Early yesterday morning,my son lost his dog,medium breed not good with a recall,
So as a family all were out best part of the day calling searching,police informed ,dog warden called etc etc.
No sightings ,grandkids having hissy fits about getting their dog back,
As a last resort I put a message on a selling site on facebook,asking if anyone had seen him or knew of his wereabouts' & if they did could they contact local police or inbox me,within min's had a message that a friend of the person messageing me had changed her profile pic to a dog of this breed ,she then contacted her friend with my contact fone number,This girl's boyfriend then phoned me to say that they had him & could I prove that he was mine via photos etc, turns out they picked him up outside shops 5 mins walk from were my son lives,hadnt informed police or dog warden just taken him home !!
The girl then informed my OH that she had fallen in love with him . Did she think that no one wanted him /or was looking for him ,thinking all manner of things could have happened to him .PLEASE SAVE ME FROM IDIOTS Or did she think that she could just keep him .

I believe the law says if you find a dog and take it home you then have to look for the owner and unlike stray kennels where the dog becomes theirs after 7 days if not claimed, such a person has to keep the dog for one month before they can consider it theirs. So anytime during that month they HAVE to give it up or it is theft.

I really dont think they had thought it through,living in a flat ,adult dog, not 10 mins walk from owner's ,what would have happened if they were out walking it & were seen by my son or his partner or his children ,all hell could have let loose .
Surely the first thing to do is inform police/dog warden,I would have & have done so.but they had him for over 10 hours & had'nt done either !!

If someone finds a dog, as I understand it, they are rquired by law to inform the dog warden so the dog is logged.  The dog has to go to the stray pound for 7 days, unless the finder wants to look after them at home, in which case, they must do so for 28 days.  After that time if no owner is found, they can keep the dog (likewise they can put a reserve on the dog while it does its 7 days in the pound, I think).

I would tell them you want the dog back ASAP or the police will be notified!

Was the dog wearing a collar/tag or is it microchipped?

Yes we got the dog back that night ,thank goodness, Just cannot understand why they did not contact the police or dog warden ,seems strange ,dog had on a check chain with id tag which was missing on return ,Chain still on tag missing,Also he is chipped ,

>Dog had on a check chain with id tag which was missing on return ,Chain still on tag missing

Don't think this is 'silly people' so much as shifty.    The ID tag couldn't come off by itself !

At the very least they were going to keep him, but if that was  the case and they were honest people, they'd have tried to find the owners first.     They  didn't do this.   So if they did intend to keep him, it  would be theft.

On the other hand perhaps they had something else in mind.     Some people only think of the money they can make from a dog :-(

Interesting that you put word out on a selling site (good idea btw)   and that's where you found him.    Says it all really to me.

Perhaps you should contact the police/dog warden  to tell them where you found him and how?

So glad you got him back.   You must have been so relieved :-)

> On the other hand perhaps they had something else in mind.     Some people only think of the money they can make from a dog :-(

Very true. It happens a lot of the shady FB pet selling groups.

Lucky you went via facebook, looks as though they were going to keep the dog.   Glad owner and dog are now reunited.

Glad he 's back with you now.   I wonder how many people do pick up strays, and keep them.   This is why I always stress the found dog MUST be postered, everywhere - every effort made to find the true owner.   And further, as may dogs are now microchipped, a chip must be scanned for.   If somebody finds a dog, surely the right thing to do is to take him to the local Shelter, with the understanding that if nobody comes to claim him, the finder would, if appropriate, offer the dog a home.   That way the paperwork is in place in the event the true owner sees the new owner out with the dog later on.   With no paperwork, it would have to be handed back.   Heartbreaking for the new owner!!   And any caring original owner deserves closure.   It would kill me to have a dog out there and not know what happened it him.

Ditto, but I guess this does happen, how many dogs go missing every year and are never traced? I know there are many reasons why dogs are taken, but I guess some will come down to people finding and keeping dogs, happens with cats all the time.

I've gone big on tattoo's now, a microchip can't be seen and is only located when at the vets, but a tattoo is staring people in the face and shows that the dog does belongs to someone, there may still be ones who won't care still, but those who are just fickle and too lazy to search thinking a dog has just landed in their laps from outer space might think twice.... one would hope. ;-)

Interesting comment because out in Canada, our hounds were all tattooed - required by the CKC.   I did nose-print our early litters (the alternative at the time) but in reality that was a joke.  Not only actually getting a noseprint from a young puppy in the first place, but really they would only confirm who the dog wasn't, not who it was.   So we fast switched to tattooing.   Back in the UK, and with this not being required, for KC registration, I just left individually ID, other than the conventional tags on collars.   In view of the upcoming UK legislation re microchipping, I have now had my Basset 'chipped (when he went in for a dental last year).   But am still undecided about my Whippet much as I'll probably be forced to 'conform'.

I would just mention however, that much as tattooes are visible, they can also be removed (ears) in the most horrendous way.

I wonder if vets are going to be required to 'rat' on the clients they have who have no microchip?    I wasn't asked whether mine were 'chipped, on registering with a new vet recently.    And refreshingly, neither was I asked if they were insured, which so often is the case!!

Can you tell me what evidence there is that non racing greyhounds have had their tattooed ears removed ? I've Googled this no end & can only find racing Greyhounds dumped by their owners & their owners have cut off the dogs ears. No cases of stolen/lost dogs having their ears cut off

> I wonder if vets are going to be required to 'rat' on the clients they have who have no microchip?

I would imagine they'll be required to by law, as it'll be a legal requirement for dogs to have a chip in the first place.  I'm waiting to see how it pans out - a friend of mine won't chip any dogs after one had a bad reaction, she's gone as far as to have them removed from her other current two.  So I'm waiting to see what happens with her, if the vets will be required to report it.

Tommee I'd imagine this only happens with ex racers, not with those bred by people for other reasons.   But this doesn't only happen to Greys.   And again I'd suggest that tattooes can be removed more easily than can a microchip.

It's probably going to be the case, but would YOU stay with a vet who reported you?   This would, I suggest come down to whether vets want to keep their clients!!!

It's going to be interesting, no doubt.

ps   I didn't go for this when microchipping was first introduced, voluntarily, because at least the early ones would migrate.   I don't think this happens quite as often now, I may be mistaken.   And for me, I remain undecided about having my Whippet done, legal requirement or not.   I have spoken to her breeder who has all her's done, with no problem.   Having just had one tiny tumour removed from her neck I think I could be forgiven for not rushing into getting her done, even if my Basset has his.

Well I have Googled it & can find no dogs other than Greys being mutlilated this way in the UK, have found several reports of dead dogs being found with chips gouged out though. I would think it would take quite a lot of strength to lop of a dogs ear whilst it was alive & await & several people to be involved. I'm confused though why would someone steal a pedigree dog with a tattoed ear & then cut it's ear off. Most pedigree dogs are stolen for resale & a one eared dog wouldn't prove very saleable would it ?

Can you point me in  the direction of the reports re UK dogs that have had their ears cut off apart from Greys as you appear to know abut this ?

Thanks

I must admit I've never made much sense of it - cutting off the ear serves no useful purpose that I can fathom with a stolen dog, unlike an ex-racer (covering tracks).  About half of mine are tattooed, purebred and non, purely as an extra form of ID so if they are picked up, I can say 'my dog has this tattoo in his/her ear' (I have the tattoo numbers written down elsewhere).  Sort of an extra way of IDing it as my dog, or validating ID (e.g. if Remy got lost, he's a fawn dobe so looks like a weimeraner to most people so I could say 'look in his ear' and verify that they do indeed have him and not an actual weimy - I know of another fawn dobe who was identified as one by an ear tattoo).

There would be far easier ways to remove a tattoo than cutting the ear off. All that would need doing would be to scar the ear enough inside to make it unreadable. Or tattoo over it.

None of my UK tattooed dogs have had readable tattoos for long, at most a few months. The Swedish one I had was legible all his life. I just remembered I still have ONE dog left that is tattooed. Being a Malinois she has erect ears but unless you knew it was there, you would never spot it. You have to really look inside the ear and part the fur to spot something green -read it you can't. The Cavaliers I had tattooed also had fur grow over it covering it completely. So I don't think they're much of a visual deterrent. Oh, just realised my last Golden also is tattooed. Looked and his tattoo is a lot more visible, although I could not make out all the numbers. But with floppy ears it isn't something you notice unless you look.

I would love to have mine tattooed but worry that as (sensitive) adults it would be too traumatic for them. I know someone whose hound was terribly hand shy afterwards. Next time I'm at the vets I thought I would ask if they could work with the tattooist and give a local anaesthetic and/or sedation. Has anyone tried this or know if it's possible?

Mine are all chipped already but I like the idea of an instant form of identification that anyone can check.

> with floppy ears it isn't something you notice unless you look

I guess it wouldn't matter if you can't read all the numbers, from the point of view of phoning round places looking for your dog if they see anything inside the ear it's probably yours .

It's extremely unlikely that anyone at a rescue, cat and dog home, police station is going to know what a silken windhound is. I'd imagine if I lost one they could be recorded as any number of breeds so if I said can you please check any new dogs for an ear tattoo I'd have more luck. I've even had people ask what breed my border collies were, and argue when I told them because they don't/didn't have traditional markings!

>You have to really look inside the ear and part the fur to spot something green -read it you can't.

They don't use green ink any more, only black. Piglet's tattoo, which was done when he was 6 weeks old, is still legible, and he's 14½ now.

> is still legible, and he's 14½ now. .

That's good to hear because we found a stray dog in France some years ago and it's tattoo wasn't readable. Fortunately the vet that we took him to recognised him.

>You have to really look inside the ear and part the fur to spot something green -read it you can't.

I have always opted to have mine tattooed using black ink that fades to the usual dark blue, and this has remained easily legible all their lives, except the first digit or two will be in the hair which can easily be clipped out if needed).

Only my first two were done in green, one with the old large calieprs was a pain to read, and the other done with the newer (now standard) smaller Canadian ones was legible even fro me, but not as good as the black ones.

even though they are quite clear, even sometimes in photos, you don't notice them in normal life unless you look.

Any dog picked up and going into rescue should have a health check, which would normally include checking ears, teeth etc.

>but worry that as (sensitive) adults it would be too traumatic for them.

I have had adults done, and also friends adults including nervous rescue collies, when I have had a litter done, none had suffered any adverse effects.

The discomfort is transitory, and no worse than the reaction you'd get by the dog having it's foot stepped on, or a playmate getting a bit rough and playbiting too hard.

A friend who had a borzoi done as an adult said she became very hand shy afterwards, some breeds are more sensitive (wimpy!) than others and silkens are very like borzois, they don't forget pain. Mine howled getting their rabies jags and had to be carried into the vets a year later so I won't risk it unless I can get some sort of local or sedation. By comparison I had a collie who was quite happy to lie on the vets table and have him dig around in her paw before removing a foreign object without anaesthetic, a silken would be screaming before the vet touched them!

I groom a cocker who has his ear tattoed and it's still pretty clear, he's about 4 or 5 years old by now I think. Startles me every time when I turn the ear over and there's blue ink all over it! :-D