Oh this is dwelling on my mind and just need to ask!!
Yesterday on my way walking to the school to collect my children, a black and tan dog, size of a collie came trotting towards me, I look ahead to see if the owner was following, baring in mind I was on a quite busy road.
The dog had no collar look a bit skinny and dirty and could not leave me alone!!  He sniffed my clothing, I said hello to him and then realised he may be a stray.
Looking at my watch I had no time to take him back to mine so that I could call the dog warden so I had to leave him, I did however lead him up into the woods which is the way I walk to get him away from the roads.
I felt so guilty for the rest of the day, and thought if I see him on the way back I will take him home and call the dog warden, but he was no where to be seen.
Today I have saved the dog wardens number on my mobile and have in my handbag a slip lead incase I see him again! :(
I do feel so guilty that I had to left him

Hi Gemini
We always carry a slip lead in the cars, OH has one in the works van and many is the time we have caught loose dogs and taken them home, usually to be very gratefully reunited with their owners at some point. I also have the dog wardens No in my mobile for any eventualities. You did the best you could in the circumstances and now will be much better prepared for the next time.
Have to say we once picked up a Lab and sat in the car with it for best part of an hour waiting for the DW to collect only to find out later we were sat outside the owners front door...why oh why do folk not put tags on their dogs?? It is a legal requirement after all and a phone call would have been so much easier!!
Aileen.

If I find a stray dog I always capture it even if I don't have a lead and either get him home or go and ask at local shops etc if they recognise the dog. If not then the dog will come home and I will take it to my vets to see if the dog is micro chipped. If not then the dog will come home and the Dog Warden will be called.

The one time the dog warden asked me to look after the dog as they were unable to call they sent the owners round directly to my home. I got a load of verbal abuse from them saying that the dog would have found it's way home. I then made the point that I near ran the poor dog over and the dog had not collar and was not microchipped. He still carried on giving me verbal abuse so told him in no uncertain term to get lost and the next time I found his dog he would be so lucky to get the dog back :rolleyes:

Don't feel guilty as everytime I have come across a stray dog I have been able to catch it and sort things out. You cuoldn't which is not your fault. Perhaps anyway call the dog warden as I am sure they will log it and may when out and about will drive a round the area to see if they can see him :)

Lucy
xx

I've taken 2 "strays" to the local police station. One of the owners asked the police for my details and sent me a box of chocs and a thank you note in the post. Nice to be appreciated.

Try not to feel too guilty, collecting your children was more important at the time.

Finding lost or stray dogs always seems to come at the most inconvenient times, I've brought a couple home, just used my girls lead and led them home then made the relevent phone calls. But you can't always take a dog home and no-one wants to come out straight away to collect a dog from you in any case.:rolleyes: your left to clean it, feed it, look after it or travel and take it to a rescue yourself :rolleyes: and it is not always convenient for people to do that.

I think it is about time there was a very easy number for instance 777 or 888, that we could all call and have a warden, RSPCA inspector, rescue, etc to come within 30 mins to pick up lost or stray dogs where we find them, we don't always have the wardens or rescue's phone number with us, infact I bet most of us don't have them at all.

I think it is about time there was a very easy number for instance 777 or 888, that we could all call and have a warden, RSPCA inspector, rescue, etc to come within 30 mins to pick up lost or stray dogs where we find them, we don't always have the wardens or rescue's phone number with us, infact I bet most of us don't have them at all.

In our area the RSPCA will not collect strays; this is handled by the municipal dogs' home via the dog wardens.

Don't feel guilty, at least now you will be prepared should it happen again :)

I always have spare leads in the car and have picked up a few strays from busy roads and taken them to the police station. My work have told me I'm not allowed to pick up any more in the bus though :D Twice I seen strays through the night and lured them onto the bus then radioed for control to come and pick them up. I'd rather the dog goes to the police station than take its chances on the busy roads in town.

Whenever I have picked up a straying dog I have taken them to the police station (or even taken home once and waited for the owners to collect) I have put the Dog Wardens number in my phone now but I have to say when I did phone up about a dog that is constantly straying in our village (comes from a pub) they told me to try and catch it and then they would collect it from me as they had warned the owners several times about their dog straying. So my question is why don't they remove the dog from the owners!!!  Anyway, needless to say this dog is now very cute about you not catching him and I explained this as I would have marched him back to the pub and told them in no uncertain terms to keep their dog in if I could have caught him. They told me to ring again if I can catch him:rolleyes:

I once found 2 dogs wandering country roads, and tempted them into my car.  I then spent an hour knocking on doors - houses weren't close together, so it was tedious.  I eventually found someone who knew where they came from, but told me that they were always loose around the village.  When I found the house I'd been directed to, I couldn't find a soul about, and the house had doors left open!  I just let the dogs into the house, and closed the door behind them, but never did hear if I had put them in the right house!!

I keep a spare lead in my bag just in case. I used to bring them home and ring the dog warden who would never come out anyway so then we'd end up having to take the dog to the police. Rescues won't take them, the dog warden when I talked to them said they would be pts...so I kind of don't care too much to hand them in now. If they look street wise I let them carry on with their life. 

If I see a dog who is obviously lost though I try to take it home to trace the owner because were mine to get lost I'd hope someone would care for them too.

I have a real problem if I find a stray as I don't drive.  the Police won't pick them up and it is a long walk to the station.

Of course shortly the Police will not be responsible anymore for stray or lost dogs, it will be the local authority.

To find the Bristol dog warden you have to go through Pest Control using the main council number that is always engaged.  There is no listing in our Thomson Local directory for Dog Warden under animal welfare or the council pages.

If it is out of hours or I have pups at home I sadly just have to leave the dog and hope it finds it's way home.

I do have to say we get very few loose dogs these days as if the dog Warden gets them it isn't cheap to get them back.

Oh if the dog has a tag I will walk it home.

Last night, well the early hours of this morning my dogs was going mad, barking, growling, my OH looked out the window and the same stray dog had some how got in our front garden!
I quickly got dressed trying to think where I could put the dog in my house until the morning so I could phone the warden. but by the time I got downstairs he had gone.
When I got back into bed, I could here the stray dog barking in the distance, he must have been on the streets for a good week now, and I do have a bitch coming to the end of her season so I gather that is why he thought to pay us a visit!
I am home today with the kids, Teacher training day, and keep looking out my front window in hope that he comes back so I can do something about it, I feel so sorry for him. Why do owners do this, maybe they have got bored of him and just let him lose, as I said before he has no collar and I have checked the local papers and looked out for any signs for a lost dog but there is nothing, it does make me feel very sad.

It may be a dog that has got lost under other circumstances rather than abandoned - if you look on DogLost you will see a huge number of dogs that went missing when panicked by fireworks or that have been stolen and subsequently dumped :(

Oh the poor boy. Can you put some food out in the garden (something smelly), or a nice juicy marrow bone to tempt him back? Of course you may just have masses of foxes but during daylight hours you might be ok? Have you looked on doglost to see if he's listed?

Hi yes I have looked on Dog lost, and also done a google search for lost dogs in my area but there is nothing there that matches the dog.
I am going to put some food out in hope he comes back, I have just walked one of my dogs around my area in hope we find him, but there is no sign, hopefully he is back with his family or has been picked up already by the dog warden.

Working in the job I do I am always out and about. The amount of stray dogs I pick up is out rageous!!!!
Most of the time I find the owner pretty quick.
Last week I saw one laying down in the middle of the road. I had Gemmas lead so went and picked her up. Lovely dog. We deduced she was probably from the building site and I took her there. A bloke claimed her but wasnt exactly worried she had been laid down in the middle of a busy road :( :(
We took a large Rottie to the police station once, who told us to let him out onto the streets and he would find his own way hom,e
Dad turned round to them and said no, and if they didnt tell him what to do with the Rottie we would take him in and tie him up in the recpetion. Have a feeling she was scared of him as soon rang the vets and they took him :) :)
I personally would never leave a dog that I could get hold of. Even if it meant carrying it or holding the coller to go and do what I needed to do and then taking it to find its owners afterwards. Sorry.
Lea :)

BIG UPDATE!!
I have caught the stray dog! 
We went out this morning and when we got back the stray dog was in our front garden again, so I managed to loop a lead over him and have him in my back porch waiting for the dog warden, which trying to get hold of was just stupid! No reply from dog warden, phoned the RSPCA they said its not their job, so phoned the Police station and they gave us the mobile number of the local dog warden.
My dogs are really excited knowing there is another dog in the house but I have the stray shut away as he is a full male and don't want to risk any fights.
The stray is very friendly, but nervous, we really smells of poo and is very dirty, but the dog warden has told me not to bath him incase he turns.
I have tried him with drinking water and some dog biscuits but he is very nervous and has not eaten, I have also put some steak in his bowl to tempt him.
I am so pleased I have caught him, but now I worry as to what will actually happen to him?  I would love to keep him but have not got the space!! 

Aaah well done! :) Hopefully he had been stolen rather than just dumped, and will be back home with his owners soon. Did he eat the steak? :D

Well done - nice work.

He has been collected by the dog warden, he did not eat the steak!!
Dog warden said if he is not claimed then he will go to the RSPCA as he nice friendly boy, she kept quoting that my dog is in season, which I understand but I do not walk her in my area when she is in season and the stray dog has been roaming the streets for a good week now, I am just glad he will be hopefully looked after and loved now. x

Forgot to add, the dog warden scanned the stray and there was no chip, and no collar.
She also said that if he had been a staffie or staffie x then the Rescue centres would not take him in!

What happens to the staffy/stafX then I wonder

Well done for getting this boy off the streets, hopefully his owners will claim him - or he'll find himself a lovely new home. A job well done :)

7 days and the needle I expect.

Well done for catching him :)
UInfortunatly you cant win no matter what you do :( :(
You cant rehome him yourself as if he is owned and not abandoned you could be liable if the owners found out.
You have to hand him over, but then they might not find out who he belongs to :(
Why Oh Why dont people microchip???
(although saying that my eldest at 10 1/2 isnt as she never goes away from me and up[ to a few years ago it wasnt the done thing.
Where as my 2 younger ones are :)
Hope its a good outcome for him :)
Lea :)

If you inform DogLost of all the details they will put him on their website - they have a lot of dogs that have been missing for quite a while and he could be one of them. I read on there just recently of a dog who has been missing for 2 years and has just been reunited with his rightful owners.

Well worth emailing them with his details - you could make somebody's day :)

I bet you are so relieved that he came back, well done for managing to catch him!

Its very rude of the dog warden to comment on your bitch being in season, as you are a responsible dog owner and it wasn't your dog they were coming round for i would have told her to mind her own business (in a polite way of course:rolleyes:)

Phoned the dog warden today and the poor stray is still there, they are going to put up notices around my area in hope his owners claim him.
I have phoned around the vets in my area to see if any dogs of his description has been reported missing, but there is none. I would have thought the dog warden would have telephoned the vets in the area etc, but it seems that is not their job!
While talking to the vets, we both commented that if the dog owners we would have thought, would have put up notices etc by now as the dog has been roaming for a while, maybe it is better the dog gets re-homed to a loving family, the dog warden is looking for a foster home for him at the moment,

Of course he may not come from the area, he may have been dumped or stolen.

Yes, I have been searching the internet for lost, stolen dogs in the UK!!  still filtering through! and now joined a group for lost and found dogs in the process!

Well done for catching him and all the efforts in trying to find his owner