to be annoyed about this situation with neighbour and her dog?

[CantGetBackToSleep]

I’m lying awake because I don’t know what to do about this situation.

On Sunday our neighbour came to see us visibly upset. Her mum had been taken into hospital and she had been told to get there asap. Her mum lives in Scotland and we are in the South of England so she was panicking about getting there on time and also about who would look after her dog. We helped her book a flight as she was in a state shaking and in no state to think properly. She asked if we could have her dog for a few days. Reluctantly we agreed but said we were leaving to go on holiday on Friday evening so she would need to make other arrangements by Friday morning for him. We went and collected the dog and he has been with us since. We have our own dogs and they are all getting on well.

Our neighbour text me on Monday to say her mum had died. We had a brief text conversation and obviously I said how sorry I was to hear about her mum.

I text her on Wednesday morning to say that I know she has a lot to deal with but we really need to know what she’s doing about her dog as we are due to go away. I didn’t hear anything so I text her again yesterday to ask what she wanted us to do with the dog and got a text from another of her relatives from her phone saying our neighbour is very upset and isn’t in the right place to sort this out. I replied to say I understood but that when we agreed to have the dog, it was on the condition that she made other arrangements for the dog by Friday morning as we are due to go on holiday. I didn’t get a reply. I tried to call last night but it went to voicemail. I had already called our nearest boarding kennels who do have space so I told her on the voicemail that I could drop him at kennels but she needs to give them her payment details. I still haven’t had a reply from my neighbour.

What do we do? I’ve asked other neighbours and they won’t have him. My parents are having our dogs while we are away but are not willing to take the neighbours dog as well.

A friend has suggested I drop him at our local vets which is the vet my neighbour uses but I don’t think they would be ok with that. Another friend said if it comes to it to call the rspca, explain the situation and say he’s basically been abandoned.

I’m so stressed. I know my neighbour has lost her mum but we are not missing our holiday.

Put the dog in her garden. Phone the rspca give them the address and say the dog is abandoned by her. Don't give your details and go on your holiday. You can tell her that's what has happened then it's up to her.

Tell me you haven't read the OP's updates from HOURS ago without telling me 😂

Have a great holiday OP!

Agree with this. I'm really shocked by the posts on here

JFC OP has already looked after the dog for a week after helping it's owner book her flights home. If she weren't going on holiday she would have carried on looking after the dog. Her neighbour knew that she was going on holiday. OP has done much more than most people would have done.

This is a classic example of no good deed going unpunished.

OP's neighbour should receive calls from the vet and the dog warden because it's her dog.

Now your neighbour is going to receive calls from vet and dog warden

As she absolutely should - she has abandoned her dog.

I agree. The only thing that worries me is what happens to the dog if it’s not chipped and the owner can’t be contacted. OP says she blocked her neighbour so she can’t complain. I think maybe before doing so she should have sent her a text to let her know where the dog was and the contact details. At the end of the day it’s not the dog’s fault but the plain fact is if the owner doesn’t rock up within a certain time frame, there’s a possibility it will be PTS.

How long are you away for?

God what a heartless thing to do. If no-one picks up on it, it’s the dog that suffers. Nice.

I wish id picked up this post earlier.

I imagine many posters feel like me and wish you hadn't picked it up at all @HarshbutTrue2
But hopefully the OP doesn't care and is having a fabulous start to her holidays.

This would make me so angry that I would tell her her dog will be left in her garden with water and Winalot unless she gives me her bank/credit card details for the kennels. You should not miss your holiday.

Animal charities are there to help. I will name them: Blue Cross. I have taken a road accident cat to them. They took it in and paid the vet bill. I contacted them about a ferret that turned up in our back garden, a tame one. They arranged for it to be collected.

They are part of our local community. Whenever anyone has any sort of Animal related problems their first port of call is Blue Cross.

They were very understanding regarding my canine house guest and only too willing to help. I bet faced with the same situation today they would help to find a solution. They may have an emergency foster home.

Alternatively, the rspca would have given advice.

I think all the comments on here about abandoning the dog and pretending OP knew nothing about the dog are vile.

My dogs have been looked after during family bereavement. But I have never had to go to Scotland during such a difficult time.

Yes, but by law all puppies have to be microchipped so assuming the neighbour has complied with the law and has kept her contact details up to date, the vet will be able to contact her. If she hasn't that makes the neighbour even more negligent.

Well said!

Just for the hard-of-reading, the OP has told the owner that her dog is with the vet: "I have left another message to say we will be taking him to the vet this morning if she doesn’t pay the kennels or arrange for him to be collected from us."

And nowhere does the OP say that she doesn't know the dog or who it belongs to: "The dog is at the vet and they said they would scan and contact his owner if he has a chip. One of the receptionists recognised him so they know the owner is a customer. I’ve blocked my neighbours number so she can’t contact me to complain. Thanks for all the advice."

The vet will have the owner's details even if he is not chipped. If they will only call if he's chipped, then I don't see what the OP could have done about it, but I can't see that that is the case.

This is why I don't have a dog or other pet. It would not be fair, because I am not rich, but do love a holiday and don't drive also, so doing a pet friendly holiday is not for me either

It doesn't matter what is said when a non-owner hands in a dog to either a vet or a dog warden. Initially, the chip has to be scanned in order to verify the identity of the rightful owner.

In Scotland, there's a legal obligation to have your dog chipped. (I don't know about the rest of the UK.) The council website for my area actually specifies that a stray dog will be scanned 'if it is safe to do so' and placed in the specialist kennels which are contracted to the council.

The same kennels are used to house dangerous dogs pending court cases. There's a a specific tariff which must be paid by the owner before any dog is returned to them (unless it's a dangerous dog which is PTS after a court case).

Dogs that are not claimed within 7 days Dogs that are not claimed within the 7- the property of the council and are 'rehomed via a reputable rescue centre.'

The cost to an owner who claims their dog is £165 for the first 7 days and an additional £16.50 a day thereafter.

Some people are incredibly entitled. I would feel really grateful to a neighbour for helping me like this and I would either return home, or pay for kennels, or arrange for someone else to take the dog. I would absolutely make sure that they were able to take their holiday as planned.

Since the vet recognizes the dog, wouldn't it be easier if OP said who the owner is? Then the vet could check their files to confirm. It seems much simpler that way.

But the vet does not know who the owner is. They recognize the dog, but will have to figure out who owns the dog.

Now, she’s going to have another shock since the dog has been taken away. Who knows how it came to be with her in the first place? She’ll come home to compounded grief. But she shouldn’t come here for any understanding or sympathy.

I mean she'll be the architect of her own misery on that front. She knew the OP had a holiday coming up, where did she think the dog would go?

The owner knows who the vet is and if she has any decency will be in touch with the vet, having received the text from OP.

We don't know if the OP told the vet who the dog belongs to or not. She may have done but whether the vet can act on that info, I don't know.
Vets do keep records of pets and their owners too so I doubt it would have been too difficult to match dog with owner.
Anyhow, surely the owner should be calling the vet or getting her friend to do it. Where is she and/or her friend in all this?!

No good deed going unpunished. I hope the neighbour isn't annoyed at you, what could you do? The owner knows where her dog is and so should contact the vet to sort things out.