It is an offence in Northern Ireland to take in a stray dog found wandering without alerting a dog warden or the police.
Even good Samaritans who feel they are doing their best for a vulnerable dog, could find themselves in trouble despite all the care they may have lavished on a stray found wandering. And anyone found to have deliberately kept a stray with the intention of selling the dog, could face further consequences.
The news comes as a Co Derry dog rescue charity was able to help reunite a dog with her rightful owners who had been desperately searching for her for a week.
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Bella the Labrador was found by a member of the public but they failed to alert the authorities, and she had been missing from home for days when her owners found an image of her apparently for sale for £250 on a social media page.
The charity spokesperson said: “Bella’s owner has confirmed that this is Bella who we reported missing last week [and she is] for sale for £250 on [a] Facebook page. Please help us get Bella reunited with her owner before she’s gone again. The PSNI have been informed.”
The page owner and the charity made contact and the young Labrador reunited with her rightful owner. The charity said: “Bella was brought to us this evening, returned to her family and is home safe. Bella was found last week and wasn’t reported as found, which is a legal requirement for any dog that’s picked up. Instead she was put up for sale.
"Anyone who does not report a dog as found, is in possession of a pet that is deemed stolen in the eyes of the law. We’re delighted for Bella and her family.”
What to do if you find a stray dog
If you come across a lost or stray dog, the law requires that you always contact the local dog warden who is responsible for reuniting lost and stray dogs with their owners.
If a lost or stray dog is easily identifiable, for example, is wearing a collar and tag that includes owner contact details, and you decide to initiate reuniting the dog with the owner, you can follow these steps.
If you wish you may keep a stray dog temporarily in your home while trying to contact the owner or the dog warden service but remember that a lost or stray dog is likely to be nervous and may be unfamiliar with their surroundings so try to ensure they are in a secure area and unable to escape.
- Contact the owner if possible if the dog is wearing a collar it should have the owner’s contact details.
- Contact your council and they will arrange for a dog warden to collect the dog. They use scanners to check if the dog has a microchip containing the owner’s contact details.
- Check the dog’s collar as it’s a legal requirement that all dogs wear a collar that has the owner’s contact details either on the collar or on a plate or badge attached to it. Most dog warden services are only available in office hours. If you find a stray dog outside office hours, your council’s website should give details of where you can take the dog. There may also be an out-of-hours contact number.
- Contact the PSNI who should be able to arrange for the dog to be collected.
Keep yourself safe
- When contacting the owner, consider an appropriate location to meet them. You may want to ask that they meet you to collect their dog in a public location.
- Don’t give away any personal details to the owner if you feel uncomfortable doing so. The important thing is that the owner knows where and when to collect their dog and are able to prove the dog you have found is rightfully theirs with photos etc.
- If you have committed to reuniting the dog with owner at an agreed location but feel nervous about the handover, consider asking a friend to join you. Alternatively you could tell a friend or family member what you are doing, where you are going in advance and when you plan to get back.
- Take a charged mobile phone with you to the handover so that you can make contact with friends, family or dog warden if you need to.
- Trust your instincts; if something about the reunion doesn’t feel right then it’s best for both you and the dog that you contact the local dog warden, and so that they can take responsibility for the handover.
It may be possible to buy the dog if its owner is not traced or does not claim the dog within five days. You should tell the dog warden if you would like to buy the dog.
Owners' responsibilities on dog ID
- All wear a collar with the name and address of the keeper’s details attached.
- Dogs must wear a collar tag or disc, which show that the dog is licensed and these tags with the owner’s details are issued by their local council when the dog is licensed.
- A dog licence must be renewed every year and failure to have the dog licensed or failure that the dog does not wear a collar with the identification, are offences which can result in a maximum fine of £1,000.
- From the 1st January 2013 all dogs aged eight weeks or more are required to be micro-chipped before a dog licence can be applied for. See Article 17, 19 and 20 of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983.
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