|
When
is a stray not a stray?
No
it is not a joke or a riddle. This is a serious subject that Karen
asked me to include. Here at the Shelter we are the designated
kennels for the Bolton area for 'stray' dogs. Therefore all 'stray'
dogs are brought here to us. The legal definition of a stray dog
is a dog that is at liberty on its own or is not under control.
This includes the dogs that are deliberately put out by their
owners for their toilet. We often have problems with people claiming
their dogs and saying that "He knew his way home and the
Dog Warden had no right picking him up". In fact that is
the polite version of what gets said!
Equally we get the dog owners who have had an go unfortunate a
accident and lost their dog. This can be for any number of reasons.
The most heart rending being the after effects of a burglary.
These people are almost without exception very grateful that we
have been able to re-unite them with their friend, and never any
protest about the impending fine made by the Local Authority.
That answers the dog situation but what about cats. That is a
very different matter altogether. There is no legislation that
affects cats and therefore no requirements controlling their freedom
of movement.
However we very often have cats brought to us that are in perfect
health and yet supposedly "stray". We cannot say to
the finder please put him back he will go home, as that would
make us seem uncaring. However if we admit the cat we know that
there is a less than 5% chance that the cats owner will come to
us to see if he is here. Therefore we find ourselves getting new
homes for cats that were not lost in the first place. There does
not seem to be a solution to this dilemma other than people being
more aware of their animals needs and how the law affects them.
|
