A quick trip out into town ended at the bottom of my road when two dirty Collies brought our car to a stop. “I’ll just hop out and see if their owner is around” I foolishly said.
I’m glad I did, despite the following three hours of trouble.
Their owner, as you might imagine, was not around. As I followed the dogs, my wife began knocking on doors. As I was striking out across fields she learned from several of our neighbours that the dogs had been spotted wild for at least the past three days.
During the chase it became clear that the dogs I was following were tired, and afraid, jumping at sudden movements and running whenever I got close. Eventually they found their way to the corner of a field, and lay down to rest near a small stream. I kept my distance.
After having no luck finding their owner, my wife met me again and we considered our options. This is where the trouble really began.
I tried the police non-emergency number, 101. After a frustrating automated phone tree, i discovered they could not help me. It’s not their problem apparently. All they did was give me the number of the local dog warden, who was currently closed and would not come until tomorrow morning, and only if I had the dogs contained.
Leaving them out for another night was unacceptable, so i moved on
I called the local branch of the RSPCA. They also did not help. They gave me the same number, as well as a few other numbers, all of which were closed.
Growing increasingly frustrated, and running out of options, my wife tried a local boarding kennels. They could not help. Apparently if they took in any strays, even overnight until the dog warden claims them, they would be fined by the council.
We were then joined by a passing builder, on his way home from work. He saw the dogs, and heard our problem, and did not drive away. A few neighbours too had come out to help. Ceredigion’s authorities may not care, but the locals at least were proving to be good people.
We tempted them close with food, and managed to attach a lead to the braver of the two. The other dog however, was not going to be that easy.
The dog on the lead was older, and had obviously been trained. He was tired and hungry, but after giving both some food, he trusted us enough to lead him towards the fence. The younger dog followed, but was too afraid to be caught, and wore no collar. It took almost two hours to build enough trust to catch dog number two, and when we did, we realised it had never worn a collar before.
The story has a happy ending. The dogs were taken in by the good, good people of Linton Boarding Kennels. The older dog was microchipped, so both were reunited with their owner the next day.
The question remains however: why did the police not help? Why did the RSPCA not help? Why is the council preventing others from helping?
Be warned, dear readers. if you ever lose a dog, those that should help will chose not to. Your only option is to rely on the kindness of passing strangers.
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