Found Dog: Advice Urgently Needed

mosi

The OH almost ran over a dog yesterday. He picked the dog up and managed to locate the owners who didn't seem too concerned. However, he found the dog on the road again and brought him home as he was in a rush and was unsure of the whole set up of the place.
Anyway we had the dog scanned and he was registered to his previous owners who had given him to the current people. We made contact and are planning to meet them to (reluctantly) give them the dog back tomorrow.
The owner wasn't the most pleasant person to deal with and told us a few lies about the dog. He also had a very lax attitude to his dog wandering.
We both know that we have to give the dog back, regardless of how we feel. However, I had a thought earlier about a different way of going about things. I was wondering what would happen if we handed the dog to the local pound. Firstly, can we hand a dog in despite having been in contact with the owners?
Would the owners be liable for the usual fines in order to reclaim the dog?
Of course, the owner may reclaim the dog. However if they didn't, we would aim to adopt the dog out of the pound once the 5 days were up. We would obviously disclose all information.
I don't know if we should consider this course of action. I hate the thought of putting the dog through the stress of the pound. On the other hand, I wonder if the owner should be made to go through official channels and put their money where their mouth is. Of course, none of this may even be possible, while I don't even know the opening hours of this particular pound.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Either way, the dog must be handed over tomorrow.

FlowerGarden

Do you think the owners would have any interest in relinquishing ownership to you? If the dog is wandering it may becoming a hassle for them and they might consider it. Make sure to give them your phone number in case they do in the future. Maybe even offer them a few quid if that might swing it....

Knine

FlowerGarden wrote: »

Do you think the owners would have any interest in relinquishing ownership to you? If the dog is wandering it may becoming a hassle for them and they might consider it. Make sure to give them your phone number in case they do in the future. Maybe even offer them a few quid if that might swing it....

I would be inclined to go with the OP's suggestion. I certainly would not want to be putting money in their pockets as they will just go out & get another unfortunate dog.

Hitting some individuals in the pocket might make them take notice but some people just don't care.

mosi

FlowerGarden wrote: »

Do you think the owners would have any interest in relinquishing ownership to you? If the dog is wandering it may becoming a hassle for them and they might consider it. Make sure to give them your phone number in case they do in the future. Maybe even offer them a few quid if that might swing it....

The owner was quite aggressive on the phone, so I doubt it. I did think of offering him a few quid but before I had a chance to, he had already started accusing me of stealing the dog...of course I pointed out that I wouldn't have bothered getting chip details and making phone calls if that was what we were at.

mosi

Knine wrote: »

I would be inclined to go with the OP's suggestion. I certainly would not want to be putting money in their pockets as they will just go out & get another unfortunate dog.

Hitting some individuals in the pocket might make them take notice but some people just don't care.

As I said, I was tempted to offer money as I was feeling pretty crushed and rather desperate...even though I would always be one of the first people to give out about people buying a dog to "rescue" it.
The OH and I have been talking about it more and more, and we're thinking we shall at least call the warden and discuss the option. I've never brought a dog to a pound before, so I'm not happy about it but nor am I happy about handing this dog to irresponsible owners.

nala2012

What part of the country are you in? Done pounds are much better than others

Sobko

I would leave the dog in the pound and if unclaimed you can then claim him. It sounds like the owner wouldn't go to the expense of reclaiming it anyway.

tk123

Would you not call the warden - a warning might make them rethink letting the dog wander?

mosi

nala2012 wrote: »

What part of the country are you in? Done pounds are much better than others

I know which pound to go to if we take this route. I'm aware that there is a vast difference between some pounds and have been advised on where to go.

Sobko wrote: »

I would leave the dog in the pound and if unclaimed you can then claim him. It sounds like the owner wouldn't go to the expense of reclaiming it anyway.

That's the plan, and having slept on it, it's looking more and more appealing.

tk123 wrote: »

Would you not call the warden - a warning might make them rethink letting the dog wander?

A warning might work, but forcing them to put their money where their mouth is and make an effort to reclaim the dog might work even more. Their attitude was "the dog is a wanderer" so that doesn't inspire confidence

mosi

I know it's been a while but this situation got sorted. We went to a pound the day after my last post with the dog but they refused to take her as she was found in a different county to the one we went to (on the advice of a contact in rescue). It was a Friday afternoon at this point and we resigned ourselves to getting on to the warden in her area on the Monday. However, the owners called the Gardai and gave them my number (when we called them initially, my number showed up as it isn't set to private or anything). I got a call from the guards the next day and explained the situation, telling him that he could contact the pound we went to if he wanted to verify what I was saying. At first he suggested that we just bring the dog back to the owners, but I said I would rather go through official channels. I agreed to bring the dog to him in the station so he could bring her back to the owners. When we got there, he actually seemed like one of the better guards when it comes to animals...he seemed to know some rescues quite well and was also aware of the situation with different pounds. He also told us that when he had spoken to the owner on the phone, he reminded him of the legal consequences if my OH had actually hit the dog when driving. He also mentioned how sheep worrying is a problem in that area...something my OH was told by locals when he picked the dog up the first time.
We've happened to be in the area a few times since then, visiting friends, and from what we can see the dog is now properly contained. I know that accidents can happen, and they have happened to me...however, these guys just had a lax attitude to keeping the dog secure. Hopefully, the whole saga was a bit of a wake up call.