they dont open till 12 pm today

butttt fab news - were getting him back and we have found him a home!!!! the people are lovely - they have a collie already

adn the best bits

they are calling him murphy (my chosen name for him lol)
and

i get to see him everyday

great news but.. don't you have to wait 7 days to see if his owners turn up?

Good news Suze.

well done for finding him a home!

will the rspca just hand him over to you though? dont you have to wait?

in 7 days............ if his owner turns up......

after that he's mine.... im glad this woman wants him as its the perfect home for any dog - especialyl a collie...!!!

so they will rehome him to you to give to someone else?

no i just 'get him back' apparantly .......



speaking to someone who works at the rspca now - no paperwork involved -=


the 28 day thing is because they have decided to keep him there - if he went to the dog warden it would be 7 days grrr

sound a little suspect to me.. don't they have policy and procedures to follow?
No disrespect to you and your friend but this rspca is clearly not doing things by the book.

suze, what you are describing is completely illegal. This dog does, under the law, qualify as a stray, as no original owner has come forward and signed over his ownership. That means the RSPCA HAS to report him to the council dog warden. Im guessing they havent, as you have said no paperwork is involved. Im quite shocked that a major national rescue would do this actually. The stray laws are quite welll known by rescues...They, nor you, are not covered by the 7day law all the time the dog is not on the council books, as the 7 day law ONLY counts for dogs registered to local councils. This means that if the owner comes forward, the RSPCA, yourself, and the new owner would not legally own the dog, and all of you could find yourselves in court, forced to return the dog. The 28 day rule counts for private individuals whom have found a dog and can claim ownership if the owner doesnt come forward within 28 days, as long as you have advertised the dog and made good efforts to find the owner.
Even then, the original owner can still challenge you in civil court. As i recall, the RSPCA have been taken to court before due to rehoming a stray dog without registering it with the local council. In that instance, the dog's owner happened to be a dog warden from a neighbouring council.
You are much better off going thru the council, they most probably would rehome him to you or your friend.
Not to mention a bit dodgy of a rescue centre to rehome a dog to an individual to rehome it again. That is definitely not accepted good practice amongst us rescues.