rescued dog going to be put down

Branoic

Hi all,

Apologies for the long post, but here’s the story –

My wife is a big softie, and often picks up stray dogs who look hungry / dirty. I got 3 or 4 phone calls last year after she’d done this, and my response is usually “Not again!” and then to help her do up the FOUND posters that evening. Each of the occurrences last year ended happily, which us locating the owners a couple of days after taking the dogs home and keeping them with us.

Anyway, today she did the same thing. Was out in the town (Arklow) a couple of times and spotted this skinny starving looking greyhound. Picked it up the 2nd time she was out and brought it to the vets to check for a chip. Wasn’t chipped so took it home to feed it. Dog seems to be in good condition – no mange etc, just very undernourished, so I’d say it was someone’s pet but has been lost for a while.

Now, my wife is heavily, heavily pregnant – due next week on our first! So with everything focused on that and trying to get things finished etc, rescuing dogs isn’t really something I think she should be doing. She knows this time it wasn’t a good idea to keep the dog ourselves, even though it seemed to get on okay with our GSD, so she phoned the shelter in Rathdrum. They couldn’t send anyone to pick it up, so she drove out to them.

When she got there, they directed her across the road to the pound. She signed the dog over in the pound and asked what would happen next. The man there told her the dog would probably be put down in a week or so. She was distressed at this and asked would he not be sent to <a rescue> or somewhere? He said no, that those places were at capacity at the moment so this dog would probably be put to sleep soon.

When she was back in her car she phoned me in tears to tell me this and I didn’t know what to suggest. We’ll do up the posters tonight and put them up around the town, and hopefully someone will contact us over the next few days. But if they don’t, would the pound release the dog back to her if we went back to them, since she was the one who brought it in? It’s not something I really want to have to do, as my wife could literally give birth any day now! But at the same time she’s really distraught over this and feels like she’s sentenced the dog to death, and I don’t want her distressed right now!

At least if we could get the dog back off the pound we could try and get it in somewhere else ourselves. Its really galling because we just recently set up a monthly charitable direct debit for the <the rescue> too, and now we’re told they can’t take a dog we rescue!

Any advice welcome!

Vel

I'm afraid <a certain> pound is notorious for putting dogs down and they aren't very keen on working with rescues like some other pounds do.

As the dog was found as a stray he will have to do his 5 days in the pound after which you could take him out for the cost of a dog licence, but you would probably need to put your name down on him now to ensure he won't be put down straight away after his five days.

And now for the bad news. Its probably unlikley he is a missing pet. More likely one of the many lurchers who has strayed from travellers.

And for the even worse news, if you do take him out you may find it very hard to find a rescue space for him as all the rescues are full to bursting. And in my opinion a dog would be better off put to sleep than end up in some the places that pass as 'rescues' in this country

I'm no real fan of <that rescue> but they do take a lot of dogs from pounds all over the country so it could very well be the case that they are full or alternatively <that> pound just don't work with them. There are too many dogs in this country in pounds needing help than there are rescue spaces available.

Hope it all works out for the best for the dog and you guys

Sigma Force

Maybe post on irishanimals.ie and some other sites as well or try them on Facebook to get as many views as possible. Sadly there are so many dogs it's not possible to save them all. Saying that I got to get two dogs from that pound as long as you have the dog licence(s) and are in general responsible I don't see why they wouldn't release dogs they don't do homechecks like rescues but I do know that dogs do get out of there. It could be that there aren't enough people taking on dogs from there there are just too many like a lot of counties people aren't spaying/neutering enough.

One problem is vaccinations pity they take a couple of weeks to do because if there was a way of knowing for sure the dog was vaccinated then there's an option of putting the pooch into a kennel (obviously that costs) until something could be sorted. But sadly it's not possible but maybe you can find a foster home for the dog fingers crossed so this can be done. Fair play to her and you for doing your bit:)

anniehoo

<X> Pound has a really low pts rate...send him there if its really your last resort. He'll have a very good chance of making it to rescue as theres a charity that is involved in rehoming/rescuing from there and they do a great job.

zyndacyclone

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

dudmis

Maybe contact the rescues directly? You might be lucky and a space may have come up. I know the extra expense is the last thing you would need now, but maybe if you could contribute to its keep, that might help sway things with a rescue.

Fingers crossed...

aN.Droid

zyndacyclone wrote: »

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

What are you talking about, he clearly says in his post that she only found this out AFTER she checked the dog in and was clearly distraught about it.

boxerly

zyndacyclone wrote: »

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

Theres no need to be so harsh.The woman is HEAVILY pregnant what else was she to do ?Alot of people probably passed the dog but she stopped to help.I really hope the dog finds a home OP you could contact <a rescue> yourself..they are great and rarely refuse a dog.Hope all goes well with baby x

Evac101

zyndacyclone wrote: »

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

Having been employed to be a d*ck at various (thankfully long past) points of my life I read this with a sense of awe. The seeming effortless of this post, with a debonair 'I don't give a rats ass if it's an emotionally vulnerable woman' (due to timing ofc), in conveying just how much of a vindictive sod the poster is, amazes me. Never on my finest date in those past positions could I have claimed such a virtuoso performance. Sir, my recognition of your seeming indifference to the human condition and lack of compassion is a departure from my normal posts but excellence (in the excelling sense of that word) in a field deserves note. Granted that field is one I choose to move away from as I felt it was turning me into a pitiful excuse for a human, but noted in any case!

To the person who's already pm'd me yes - I was employed as a duck :P

Branoic

zyndacyclone wrote: »

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

Are you trying to be an insensitive idiot or does it just come naturally?

Cherry Blossom

zyndacyclone wrote: »

Your wife sent the dog there knowing it would be killed. She gets to live with that.

Infracted for personal abuse, there is no need for further comment on this post by other posters.

Discodog

Ok so let start with the positives. Greyhounds make fabulous pets. Your dog would probably love a companion. Two dogs are better than one because they keep each other company. You will get the most incredible warm glow when you have a Greyhound on your sofa.

The negatives. Unless the Greyhound has a tattoo you may find it incredible hard to rehome with any rescue. If you are going to save it then you need to contact the Pound immediately & tell them. If you look after it for any length of time you will fall in love with it.

I was in a similar situation - I went into Galway to do some shopping & I came home with an injured Greyhound. I already had two big dogs & no plans for a third - I planned to get her healthy & then find her a home somehow. Within hours I realised that she was an adorable dog & I knew that she would be here to stay.

My only regret is that I didn't rescue a Greyhound years ago. She is incredibly affectionate, sweet natured & surprisingly intelligent. Oh & by the way they don't need a lot of exercise.

SingItOut

Just to add onto the comments about <a> rescue, i tried to take a stray dog there on friday just gone. They could not accept him as they are full to the brim, however Helena did say they would put him on a waiting list of at least a week, maybe more depending on space available. You could send Helena an email about the urgency of trying to rehome the dog and they may make an exception. . I also contacted <another>, they are also full to the brim. And I will never deal with <X> puppy rescue again, horribly rude people. I could say worse about them but here is not the place.

Do you have a family member who could mind him until <a rescue> could take him? or maybe a friend?

planetX

They make lovely pets, but unfortunately a lot of people don't know that so it can be very difficult to find a home. OP there are specific greyhound rescues, look them up on facebook, or I can PM you the details. They are probably bursting at the seams already, but it's worth a try. If there was any possibility of you fostering him while they looked for an adopter that would give him a fighting chance. A lot of rescued greyhounds end up homed in the UK.

Discodog

Unfortunately rescues have to be selective. If they take in a dog that will be difficult to home & may take up months of kennel space, it means that they will have to turn away other dogs. Whilst thousands are being killed it has to be a priority to rehome as many dogs as possible. These policies have been developed & honed over many years of rehoming.

Yes it may seem "cold" to an outsider & a bit like a production line. But say you can rehome the average dog in 2 months. You then take in a dog that has to stay for 6 months. So in taking in this dog you may be leaving three other dogs in the Pound whilst the dog is occupying a kennel.

The key to rehoming Greyhounds is to reduce the numbers & increase public awareness. Unfortunately there are no indications that the industry has any intention of reducing numbers. The new Greyhound Act & the accompanying Code of Practice don't mention it.

mystika121

Vel wrote: »

And in my opinion a dog would be better off put to sleep than end up in some the places that pass as 'rescues' in this country

I'm no real fan of <that rescue> but they do take a lot of dogs from pounds all over the country so it could very well be the case that they are full or alternatively <that> pound just don't work with them.

I am so disheartened to read the above.

When people are trying to do their best to help animals surely any help is better than no help. I understand that some rescues may not have the facilities that other rescues have but they should be commended for doing their best.

Discodog

mystika121 wrote: »

I am so disheartened to read the above.
When people are trying to do their best to help animals surely any help is better than no help. I understand that some rescues may not have the facilities that other rescues have but they should be commended for doing their best.

I know of a rescue where the facilities are very poor when compared to the bigger rescues. Some people might be very disapproving of the conditions there but the owner does their absolute best with limited resources & they have rehomed hundreds of dogs including Greyhounds & Lurchers. The time to focus on improving rescues is when there are few dogs being killed. Right now the dogs need all the help that they can get.

Re reading the OP's post it appears that this dog is not tattooed - it would of been the first thing that the Vet would look for. This means that it cannot be helped by any supposed industry welfare schemes - they do not consider these dogs to be their problem.

Whispered

mystika121 wrote: »

I am so disheartened to read the above.

When people are trying to do their best to help animals surely any help is better than no help. I understand that some rescues may not have the facilities that other rescues have but they should be commended for doing their best.

Some rescues have ruined the name of Irish rescues all over Europe sending dogs who are seriously ill and shouldn't be travelling. There are cases of rescues misrepresenting dogs to move them on to other rescues (for example saying a dog is much older than it is so an age specific rescue will take it etc).

There are pictures going around at the moment from a certain rescue taken by people who used to work there. The stories from that place are very disturbing, from dogs drinking their own urine because they have no water to "carers" goading the dogs and rapping their cages to scare them.

There is one rescue whose facebook page is like one long death notice. Animal after animal dying of preventable sicknesses and accidents. Simple measures that other rescues use to prevent this can be taken but are not. Surely if you take in an animal you owe it to that animal to provide the best care you possibly can.

I have no wish to get further into this on this forum, but I think that while your sentiment is great it's a bit misguided. Some people calling themselves rescues are no more than hoarders. Rescues should be expected to give the same level of care as pet owners.

Whispered

Discodog wrote: »

The time to focus on improving rescues is when there are few dogs being killed. Right now the dogs need all the help that they can get.
.

Are you serious? Surely, being involved in rescue, you agree that some people NEED to be weeded out and are not helping at all.

EDIT: Apologies, I just responded to the last few posts not realising it was totally off topic. I won't be commenting on this thread again.

Discodog

Whispered wrote: »

Are you serious? Surely, being involved in rescue, you agree that some people NEED to be weeded out and are not helping at all.

Any rescue in receipt of a grant now has to comply with the code of practice. If dogs are being denied water or kept in poor conditions then the owners should be prosecuted & there is nothing to stop anyone reporting them to the ISPCA & Gardai. Whilst social networking can have benefits it doesn't replace the law.

The new AWB will set out much stricter conditions & more flexible definitions for cruelty. For the first time I actually feel a bit positive about this legislation & I have been told, by those close to the process, that the Minister is very supportive of welfare.

Of course there may be a few that are beyond redemption. The point that I am making is that even many respectable rescues can't afford to keep their animals in ideal conditions.

Whispered

Discodog wrote: »

The point that I am making is that even many respectable rescues can't afford to keep their animals in ideal conditions.

My own dogs aren't in "ideal" conditions, I'm not looking for an ideal, I'm talking about basic levels of care.

I'm unsure what you mean about social networking taking the place of the law?

You were making the point that not all rescues can keep dogs in ideal conditions, I would guess that only a few can reach a complete ideal. You said that this is not the right time to improve rescues and dogs need all the help they can get. This is certainly true, so long as the organisation is indeed helping.

Maybe we need a separate thread, I'm sure the OP doesn't want to see us argue over standards in rescues.

Discodog

Whispered wrote: »

I'm sure the OP doesn't want to see us argue over standards in rescues.

That's why I have just PM'd you

The point is that if any animal is being ill treated report it to the Guards, ISPCA & follow up on it. Call the new Cruelty Line:

The helpline will be operational from the 3rd of January 2012. It will be manned from 2pm to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). At all other times it will divert to a recorded message, and messages left will be monitored regularly.

The phone number for the Helpline will be:

Call Save: 1850 211 990
Phone: 01-607 2379

Dedicated email address - animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie

mystika121

To the OP and the awful situation they are experiencing.

My suggestion would be to rehome the dog from the pound after the 5 days are up and then try to find another home for the dog privately.

Perhaps there may be other owners in the area that could help out with walking, feeding, taking the dog out for the day with their own dogs etc.

It's awful to do so much good for the dog and then to feel you are on your own.

Please let me know if there is anything practical that I could do.

Vel

Any updates OP? Have you had a chance to contact the pound? People might not like this but I say it as someone involved in rescue and rehoming of greyhounds and lurchers, but taking this dog out and trying to rehome it yourself is risky. It is really hard to find good homes for these dogs here and things are particularly slow at the moment. You will certainly get interest if you advertise him for rehoming but much of it will be from the wrong type of person, especially if he is home unneutered. You have a busy time coming up with a new baby so unless you really feel you can commit to finding him a good home (which could take months) or can find him a good quality rescue space, then there are worse things that could happen to this dog than for it to be humanely put to sleep. I know some people won't like this but I have day to day experience dealing with these dogs and know how hard it is to find good homes.

And it isn't just the conditions the dogs are kept in at certain rescues that I have a problem with and which leads me to stand by the statement you have a problem with Mystika121. It is also the lack of care that is taken when looking for new homes for the dogs. Dogs being handed to people without any checks being carried out on what type of home they are going to, dogs not being spayed/neutered before being rehomed, dogs not being assessed properly before going to a home. Why bother taking a dog out of the pound unless you neuter/spay it and ensure to the very best of your ability that the home it is going to is suitable and responsible. If you don't you are just continuing the cycle and the dog is being let down (again).

Rescue needs to be about quality, not quantity

As Whispered stated above, there are rescues in this country who are being run by people who are little more than dog hoarders. Anyone can use the internet and Facebook to portray themselves any way they like and believe me, I have seen with my own eyes that the reality is often far from what they are claiming to be. These dog hoarders are being enabled by people who support them on their Facebook pages and defend them without ever having seen the conditions that the dogs are being kept in for themselves and without knowing where the dogs are eventually ending up.

While I appreciate that it can be necessary to send dogs to the UK for rehoming, clearing pounds, holding the dogs for a minimum amount of time and then shipping them off in large numbers to UK rescues (of dubious quality sometimes) is not the answer to the problem. I know some people trumpet the UK as being so much better than Ireland in terms of animal welfare but they have their own problems too and simply shipping a dog off and claiming it as a successful statistic is false economy in my eyes.

mystika121

So what's the answer Vel? In future if people see a dog in need should they just ignore it or see if a reputable rescue has a place for the dog before they take the dog into their home?

My worry is always that a person like the OP's wife will be so upset over this incident that she won't be able to go through the hassle again if she sees a stray dog and who could blame her?

Discodog

mystika121 wrote: »

So what's the answer Vel?

That is the key question.

First we have posts saying that rescues are too choosy & won't let them take a dog & then we have posts saying that they are not choosy enough.

Personally I think that the shift from the DoE to the DoAg is a good one. We already have a code of practice to assist anyone in choosing a rescue. We also have a helpline that can be used to report a rescue.

Of course quality matters & there is a basic minimum standard that will be reinforced with the AWB. But quantity also matters - especially if you are one of the saved dogs. I agree that there are worse things that being PTS but it should never been seen as the acceptable solution because then life becomes cheap.

Whatever the long term outcome the poor sighthounds will be the last to see any benefit if they continue to be produced in such a wasteful way. If PTS is seen as not the worse thing then it can validate the idea of producing lots of dogs & killing the ones that are surplus. Euthanasia should primarily be to reduce suffering & never seen as a waste removal option.

Once any dog is born it's owner should be committed to it's needs until it dies a natural death.

boxerly

OP can you please contact the pound and see if the dog is still alive and if so can you ask them to keep him for 5 days.I have contacted a rescue who deal with greys and they are trying to find him a place.If you read this can you please do it ASAP ......... x

Branoic

Hi all,

Thanks very much for all the replies and suggestions.

The debate around the quality and practices of our rescues and shelters is certainly an interesting one, but one I'll leave for another time.

In relation to this particular situation, I put up a couple of different ads and notices on various websites, and we have had a couple of messages and PMs back from people, and there are a couple of things we are trying.

We contacted the pound yesterday and they said then that the dog had until next Monday. We will phone them again in the morning to confirm this, and will let you know asap Boxerly.

Branoic

Hi all,

So, today was D-Day, and I thought I'd give an update.

After I'd put notices on a number of sites last week, we received numerous calls and PMs from people trying to help.

One lady in particular from an organisation based in Dublin (doesn't look like I'm able to name any groups here?) was very helpful and was on to my wife numerous times while she was trying to use her contacts to get the dog a place in another rescue centre down in Waterford.

The great news is that this has been arranged, and the dog has a place.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, the pound the dog was left in seems to have an issue with working with rescues, so my wife had to go get a dog licence for him in her name, then pay the release fee to the pound for them to sign him over to her this morning.

He'll spend the night in our place and then the lady from the Dublin rescue will come to Arklow and pick him up tomorrow morning and drive him down to Waterford, which is brilliant of her. He's a lovely dog (see pics attached) - very friendly and gentle, but alas not toilet trained, there'll be some presents for us in the morning I'm sure!

I'm really happy with how its turned out. I know its only one dog, and his rescue doesn't help any of the other thousands of dogs of his breed which unfortunately will remain at the bottom of rehoming lists everywhere, but it was really important to my wife that this dog was saved - he was sort of symbolic or representative or something. She managed to do that, and I'm really proud of her .

Now hopefully she'll be able to get from here to the delivery of our child without picking up any more strays!

barbiegirl

Branoic you and your wife are fantastic people, well done. Delighted for the doggie.
I wish you all the very best with your new arrival who is lucky enough to be coming into the world to two people full of love and compassion.

planetX

+1
The country needs more people like you - oh wait, there's one on the way. Good job!
He's a beautiful grey, I'm sure he'll be homed.