Dog Warden

T

truthseeker

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Needed a rant about this:

Situation has developed with a stray dog hanging around where I live. He has been hanging around over 6 weeks or so, has collar, initially people thought he was just someones dog, but has been getting more and more bedraggled and matted up looking. Been sleeping on peoples doorsteps, has become obvious he is not belonging to anyone.

Some people fed him out of sympathy.
Number of neighbours discussed it, agreed to phone DSPCA for advice.
They advised gaining his trust by feeding enough to capture him.

Tried this. Has become apparent that he is partially feral at this stage, will not allow himself to be touched, becomes very scared/aggressive if cornered but for the most part is too fast to catch anyway.

So, situation came to a head this week, he began going for people walking through carpark. Rang DSPCA, they didnt want to know - we dont catch strays, thats for the dog warden.

Rang the dog warden, he phoned back said he would be along that morning. Never showed. Rang back, had to go through same spiel again with office, he phoned back, said he would be along in the afternoon, never showed.

Next day rang dog warden again, said he would be along that morning, never showed. Numerous calls to dog warden, his office tells lies - 'oh he is there now trying to catch dog' - eh Im looking out window at dog, no dog warden, 'oh he already tried and couldnt catch dog' , Im still looking out window and after 1.5 days of calls to dog warden he hasnt showed so office is clearly telling lies!!!

Ring Dogs Trust, they wont take strays, suggest we ring DSPCA and tell lies!!! Say he is injured. Ring DSPCA, response 'if that dog is not injured we wont take it, we wont come for a limp, what - he went for people? Call dog warden'. We explain we have now been 2 days trying to get dog warden out and no joy, DSPCA calls dog warden number of choice names and tells us they cant help unless animal is sick or injured and a limp, a matted coat and fleas doesnt count as injured.

Ring Guards, explain situation to them, they say: 'we will ring dog warden'. Still no dog warden. Ring dog warden again - each time having to go through same spiel and getting told various lies from his office - know its lies cos sitting looking out window at dog sunning himself.

Finally, ring local politician. 20 minutes later dog warden is standing in car park, annoyed at being forced out at 4pm, with empty van cos he had dropped off dogs and was on way home!!! Typically dog is now not making appearance.
Being honest - pretty useless individual. Get long detailed story off him about how he cant be chasing dogs, the DSPCA are a shower of whatevers, he only gets dogs people have contained in back gardens, its all our fault for following instruction from DSPCA and feeding dog, chase him, run him off - these are really his solutions. Point out to him chasing dog off is not a solution, shrugs and looks bored.
Goes on about how people think he has some kind of magical device to catch dogs and he doesnt etc...etc...

Dog Warden leaves, dog arrives back and immediately goes for neighbour walking to car.

All neighbours now at a loss what to do, despite repeated calls it seems the only way to get dog warden out is to resort to local politicans, dog is still at large, very obvious that dog warden will not chase dog anyway!!!

So what do we do - we want to be responsible, get dog off streets.
 
Have had similar experience to yours, and yes, everyone you call thinks it's someone else's problem or finds an excuse to do nothing.

"trapping" the dog in someone's back garden or throwing an old fishing net or something over it (having got your useless dog warden on standby) are 2 thoughts that spring to mind?
 
Thanks Jock,
Have already tried the back garden trap - he will absolutely not go into a back garden or anywhere he thinks he might be trapped.

We did manage to get him into a bin shed but he wriggled out through the bars and wouldnt go back in no matter what - dont blame him!!

We also tried makeshift catchpole - wont go near it.

We tried blanket over him, wouldnt let us near enough and got aggressive when cornered.

The main concern is he will go for a child, as he has already gone for unsuspecting walkers.

We are not professional dog catchers - presumed dog warden would use sedative or trap of some kind - but no, apparently he does very little except scratch himself while explaining that he cant chase dogs to catch them.
 
Seeing as your local politician got the warden out so quick, I'd give him/her another shout saying thanks for his/her prompt action, and explaining what the warden said to you. (I'd be writing about him to the local authority as well, he's a disgrace.)

There's some information about the Control of Dogs Act on this [broken link removed]
here's a section of which may be of interest to you:

"Section 11 enables dog wardens and the Gardai to seize stray dogs, including dogs not under proper control. Such dogs, if not claimed by their owners within 5 days, may be destroyed or disposed of. A person reclaiming a dog must produce a current licence in respect of that dog.
Section 12 enables local authorities to accept unwanted dogs and if not rehomed, to arrange for their disposal in a humane manner.
Section 13 requires a person who finds and takes possession of a stray dog to return it to its owner or to deliver it to a dog warden or to notify a dog warden or the nearest Garda Station that he/she has the dog. Where the finder of a dog notifies a dog warden or Garda Station and the dog is not claimed by its owner within one year, the finder becomes the owner of the dog."
 
Thanks TreeTiger,
We have already done the bit about thanking the politician and asking him to follow up which he has said he would do and we told him about dog warden being not too interested (and annoyed about being forced out).

The real issue is not about who is supposed to be doing something, its getting them to do it.
The dog warden is claiming he cant catch dogs. The politicians are saying its his job to do so. But nothing practical is happening.

How is it possible to catch a dog who doesnt want to be caught?
 
Will do Caveat, but will wait a while first as situation is still wide open right now!!

Jock04, how did you get resolve to your situation?
 
This may sound a bit dramatic but maybe ring the local newspaper (such as the echo) depending on where you live? they might send out a photographer and do a story, it may embarrass the local government/dog warden enough to do something?
 
Ciaraella - that is a good idea, I will look up the local paper contact details and give them a shot alright.

Jock04 - I am hoping it doesnt come to that but I am at a loss as to how to proceed if the supposed 'professionals' are doing nothing.
 
Would a vet be able to give you something to put in some food for the dog that would knock him out for long enough to be caught?
 
We phoned a vet and she said that she would definitely not give us a sedative nor would (or should) any other vet in her opinion. The reason being that if the medical history of animal is not known you could kill it if it had a heart murmur or was weakened from lack of food etc.. Plus these things are measured by weight of dog and you would only be guessing his weight.

So vet was no practical help - although did suggest making a lassoo type affair and lassooing dog, which sounds like a good idea but ever tried it? Perhaps if you were a professional cowboy you'd be able to do it, this dog just dodges lassoo - think of trying to lassoo a fox.
 
truthseeker said:
Jock04 - I am hoping it doesnt come to that but I am at a loss as to how to proceed if the supposed 'professionals' are doing nothing.
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Wish I could've been more informative. Really.


I was advised to become a pest to the Council till something was done. Sad to say, they ground me down with fobbing off & eventually "sorry, not at their desk right now".
Somehow tricking it up a blind alley seems your best bet. Good luck.
 
Thanks for that Sueellen, Dogs in Distress have been extremely helpful and are coming back to me today to try and organise some way of catching the dog.

I will follow up here and let people know how it pans out.
 
God this is absolutely shocking.

I would have assumed anyone involved in animal welfare would help you.

Please let us know what happens to the dog.

Great bunch of people on this website I would post here you will get good advice.
 
I have to say the dog warden(s) in the area sound more than useless but that doesn't surprise me.
I have long been against how local councils deal with stray dogs and their approach has often been a point of personal disgust.

I am presumimg you are in Dublin but at times the Donegal SPCA is also referenced by the same acronym.
There are charitable organistations that may be able to help you out with this situation.

One thing that I have make an observation on here is that this dog sounds frightened as opposed to being a ferocious beast.
Unfortunately, this is probably a result of him being previously neglected and there is a high chance he's been abandoned in your area.
This happens all too often.

Initally you said he slept on doorsteps and obviously took food left out for him (he's probably starving!)
However, perhaps a sudden flurry of people trying to corner him became all too much and in his head, he has now turned to defending himself.
It's nothing you are doing wrong it just that he is frightened and doesn't want to be cornered...the classic fight or flight.
These could well be symptoms of a dog that has been mistreated.

As a result, it sounds like he has become even more weary of people and is warding of anyone who comes within any distance.
Just out of curiosity has he tried to physically attack anyone or does he run up to them and bark/growl?
If someone stands their ground with him, will he back off?

I am not an professional in this area by any means!!!! I'm just making some points as someone who has been involved in animal care for a long time.

On the point of sedation, no reputable vet in the country would hand out medication of this type. Why would they?!
You could be using it against a neighbours' pet or against that husband/wife that just pushed you too far!
Ok I joke on the latter but you get what I mean :)
 
Bamham - I will definitely let you know what happens.

Pique318 - It is Dublin and we have already called a number of organisations and been told 'we dont catch strays - call the dog warden'.

The dog is frightened of human contact, he will not allow anyone to touch him. He behaves as though he has been beaten - shies away from a raised hand (a hand raised to try pet him).

The bad behaviour is all territorial, outside of my immediate area he is not a bit aggressive, but where he has been fed he is defending his food source.
He also becomes scared/aggressive if you try to corner him.

He has run up and gone for people (barking, growling and making like he is gonna nip the feet) but if they stand their ground he backs off, unfortunately if they act scared he keeps coming - so far he has not managed to nip anyone, but Id be worried if it was a child. He is also dog aggressive in the area he has been fed but apparently outside of that he just hedges away from both people and dogs walking.

I agree about the sedation - but I really cannot see another humane way of catching him if the dog warden wont set a trap of some sort. Otherwise he will have to be cornered - and he will not like that and whoever does it is going to be bitten.

Overall I think the dog is mostly frightened, hungry and because he has been fed in my area thinks its his place and doesnt want strangers threatening his territory.

I can only assume he is being fed elsewhere also as he does not appear every day.

I am disgusted with the dog wardens attitude of 'chase him off so its not your problem'. I am also disgusted with the DSPCAs lack of interest and them calling the dog wardens names and him calling them names doesnt help anything.

Ultimately there is an animal on the streets whose physical condition has been getting worse and worse recently, his behaviour has disimproved, he cannot be disciplined because he cannot be touched so there is an issue of animal welfare and with the territorial behaviour there is an issue of human safety also. And no one who is supposed to help will help.
 
Maybe contact Joe Duffy / Derek Mooney. This type of nonsensical behaviour from people who are "supposed to care for animals" is abhorrent.

Just see the attached mission statement that the DSPCA have on the website.


The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a registered charity, established in 1840 to prevent cruelty to animals and is now Ireland's largest animal welfare organisation.

Cruelty, neglect, accidental injury and sickness to animals continues today - and we are still here dealing with these problems.

We fight animal cruelty and abuse in all of its forms. We also provide direct care for thousands of animals at our shelter in Rathfarnham for both domestic pets and wildlife and also through our mobile veterinary clinics.


We care for animals by:



  • Investigating suspected cruelty and where appropriate prosecuting people who inflict cruelty on animals.
  • We have four Inspectors who cover Dublin city and county.
  • Providing animal ambulance service to rescue sick and injured animals.
  • Caring for animals at our shelter in Rathfarnham.
  • Finding new homes for the animals in our care.
  • Providing advice and information to the public on pet care and animal related queries.
  • Providing accessible veterinary treatment at our mobile clinics.
  • Providing educational information and an information service, colleges and youth groups.
  • Providing career guidance advice for those interested in working with animals.
  • Working on legislative changes to improve protection for animals.
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