Hi everyone .I have had great advice from everyone on here before so here I am again asking for some more !

Last Thurs I was driving my daughter to school and I found running in the traffic an English Bull terrier. He was in the middle of the road looking atall the cars and I was worried he was going to run over.So I stopped and got him in my car. After sorting my daughter out with another lift to school , I went back to where I found him ( only 10 mins later ) and knocked on some doors around the surrounding roads to see if anyone recognised him.Noone did.So I took him home , gave him some water then took him down to vet to see if he was microchipped.He wasn't.He had no coller and is Entire.Only about 18mnths old. So the vet nurse informed all the local vets , dog warden ect while I went and put his details on various web sites ( here and dogs lost ect ) I then made posters and my freind and myself have put them up throughout the surrounding areas and where we know all the local walks are. I have kept him with me as I can't bear the thought of him going to a pound .Anyway 4 days have gone past and noone has claimed him .I have been told after 7 days he can be legally rehomed aslong as every effort has been made to contact his owners .Firstly has this been done ? is there anyone else I should contact i,e newspapers ???

Next , I have someone who is very willing to take him on.They have just lost their staffie and were contemplating having a new dog.They are great , have brill home , and are experienced .However the stumbling block.He has developed a limp since being with me , now he has been playing rough and tumble with my young dog ( they adore each other ) and i wonder if he has pulled a muscle.However the prospective new owners want to get him x-rayed before they say def to taking him on as if its something serious wrong and would cost thousands they wouldn't take him. If its something less serious they will.My worry is that if the x -ray does come back  and there is something serious , what happens next.Surely noone would want to adopt him if they knew they were going to have to shell out serious money , when there are thousand of healthy dogs that could be adopted instead.
Does this leave me with the dilema of me having to decide if he should be PTS ???? Or do you really think there is someone who would take him on .He is soooo wonderful but I have 3 dogs already and the oldest Dane really doesn't like him , although the EBT is doing his best to change his mind ...
What would you do in my position ?

A stray dog has to be kept for 7 days if the council takes it in and kennels it, if a private individual like yourself takes it in then it must be kept for 30 days before it can legally be rehomed.

Thankyou , Will let the prospective new owners know , so they realise they would have to give him up if anyone turns up before the 10th October .Does anyone claiming him to be there dog have to have proof of ownership ?

Well done you for picking him up.

As Marianne says I think you've a bit longer to go before he is available for rehoming.  I'd be inclined to make some calls myself - I know the vet nurse has done some but it won't take long for you to do a quick trawl of local vets, training clubs, and kennels.  At least this way you'll know you've covered all the bases.

With regards to what you do after this stage:  are you saying you won't be keeping him?  If that's the case then it makes sense to start making enquiries of the local rehoming centres.  If your friend was willing to take him on, no strings attached, then he could go there but it seems they do not want expensive vet fees.  If he went to a rehoming centre they could assess him properly (with no cost to you) and he could be rehomed from there.  All the decisions would be theirs so less need to feel guilty or obligated if it didn't work out with your friend.  In truth, they could still adopt him from the re homing centre if they were suitable.

Alternatively your friend could take on his temporary care - might give his leg some much needed rest, and gives them a chance to see if he is the right dog for them.  If they decided not to keep him at the the end of the 'finding' period he could still go to the rehoming centre. 

How about taking him to local re-homing centre so that he can be assessed and your friend apply to the centre to adopt him if all is well and the owner is not found?

Seems hard for the dog to go from you, to your friend and then on to rescue

Well done for stopping when others didn't :-)

> Alternatively your friend could take on his temporary care - might give his leg some much needed rest, and gives them a chance to see if he is the right dog for them.  If they decided not to keep him at the the end of the 'finding' period he could still go to the rehoming centre. 

i think this is a good idea

am i right in thinking that without a vet recorded condition prior to taking out cover insurance would cover any medical condition?

No I wont be keeping him. He wont leave my Danes alone and they are getting severly pieved off with him , up to the point of me having to separate them and I hate having to have them locked up ,when they are used to the free run of the house and all the gardens and fields. If he does go to my freinds then he wont go onto a rehoming from there.They would keep him.He is staying with me till Fri morn then they will pick him up , take him for his x -ray then decide that same day if they will keep him.After that he stays with them , unless the real owner shows up within 30 days of when I found him.After the 30 days they will castrate him.
However if come Fri night they decide to not to have him I shall have to take him to the local pound , I was really hoping to avoid that but it would seem I will have no option.
Does anyone know the answer to , does the real owners have to have proof of ownership ?
Thanks. 

On Trevor Cooper's dog law website it says about strays: http://www.doglaw.co.uk/stray.php
A finder of a stray dog is obliged to forthwith return the dog to its owner or take it to the local authority. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.
It mentions a bit about legal ownership here: http://www.doglaw.co.uk/custody.php but that is not in relation to strays.

You wrote that you have informed the Dog Warden - have you had any more contact with them? It is a legal requirement that a 'found' dog is reported to the police and, kind as you have been in looking after this dog, there may be someone out there who is going frantic trying to find their much loved pet.

I think it's a bit previous to be making arrangements for a new home for him until you are REALLY sure that he doesn't have one already.

If you have to let him go to a rescue I would suggest that, rather than the local pound, you inform Breed Rescue and ask them to help you. If your friend can't have him after the statutory waiting time the breed rescue would be the best placed to assess him and match him to a home that is suited to him.

Thanks . The potentail adopters have said they dont want him now as they dont want to get attached to him if the have to wait another 3 weeks so I shall try and phone the breed rescues tonight.

not the police anymore

under the clean neighborhoods act, they know longer have responsibility for strays

the legal requirement is to contact the dog warden, environmental health dept

some general rescues also get their fair share of EBT's and also have assessors, trainers, and behaviourists

whereabouts are you?

its 28 days

Brilliant news , Just an hour ago , the lady from Dogs Lost has phoned to say his owners have turned up . They have just come for him .Can't tell you how many tears I have shed , just so happy.They are taking him first thing in the morning to the vet for microchipping ect. Very very happy  :-0

That's brilliant news :)

Well done to you for caring for him so well for them.

Was he pleased to see them?  That must have been a bit special :)

> They are taking him first thing in the morning to the vet for microchipping ect

Good - I should hope so too.  I found a chipped dog whose owner hadn't registered their details.  It's such a silly thing to miss.  Anything that gets a dog back to it's owner as quickly as possible is well worth the money and effort.

You must be very pleased for your lodger - and relieved you don't have decision making responsibility any more :)  Your dogs will breathe a sigh of relief too...

Yes  very pleased .Feel such a huge range of emotions , very happy that he has been re untited , he did look happy to see them , happy that my dogs life can get back to normal but also very sad to see him go as he was sooo lovely. Oh well happy endings for once.Just wish it was so for all dogs .
Thanks again.