dog warden ?

Hi i know of a dog that scraped a ladies leg he was out had escaped the guards have called to the owners and told them the dog warden is coming . Can he search the house ? And if they get rid of the dog can they call him and therefore avoid the visit? Can he also search outbuildings ? Without permission?

tk123

Miracle Worried Vial wrote: »

Hi i know of a dog that scraped a ladies leg he was out had escaped the guards have called to the owners and told them the dog warden is coming . Can he search the house ? And if they get rid of the dog can they call him and therefore avoid the visit? Can he also search outbuildings ? Without permission?

Why are they so worried if he only scraped her leg? Surely they'd be fined at most? Do they have a license for him?

Bullseye1

Scraped with nails? Seems an innocuous event and to call in the Garda and wardens is overkill.

are you serious

Sorry for the long reply but here is the full legislation on this taken from http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1986/en/act/pub/0032/print.html#sec16


Powers of dog wardens.

16.—(1) A dog warden may—

(a) where he has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing, or has committed, an offence under this Act or under any regulation or bye-law made thereunder, request of the person his name and address and may request that any information given be verified;

(b) seize any dog and detain it in order to ascertain whether an offence under this Act is being or has been committed and may enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purposes of such seizure and detention;

(c) enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purpose of preventing or ending—

(i) an attack by a dog on any person, or

(ii) the worrying of livestock;

(d) enter any premises (other than a dwelling)—

(i) which are registered in accordance with regulations made under section 19 of this Act, or

(ii) where he has reasonable grounds for believing that more than five dogs which are aged over four months are kept,

and therein examine such dogs as he may find there and the kennels or part of the premises in which the dogs are kept;

(e) request any person who owns, is in charge of, or is in possession of a dog to produce, as the case may be, a dog licence or a general dog licence, within ten days of the date of the request, for examination by the dog warden.

(2) A dog warden, in exercising a power of entry into any premises under this Act, may bring with him into such premises such other persons as he believes to be necessary for the purpose of assisting him in the exercise of his powers and functions under this Act and the dog warden and any such other person may take with them into the premises such equipment as they consider to be necessary.

(3) Any person who—

(a) obstructs or impedes a dog warden in the exercise of his functions under this Act, or

(b) refuses to give his name and address to a dog warden when requested so to do, or who gives a name or address which is false or misleading when so requested,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to—

(i) in case the offence is an offence under paragraph (a) of this subsection, a fine not exceeding £500, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month, or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(ii) in case the offence is an offence under paragraph (b) of this subsection, a fine not exceeding £100.

(4) Where a member of the Garda Síochána is of opinion that a person is committing or has committed an offence under this section, he may arrest the person without warrant.

Discodog

The key word is "dwelling" as the Warden cannot enter a dwelling. However dwelling was never defined in the Act.

So a Dog Warden cannot enter your house & it can only be searched by a Guard with a Warrant. But a Dog Warden may feel that he can search your gardens or outbuildings. No one knows whether he can or cannot - I have raised this one with a barrister.

are you serious

Although "Dwelling" is not defined, Premises is, it is defined as; any house or land.

They would have every power to enter the said house..

DBB

As a general rule in law, and this applies almost without doubt to dog wardens because it applies to every other law enforcement agency in the country (with the exception of the guards and only for serious offences such as drug related offences), the dwelling and garden are defined as the curtilage, and may not be entered without warrant.
Outbuildings, where not in a defined garden, are absolutely open to inspection by guards and dog wardens.
Dwelling may not have been defined in this Act, but it us defined in other Acts, and the spirit of the law would be to revert to a legal definition supplied by another Act.
If the dog has injured somebody, and it can be proven that said dog belonged to your friend, it doesn't matter if the dog is hidden away. The owner is liable no matter what he has done with the dog after the fact, although many people won't pursue a claim, other than medical expenses, if the dog has been got rid of.
That said, if your friend hides the dog, he could technically be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice.
Personally, if there was an incident involving my dog injuring somebody, I'd face up to my responsibilities, and not get involved in all thus runaround.

They did go get them now(dog licences) but they had none the woman called the guards said the dog bit her but it was described as a scrape on the accident emergency report. The guards called to the house said the warden would come . They have wisely or unwisely removed the dog as they fear he will be put down.

Discodog

garkane wrote: »

Although "Dwelling" is not defined, Premises is, it is defined as; any house or land.

They would have every power to enter the said house..

No. The wording is clear that a warden may enter any premises "other than a dwelling". So if someone lives there it constitutes a dwelling rather than a premises.

I raised this in the legal forum here & because no one could answer I mentioned it to a barrister who is a friend. She "made some enquiries" & said that it would be up to the interpretation of the Court as to whether a dwelling included the garden & outbuildings or not.

DBB

garkane wrote: »

Although "Dwelling" is not defined, Premises is, it is defined as; any house or land.

They would have every power to enter the said house..

For the sake of not scaring the bejayzus out of readers, to clarify, nobody can enter your home without warrant, unless under very specific legislation which certainly does not apply to dogs or dog wardens.

Discodog

DBB wrote: »

Dwelling may not have been defined in this Act, but it us defined in other Acts, and the spirit of the law would be to revert to a legal definition supplied by another Act.

Apparently different Acts define a dwelling in different ways so their isn't a clear definition of whether the garden is included or not. A Guard can walk up to you door & so cross your garden, without a warrant.

DBB wrote: »

Personally, if there was an incident involving my dog injuring somebody, I'd face up to my responsibilities, and not get involved in all thus runaround.

I disagree. I have seen & heard of too many cases where the dog is totally innocent but ends up being put down.

Perverting the course of justice is a very serious crime that needs some serious proof.

Discodog

Miracle Worried Vial wrote: »

They did go get them now(dog licences) but they had none the woman called the guards said the dog bit her but it was described as a scrape on the accident emergency report. The guards called to the house said the warden would come . They have wisely or unwisely removed the dog as they fear he will be put down.

This suggests that the Guards have no interest & have passed the matter to the Dog Warden. I would not normally suggest any obstruction of Justice however evidence shows that once the Warden/Pound have your dog it becomes impossible to gain access or have it professionally assessed - in any event a few days in the Pound could alter the behaviour of any dog.

We had a thread here a while ago where the Pound refused access & wouldn't even allow a behaviourist to see the dog.

Thanks everyone u have all been helpful. Does the warden call before he visits?

DBB

Discodog wrote: »

Apparently different Acts define a dwelling in different ways so their isn't a clear definition of whether the garden is included or not. A Guard can walk up to you door & so cross your garden, without a warrant.

Anybody, guard, milkman, postman, delivery person or lost driver can walk up to your door without being liable for trespass.

unclebill98

Miracle Worried Vial wrote: »

Thanks everyone u have all been helpful. Does the warden call before he visits?

I would not think so, had many a unplanned visit.

Discodog

Miracle Worried Vial wrote: »

Thanks everyone u have all been helpful. Does the warden call before he visits?

I would imagine that they have a backlog after Christmas. How they handle it may be down to the individual warden but I wouldn't expect them to phone first.