What I can't understand (re the recent case in Dundee of a small girl being mauled by 3 rotweillors) is why we can't have a law limiting the number of these dogs people are allowed to own. I'm a dog owner, but why does anyone need/want 3 dogs, let alone rotweillors.
It would be so easy to police, rather than going on a case-by-case basis, if you had to have a license for your dog, and, in the case of dangerous breeds, had to prove your case for owning more than one (or even just one IMO).
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316 replies
reptile · 31/08/2010 10:45
OP posts:
Vallhala ·
31/08/2010 23:40
Vicar 
. It's a shame that the law no longer allows the Police to deal with strays if they all took your view.
Hows that progressing, btw?
Seashore, I couldn't agree more.
Goblinchild, it's a multi-faceted problem. Not all of us with more than one dog are wrong 'uns either! In fact, ime, with the exception of puppy farms, idiots who let their dogs breed and then chuck the pups in pounds/rescue and breed-to-fight types the majority I see in pounds and rescue are lone dogs. Certainly not all of those are dumped/strays, it depends on the area but many, sometimes the majority, come along as a result of marital breakdown, homelessness, those unprepared for the commitment or those who have a baby and decide that they no longer want a dog.
What we can do is neuter, first and foremost. Then microchip and abide by the law which demands dog tags on collars to give the optimum chance of a lost or stolen dog finding his owner and not a pound. Stolen dogs may be dumoed by the theif if he is not what they wanted him to be or publicity of the theft makes him too hot to handle but often they end up counties away and/or dog wardens and pound staff, even if they get notice of a stolen dog, don't recognise him by the owner's description. One man's Lab cross is another man's retriever cross and if the pound only has the owner's written/verbal description the dog may never be identified without a chip.
We can spread the word of the fate of pound dogs and discourage people from letting a dog have her first season before spaying or letting her have a litter. Have a look at this. It's in Ireland, which is how I first got involved in rescue as an English resident, getting the dogs into UK rescue. I GUARANTEE you that this is nothing unusual, here as well as in Ireland. The only difference is that over there dogs have just 5 days between being taken in as a stray and being PTS. Here they have seven BUT I have known English and Irish pounds to break that law.
We can alert everyone to the fantastic advice and help of DOGLOST if a dog is lost or stolen and tell all our dog owning friends and family NEVER to leave a dog unattended, even in a garden, as dog theft is rife.
We can rescue rather than go to a breeder and change the perception of rescue.
A dog from a reputable and responsible rescue will be assessed, neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, matched to the new owner and vice versa via a homecheck, bringing with him a lifetime's support and an agreement that the rescue will take the dog back should the owner not be able to keep him, even if that's in 10 years time.
Rescue dogs are by no means ALL strays and many come from family homes with a history on their child-friendliness, behaviour, cat tolerance and so on. IME many people think that rescue is full of unknown, unassessed strays alone and for that reason avoid them and go to breeders.
We can acquaint ourselves with what makes a good breeder and what is a puppy farm, not just via the Kennel Club but by talking to/reading about Many Tears rescue and the A Dog's Life campaign run by Moreen (Mo) Davie.
We can campaign for tighter laws on breeders - atm you have to be breeding a heck of a lot imho to be obliged to register with and be inspected by a local council or governed by law and this is WRONG and promotes irresponsible breeding, often irresponsible sales, unhealthy dogs and just too many of them in a climate where we... and yes, it is WE, for we all pay taxes to the council to run the pounds which kill dogs in their thousands... just have too many dogs.
And, finally, just for the moment, we can change the perception of what constitutes a dangerous dog and look beyond the breed. The majority of dogs in pounds and rescue are SBTs or SBT crosses and so often I hear "They're dangerous, I won't let my DC go to MILs house because she has a SBT" or "I want a dog and am a good owner but I won't have a SBT as they are aggressive", yet it's the minority, the DEED that is bad, not the breed. SBTs are recommended by the KC as family pets, one of, IIRC, only two breeds which get this accolade from them.
PRO, I found this by chance, checking ip on my thread on here about what people's perception of the RSPCAs powers are. Am miffed that so few have answered but it seems it's a bloody good job I did wander over here, for the dogs' sakes at least.
Now... has anyone walked a mile in my shoes? Anyone want to try?
Rescue is crying out for fosterers, fundraisers, homecheckers, transporters, kennel hands, dog walkers and the like. 
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