew him. 4 people told me they knew the owners and they lived in an apartment directly above the studio. So up i trotted, knocked on the door and the little girl who lives there answered, i asked if she was missing her dog because i had found one and a few people said that it was theirs. She flat out lied to my face and said "No, we dont have a dog", despite the fact that for the last 2 weeks i have heard one crying in their apartment.

So i just walked away, thought "Well fúck them anyway, theyve obviously just abandoned him". My boss has now taken him in and wants to keep him. The dog was obviously abused as at the very start he would back away from anyone walking towards him, he did a little poo last night on the floor and after it was cleaned we walked towards him just to tell him it was ok, he cowered away from us and hid under a table.

Is there anything we can do about the ***** that did this to such an adorable pup?

kildare.17hmr

i say keep the dog and give it a good home. Fcuk the previous owner

Discodog

If the dog didn't have a collar tag then your boss can keep it but they must notify the local Garda station or the dog warden. However they could be in a potentially tricky situation if they know who the rightful owner is because they cannot claim that the dog is a stray.

Tranceypoo

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

i say keep the dog and give it a good home. Fcuk the previous owner

I agree. I know there are 'proper channels' you should go through as the other posters have said but honestly, that little pup sounds like it got out of a horrible home and (deservedly) fell on its paws when you and your boss stepped in, I would get it chipped and licenced in your boss's name asap and if anyone asks say you bought it off Done Deal.

Discodog

Tranceypoo wrote: »

I agree. I know there are 'proper channels' you should go through

The OP could report finding the dog to a more distant Garda station as they only keep local records. Then if no one claims it for a year it legally becomes the OP's.

ISDW

I'm sorry but I can't believe that you guys are advocating this. Just imagine for one moment that the dog doesn't belong to the people in that flat, someone could be missing that puppy. Imagine it might have been stolen, and the people in that flat might have taken it off the thief, or stolen it themselves. Or, they might have been looking after it for a few weeks for someone.

So many stories of dogs that go missing, and when it happens the advice is to contact the local pound, vets, gards etc. That only works obviously when the person finding the dog doesn't act like some dog vigilante and decides to keep it.

Take the pup to a vet and see if it is microchipped, then inform the local pound and the LOCAL gards, not some distant one, that is just wrong.

OP, you say yourself that you asked a little girl, please check with an adult.

If the dog does belong to the flat dwellers, then no, maybe they don't deserve to own a dog, but thats not actually our decision to make. If you inform the dog warden that it was wandering like that, then chances are they won't return the pup to them anyway.

But your first port of call is to a vet to see if it is microchipped.

are you serious

It wont matter if your living in Dundalk and report that to a station in Kerry, you'l still be reporting where you found it, the garda will put it onto pulse, and that is nationwide... The person reporting their dog/pup is lost/stolen to their local station to any guard there, that guard will check pulse, put 1+1 and they will get 2 :rolleyes: then you get a knock on your door asking why you have possession of their "property" also potentially asked did you steal their dog, not good!

If you have never seen the owner with the puppy, do as ISDW has said, local vets get the pup scanned for a chip and go from there!

star-pants

Just to step in to make a note -- anyone advocating illegal activity past my post will get banned.

It's against the charter anyway, apart from it being wrong, to encourage someone to potentially steal an animal. As ISDW has said, it might belong to someone else or was stolen. Best to cover all bases, and your own back by reporting it to the relevent people.

boomerang

I would say make all reasonable efforts to find the owner.

Put a note in the Limerick Post pets page next week (it's free) - don't include a photo, just give a general description and where found. (You don't want people falsely claiming to be the owners of the pup.)

Ring the pound on Monday morning before 10.30 and inform them that you have the pup.

Call in to Henry St. to give them the details.

Give Limerick Animal Welfare a bell so they can put the pup on their lost/found sheet.

I don't think an owner is going to come looking for this pup - but if they do, don't give back the pup without proof of ownership - ie dog licence and/or microchip.

Tranceypoo

ISDW wrote: »

I'm sorry but I can't believe that you guys are advocating this. Just imagine for one moment that the dog doesn't belong to the people in that flat, someone could be missing that puppy. Imagine it might have been stolen, and the people in that flat might have taken it off the thief, or stolen it themselves. Or, they might have been looking after it for a few weeks for someone.

So many stories of dogs that go missing, and when it happens the advice is to contact the local pound, vets, gards etc. That only works obviously when the person finding the dog doesn't act like some dog vigilante and decides to keep it.

Take the pup to a vet and see if it is microchipped, then inform the local pound and the LOCAL gards, not some distant one, that is just wrong.

OP, you say yourself that you asked a little girl, please check with an adult.

If the dog does belong to the flat dwellers, then no, maybe they don't deserve to own a dog, but thats not actually our decision to make. If you inform the dog warden that it was wandering like that, then chances are they won't return the pup to them anyway.

But your first port of call is to a vet to see if it is microchipped.

I have to admit that this didn't even occur to me. In which case I would take Boomerang's advice.

Discodog

I don't think that anyone is advocating breaking the law. The first reply suggested getting the pup chipped - the first thing that the Vet would do is check for an existing chip. I would be very surprised if the dog is chipped & I would also be surprised if anyone posts it as missing.

I was in a similar situation with my Greyhound. She was in an appalling state & someone did suggest that she "belonged" to a halting site. I got her checked for a chip & paid out a fortune in Vet bills. I did notify the local Guards who wrote the details in a book - no Pulse. There was no way that I was going to knock on doors. But I complied with all the legal requirements.

In the OP's case I would of thought that any responsible owner living above the premises would be asking about their missing dog. Any dog warden will tell you that the main reason that people do not comply with the law & fit a name tag, is because they don't want any comeback.

The Pound figures don't differentiate between reclaimed & rehomed but I bet that the reclaimed figures are low. I am certain that some dogs end up being rehomed that had existing owners. If a dog has no collar tag or chip then there is only so much that you can expect a finder to do to locate a possible owner.

boomerang

It occured to me they may not be allowed to have a dog in the apartment, and that is why the girl said it wasn't theirs.

velvet1989

I think saying they should call the dog warden is ridculous fair play for taking him in i say.Because had they called the dog warden he would more than likely have taken it to a pound, where after a week or so of not finding the pup a place he would have been put down. So having a go at this guy for taking in a pup is stupid you did the right thing man fair play to ya.

ISDW

velvet1989 wrote: »

I think saying they should call the dog warden is ridculous fair play for taking him in i say.Because had they called the dog warden he would more than likely have taken it to a pound, where after a week or so of not finding the pup a place he would have been put down. So having a go at this guy for taking in a pup is stupid you did the right thing man fair play to ya.

And now imagine you lost your dog, somebody found it, but didn't bother informing the dog warden, who you had contacted in case the dog turned up there. So you never see your dog again, but never mind. And no, it isn't necessarily true that an unclaimed dog would be pts.

Discodog

velvet1989 wrote: »

I think saying they should call the dog warden is ridculous fair play for taking him in i say.Because had they called the dog warden he would more than likely have taken it to a pound, where after a week or so of not finding the pup a place he would have been put down. So having a go at this guy for taking in a pup is stupid you did the right thing man fair play to ya.

AFAIK you can notify the dog warden & he cannot take the dog if you wish to keep it. I would never surrender a dog to a warden regardless of any assurances that were given.

Not every unclaimed dog is killed but thousands are & I wouldn't take the risk.

velvet1989

exactly discodog its not somethin id bear to think of either. limerick city is relatively small and its easy to get word around that your dog is missing I live here and everyone knows you can put a ad in the post if you are missing a dog we all get it free and if you live in town which obviously this dog must be from town people know eachother it would be easy to ask around had a pup been found. clearly whoever "lost" this dog has little regard for it. I work on Thomas street in limerick and it is not uncommon to see dogs running loose with no collar. credit where credits due he got taken in and sounds to me like to a better home. some people on here are always longing for a argument.just give the guy credit Jesus a pup was saved its a nice story

Zapperzy

velvet1989 wrote: »

exactly discodog its not somethin id bear to think of either. limerick city is relatively small and its easy to get word around that your dog is missing I live here and everyone knows you can put a ad in the post if you are missing a dog we all get it free and if you live in town which obviously this dog must be from town people know eachother it would be easy to ask around had a pup been found. clearly whoever "lost" this dog has little regard for it. I work on Thomas street in limerick and it is not uncommon to see dogs running loose with no collar. credit where credits due he got taken in and sounds to me like to a better home. some people on here are always longing for a argument.just give the guy credit Jesus a pup was saved its a nice story

But who's to say a dog found in Limerick city originated in Limerick city? Who's to say it originated from county Limerick at all. More and more dogs are being stolen and either sold on, locked up and bred from or dumped the other side of the country. Some lost dogs could just roam and wander themselves, some just keep on running until they are miles away from home. Or people on holidays whose dog got loose and went missing.

OP what was the outcome of this? Did you ever find out for sure if those people were the owners? Have you still got the pup?

velvet1989

that's fair enough it may not be but its a better outcome that its being looked after then for it to be running loose and potentially being run over. its a life after all.

velvet1989

that's fair enough it may not be but its a better outcome that its being looked after then for it to be running loose and potentially being run over. its a life after all.

area51

I think you did the right thing. You found a pup, who, if you did not take would prob be dead on the side of the road. You asked people who you think own it and they said no, so your boss was nice enough to take it in.
I recon get it checked up in the vets and make sure it gets wormed, de-flead etc and see if it has a chip, which it probably won't. who-ever owned it is not capable of dog ownership and I would prob think it was dumped(unwanted) As it is fearfull and not socialized.
I recon your boss should keep it and he won't be breaking any law if he did. no one can prove it's theirs without a chip or dog tag so I wouldn't be worried about that. I guarantee no one will come for it.
Like said before, the dog pound is the worst place to bring a dog. The good healthy nice little dog will be given 5 days in the pound and then they will kill it. If you want to bring it anywhere then bring it to a dog rescue organisation.
I have 2 dogs myself and have found 3 dogs in the past 2 years who were not looked after and no id's or anything. I Rescued one to a lovely retired man who has 3 other rescues and the dog is pure happy now there.
And on the other 2 occassions I gave them to local dog rescue centres who have a non-kill policy unlike the **** dog pound.

I say well done to you guys. Unfortunately there are way too many poor neglected and miss-treated dogs around.

Whispered

I would suggest telling the local warden, you can leave a description and contact details. Let him know that if the owner claims the dog you're perfectly happy to hand it over, but in the meantime will look after it.

After 5 days the dog can legally become the carers. I'm 90% sure this is the way it works, but I am open to correction.

That way you're giving a legitimate owner a chance to come forward, complying with the law and not having to wait a year for ownership.

The dog may not necessarily have been abused. Some dogs are more nervous than others and when it comes to rescues you (and I) can tend to assume the worst. My own dog, who has never been hit will shy away if he thinks he's done something wrong. Some dogs are just more "windy" than others. So please don't feel too bad for the little fella.

Discodog

I accept that there needs to be a balance between just keeping quiet & keeping the dog versus reporting it, putting posters up etc. I would always be aware of the possible concerns of the owner but uppermost would always be the long term welfare of the dog.

I have two dogs here that could, in theory, both have had owners when I found them. When I found out that my little guy had been seen wandering for days before I found him, I was happy with just reporting it to the Guards & checking all the missing/found websites.

We shouldn't make assumptions but my two are both very distinctive dogs, that were found locally & are now well know yet no one ever came to claim them. Yes dogs can get stolen but if the owner can't be bothered to microchip then it is their responsibility.