I walk through a kissing gate into the park in the mornings and today there are 7 dog collars hanging on it !
Sometimes there is the odd lead or collar that someone has found and hung there but it is a little creepy to have 7 used but not tatty collars there. The usuall people I meet have no ideas but one said yesterday (We do not go on Sunday, we go somewhere else) there were 2 leads and 2 collars, today the leads have gone but 5 more collars have appeared.
Why do I find that sinister?
Aileen

That is weird; I've seen dropped leads hung up for owners to find,but never collars, and certainly never that many. It's a bit spooky.

Very strange. Are all the collars the same size and make?

may be worth using the non emergency police number as that is incredibly strange. I think i'd avoid it for a while if it was me.

I am glad some of you agree with me that it is strange. I thought maybe I was being very pessimistic but the thought that ran through my head was that they were from dogs stolen and then the collars hung there in some sort of gloating scenario!
I am not worried for myself as I have large breeds who are always in my sight and would create a huge fuss if someone tried to grab them (Merlot would be very grouchy!) Plus I never walk at odd times and 99% of the time meet up with others.
They were from a JRT size to a Lab size. all different.
There was a crowd of us this morning all bemused by the sight.
Aileen

My thoughts were stolen dogs but why advertise they have them by doing that ?

Why not give the dog warden a ring as wonder if the have any information ? You haven't had any gypsies around the area ?

>the thought that ran through my head was that they were from dogs stolen and then the collars hung there in some sort of gloating scenario!

That crossed my mind too. :-(

I don't suppose there were identity tags on them, that you could cross-check with DogLost?

No not a single ID tag.
I will ring the dog warden I think
Aileen

That is really odd - defintiely think letting authorities know is a good idea

Odd indeed.
But, perhaps, as another scenario, someone has a dog that finds and retrieves them and has placed them on the gate for them to be reclaimed ?......probably not but you never know.

There could be a perfectly innocent explanation :-) A lot of people will take collars off dogs before they run and play in case they get caught, the owner might have dropped a pile of collars which someone else has picked up and put on the gate for them to find.

> But, perhaps, as another scenario, someone has a dog that finds and retrieves them and has placed them on the gate for them to be reclaimed ?..

I walked in the same field most of last winter and my collies are terrible for losing tennis balls. We'd lose one every 2 or 3 days. One day I went in and there was a huge mound of tennis balls by the gate. I found out later that it was someone who walks there with 3 springers, their dogs were finding and retrieving all the lost balls :-)

Surely someone would notice if they dropped a lot of collars at once! A single lead can fall out of your pocket, but I've never ever in all my years of dog walking, found a collar. Leads yes, also nametags which have fallen from collars, but never a whole collar. I've never known anyone remove their dog's collar when they let them off the lead to play - some even leave harnesses and headcollars on as well. I;m not saying nobody ever does it, but it's not at all common.

I've dropped 4 leads before and not noticed, must have been when picking a poo up or maybe taking photos. I do know a few working terrier/lurcher folk whose dogs wear collars walking but are taken off to work. Like you say not the norm but not unheard of. It's possible they put the collars down to do something and forgot them?

All things are possible but I would have expected to see tags, No one I know in the area has so many dogs except the unofficial mad dog walker who usually has about 8 and lets them all off to wind everone else up and she was there this morning looking as confused as the rest of us. (while her motley sellection of dogs ran riot!)
Have told the dog warden..who I must say seemed very uninterested!
I doubt I will ever get to the bottom of the mystery.
Aileen

I really wouldn't worry about it, if someone had stolen 7 dogs you would certainly heave heard about it. There must be an innocent explanation. Could even be someone cleaning out their dog stuff and hanging the collars there hoping someone else could use them. Who knows :-)

ooh ooh can you leave a letter tied on asking why they're there? i'm dying to know now, it's so weird!

> i'm dying to know now

LOL me too

I wondered about that,too,chaumsong,Ive occasionally taken toys my dogs dont play with down on our local field,for other dogs to find,ive done it with kids dvds too,left them on a bench,perhaps  someone thought,as dogs are walked there,someone might make use of the collars?

I use half check collars and our Kizi was a minx for whipping them off the other dogs, and I thankfully did have one returned to me, because it had the tags on.

> Could even be someone cleaning out their dog stuff and hanging the collars there hoping someone else could use them.

That was my first thought.

I would say put a note there as I'm sure there will be a plausable explanation. We've just moved house and the very first walk with the dogs' new tags, my OH must have hooked the tag instead of the collar, making it fall off. To then have a child knocking on the door, clutching the tag to bring it back made me smile. I was very grateful because they were around £5 each!

Perhaps as someone else has said, someone is having a clearout and wanted to give them away?

Hope you find the reason...

My thought was, someone has given up on owning dogs and had a load of collars and left them where they might be of use to someone?
My springer 'finds' things when out but the most we have found on the one walk was 2 tennis balls, a rubber ball and a gorgeous collar.  We are quite the 'collectors' when out!lol

>Could even be someone cleaning out their dog stuff and hanging the collars there hoping someone else could use them

Wouldn't you also leave a "Free to a good home, please take one" note?

Very very odd.. It's one thing dropping leads or a dog slipping a collar and them being found and subsequently hung up, but this is a lot in any one go which really in my mind doesn't equate...

Can't wait to see if you find out anything.

I'm with the others, having thought it through, I don't think there's a sinister undertone.

While I agree could be a leftfield (pun intended) way of sharing out unwanted goods, could it possibly have anything to do with students and/or something along the lines of an art or photography project or installation? Having once been an art student myself - anything goes, and usually does.

While I know your town well Aileen (I went to primary and junior school there), and know it's not given to sudden outbreaks of art, you do have to consider the Tate Modern didn't expect some chap to run in and scribble all over the Rothkos today! :)

> Wouldn't you also leave a "Free to a good home, please take one" note?

Ach someone probably stole the note :-) Or it blew away :-)

Could it possibly be a doggy version of one of those ridiculous shoe trees?  I guess they'd be old, worn out collars and leads then; the shoes are.

I take my dog's leash off when we walk but I'm sure as heck not going to risk my good leather leash being stolen by leaving it on a gate post.

Since I am in the middle of reading Ian Rankin's The Naming of the Dead, that's the one with the Clootie Well, I find this rather disturbing too.  But now I know why the dishrag has been called a "cloot" in our family since time immemorial.  :)

That does seem odd, like others I have lost leads, but never collars!

They had all gone today.
We will never know the reason why !!!
Aileen

I think this may be a job for Sherlock .

Sherlock Bones? lol

> Sherlock Bones

:-D

Sherlock Bones and the tale of the 7 empty collars. Sounds like a great short story... Any CDers want to write it?

We could write a paragraph each lol.

It was a cold wet winters morning, even the most dedicated of dog walkers had stayed in bed and extra hour. and the car park was deserted. It was still not quite light and the clouds hung heavy in the sky. The rain poiunded down as Aileen aproached the park gates with two very wet Bernese in tow for a morning walk.. As she got closer to the kissing gate she could see something hanging on it. The hairs on the back of her neck crawled but she braved it and came in closer to look. Hanging wet and forlorn were seven dog collars, they dripped unhappily in the rain.......
Over to you !

The dogs pushed forward to investigate the collars and almost immediately each jumped back clearly startled, giving that low woof,woof alarm bark that no seasoned dog owner ignores.

Aileen felt the blood thump in her chest as she forced herself to take a closer look. The collars were highly unusual and seemed to be made of woven leather bearing gold embossed symbols. She picked one up and immediately dropped it as the smell hit her.....

Calling Huskygal......this one is right up your street!

HG is in a car on the way to Scotland so may not see this one for a bit !

Aileen in her state of disbelief stood back and lost her footing and fell into a very large boggy area. She lay still for a moment but was soon greeted with the licks of her girls wondering why mummy had decided to have a mud bath rather than carry on with their walk ! Aileen soon regained her composure helped by a big helping of dog slobber and grabbed a sod of grass near by to hoist her self back on her feet. As she pulled her self up the lump of grass came away in her hands and attached to it was a ......

...nother collar. This one had a worn identity tag bearing just the name "Sunny". Aileen became more and more unnerved; what on earth had been happening? Where were the dogs to whom these collars belonged? The rain dripped down her neck and she shivered with the cold, then nearly bit her tongue in fright at the low moan coming from near her feet.

With the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, she stooped down, gingerly peering into the thick rank undergrowth. There, curled into a foetal position, his hair plastered with blood was the prone form of a handsome young man. Shaking with fear Aileen reached out a tentative hand and gently touched him on the shoulder " hey, mate, can you hear me ? are you ok ?, I'm going to call an ambulance ok ? ". The man's eyelids flickered open a crack, a thin whisper escaping his lips " no, please, just help me up ".......

...as she reached out her hand and pulled him up  she felt his skin become soft and watched with amaizement as he turned into a beautifull golden dog, with a shake and a bound he flew off into the deep wood by the park, The girlies leapt after him with not a second glance and Aileen was let standing by the gate alone..

Alone ? No she wasn't as just behind her round the corner of the gate post lurked a sinister looking figure.

There was an uneasy silence which was suddenly broken by the sound of multiple dog collars jingle jangling. The noise got gradually louder and faster as the sinister figure started to slowly walk round the corner towards her.

Aileen by this time was rooted to the ground with terror, with dog slobber still dripping from her face from the earlier licking.

As the sun was slowing rising through the dark clouds, a long shadow started coming towards her.

(Is this putting you off ever walking there again on your own roflol !)

"Come here sweetheart" whispered the pale figure as it moved towards her slowly, all seven collars held in one outstretched, sinewy hand.

"Come on my little duckie, there's a good girl" said the figure jingling the collars at her and murmuring entreaties as it crouched and crept towards her, closer and closer.

Aileen, though paralysed with fear was once more overcome by a terrible stench that seemed to emanate from the figure or the collars, she knew not which.

Nearly upon her the figure soothed.."Come on sweetie, let's just slip this on......"

Suddenly a burst of adrenalin flooded Aileen's body, she gasped and her legs exploded into action as she ran and ran.........

...she fled into the dark woods and followed the path the golden dog and the girls had taken, as she went deeper into the woods she heard a low mournfull howling,  the branches tore at her arms as she ran and her ribs ached with the effort of getting enough breath into her body. At last she came to a clearing and a pale  shaft of sunlight lit the forest floor, she stopped in her tracks and looked in astonishment at the sight that caught her eyes, piled into the middle of the clearing were a towering stack of.....

( I have to say this is fun!! What an imaginative lot we are !!)

I'm hooked!! Someone add some more please!!

A large Jenga game.

Never one to pass down an opportunity of playing a game Aileen still dripping with dog slobber and now blood from her arms and legs bent down and nudged the bottom middle piece out half way through. She stood back and wondered if she had made the right decision and in total amazement the block started to move back to the original position. Aileen thought foul play maybe the reason for this so quietly crept round the Jenga blocks to be greeted by a large Ostrich pushing the block in with its beak.

Aileen stood quite perplexed at the sight and even more so because the Ostrich was wearing a dog collar in the same style as the ones she found earlier.

She gathered her thoughts and her bearings and decided she would let the Ostrich win the game as she always went by the saying don't look a gift horse in the mouth and turned round quickly to start her get away. Stood straight in front of was a magnificent black stallion with a gift wrapped present shoved in its mouth ..

...it was another dog collar! And then Aileen realised what the message was - that our dogs who have sadly passed accompany us on all our walks. We are never alone and the collars were a sign that they are beside us every day.

Feeling much more confident with the thought that she was never alone Aileen started to walk in the direction of the howling which she could still hear. She followed a path and even though it was dark and damp and the lingering smell still hung in the air she felt she could cope with anything. The low howling got louder and she realized it was the sound of many many dogs. She truned a corner and found a big low bulding, the noises came form inside. As she appraoched the large door her dogs bounded round the corner followed bythe golden dog, they had been trying to open the door she could see by the scratches in the wood. There was a padlock on the door but she found a strong brach and hit it hard. The padlock fell of and she slowly opened the door....

( sorry to soon to come to the end yet!)

The inside of the building was dark and dank, from deeper within echoed low whimpers and the dry scrape of many claws on concrete, uncertain about entering the gloomy confines which could very well be a dead end Aileen drew back from the door. Her indecision lasted only a moment as the girls started to growl ominously behind her, glancing over her shoulder she saw a sinister shadow lurch down the path towards her.
"There you are girl" chuckled the hideous man who had pursued her into the woods, Aileen saw he was now waving a catch pole as well as the handful of dingy collars he had earlier and in the circumstances made the only decision she could...