FOUND - German Shepherd Dog in February

[Tomkinson]

Thanks, Nix. I e-mailed them last night with a full description of my dog so I'll see if anything comes of that.

 

And thank you also to esteweyn. She's already on Doglost and Animal Search UK. I've spoken to the local contact for Doglost - it was her who suggested this forum.

 

She seems much brighter today - I think we may have turned a corner and I'm not as worried about her. Although I still feel that someone is missing her and I know I'd appreciate any information if it were one of my animals.

[MARY POPPINS]

I can't offer any help I'm afraid, but I have such a soft spot for GSDs, having owned them all my life, just wanted to say thank you to you for helping her, who know she may just be better with you, than where's she's come from, if no one is looking for her, I know if I had lost one of my dogs the whole world would know.

[Tomkinson]

I feel the same. I love GSDs - I lost my last one in January.

 

If I lost one of my animals I'd be distraught. And she may well be happier with me eventually (although I've had a couple of requests for rehoming a GSD and I find that they choose for themselves who they want to be with). But I heard of a Springer Spaniel who was reunited with his owner after five years and they were both absolutely delighted to find each other again. Sometimes things happen which take dogs out of area, or the owner looks in the wrong places. There isn't a single database of lost and found animals and people don't know where to start. If they're picked up out of area they go to an out of area pound and then there's little chance of finding them. Even if they're microchipped, the chips can move or just not be found on a scan.

 

I do understand that she may have been dumped (the financial climate doesn't help because many people who love their pets just can't afford to keep them nowadays) but it's still possible that she has an owner who is missing her as much as she's missing him.

[medusa]

It is my experience that if your animal gets lost and you want to find it, unless the animal has been taken deliberately by someone who is not disclosing that it is your animal, then as soon as that animal turns up in the system you will find it.

 

The RSPCA, local vets, the pound and all the Shelters will all keep lists of animals brought in, will scan for a chip (granted, some can malfunction, move, get lost etc) and keep descriptions etc. One of my cats went missing overnight a couple of weeks ago and by the time he'd been gone 12 hours all of the local vets and the relevant rescues were all aware and had checked to make sure that he hadn't been brought in.

 

The usual way round these days is that if an animal is picked up as a stray it's because they've been dumped or abandoned. We're running at about 90-100 GSDs a month coming in to GSDR at the moment, and for every one we take there's at least a couple we just can't find space or money for. There are young, healthy, fit, beautiful, well socialised animals turning up in pounds all round the country at a record rate and I think it stinks.

 

The poor animals haven't a clue what's going on and that causes them untold emotional harm, when a planned intake to a rescue could save them an awful lot of that distress. Even small things, such as knowing what name to call the dog, can make a huge difference to them in terms of settling in to their new homes, foster homes or even kennels. Being able to know what things they like, what they are afraid of and what diet they have been living on would make such a difference to the dog and how they go forwards in their lives, and would make most of them so much easier to rehome too.

 

I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but I have to state it any time I have the chance- if you're planning on getting rid of an animal PLEASE take it to a shelter, the dog warden or pound and surrender it, with all of the information about its past. It will save the animal from being stuck in the pound for a week waiting for you to turn up and claim them back, it will save the pound from having to try to trace you, it will save the rescues from having to scramble to find you a place at very short notice and it will help the dog in their new life.

[Tomkinson]

I do agree. It's dreadful to see such wonderful animals being destroyed. But I wouldn't put a pound on the list of places to take a dog you can't cope with. Some work with rescues who find spaces for the dogs but not all do. Many will destroy them after they've served their seven days (even less if they're handed in because they don't have to wait for an owner to turn up). There's a huge difference between pounds and some are run by very caring people. Other's aren't.

 

And we rescued a wonderful staffy from a "put to sleep" situation the day before his time ran out. He was taken to emergency boarding where they found his chip. A volunteer went to find the owners who were away that day but as soon as they read the note the volunteer left they got back in the car and went to fetch him. They'd been looking everywhere they could think of for weeks but he'd escaped from the garden (which would have been dog proof for most dogs) and been picked up out of the area. The family were overjoyed to have him back and he was a very lucky dog.

 

No matter how hard you look for a dog, it's not always possible to find them within their seven days.

[Strix]

Considering the fact that I've seen dog in a kennel listed as 'collie cross' when she was in fact a black spaniel with a white chest, I don't think your assertion is correct Meds

 

Classic Rock's dog was found by a member of the public, taken to HIS OWN vets to be scanned, but the vet failed to contact their own client about the finding

 

Although the dog warden was notified by both CR and the finder on the same day, it took over two weeks for both those pieces of information to be married up and CR notified

 

A staffie was destroyed after being taken to a vet by the dog wardens, although the owners had notified the wardens of their lost dog. The dog had minor injuries from an RTA and was insured. The council took the decision to PTS as the bill was over the limit they have stipulated - all because in reality no agency is really concerned with finding owners to the point they don't even bother with the information that they're given

 

oh, and not in this area, a friend of mine lost a dog called 'two toes' - for obvious reasons. They notified all the relevant parties in the area, but were contacted by a doglost volunteer who had spotted him up for adoption on a rescue website. He had been in the kennels of the local pound at the time they were contacted about him being missing

 

I suspect this GSD is one I commented upon a couple of months ago when everybody here was screaming 'disgusting' and 'abandonment' - but I was shot down in flames for stating that this may just be a lost loved pet

[Leah-Lacie]

 

A staffie was destroyed after being taken to a vet by the dog wardens, although the owners had notified the wardens of their lost dog. The dog had minor injuries from an RTA and was insured. The council took the decision to PTS as the bill was over the limit they have stipulated - all because in reality no agency is really concerned with finding owners to the point they don't even bother with the information that they're given

 

 

My friends staffy used to escape quite often, she was quite an escape artist! She jumped out of a bedroom window one time to run off. Her microchip was still registered to my friends Nan's house, and this certain escape was on the night of her Nans funeral, so it hadn't been changed yet. She rang the pound every day to be told her dog was not there, if anyone did try to ring about the chip, they wouldn't have been able to get an answer, but the general response was "NO THERE IS NO DOG HERE FITTING THAT DESCRIPTION".

When 7 days had passed, my friend's brother went to the pound to look, and there was Tia, about to be adopted by a staff member!

[Tomkinson]

I hear these stories so often. It's so sad. And if microchips aren't the answer (and although they're great, they're not foolproof) I don't know what is. A more caring society perhaps?

[smudge74]

This is why Hodgepig always advises people with a lost dog to not only ring but visit the pound on a regular basis. Your description of a dog does necessarily fit with how someone else sees it

[Red_Angel]

There's got to be a way to improve the system and get these dogs home or the offending parties if the dogs are straying or dumped, fined! Some area's of America fine owners $150 for letting the dog roam. Why don't we do something like that?

 

Maybe tattoo's are the way to go? Something visible and right there so you could trace the dog to owner immediately (if details are up to date). Not a clue who tattoo's dogs but its got to be a bit better than an invisible chip or as well as a chip? It may help to reunite lost pets with the owners? Just a thought...

 

xx