the date on the link is 5th May 2010
it's the 6th May today

OMG i must be very naive, i can't believe people do things like this, why have animals in the first place

OMG i must be very naive, i can't believe people do things like this, why have animals in the first place

I agree that they should have let the new owners know the score and give them the option, i think i'd have had to give the dog back even though i would be heartbroken.

It does sound as if she let it out to wander but even if she meant let it out into the back garden she didn't start looking for it until the next day. I no she's old but surely she could have had a wander round calling his name etc, phone the rescues and vets etc. why wait for 2 weeks.
I had a dog wander off once, he used to sit under my desk at work and one day he decided to follow a customer out the door and none of us noticed. As soon as we did, we were out searching, putting up fliers etc. asking everyone we encountered if they'd seen him. I rang the dog warden and got no reply so left a message. Meanwhile someone saw the posters and rang me to say he'd been sitting on her doorstep and she'd called the dog warden who had collected him about 30 mins previous. I rang the dog warden constantly finally getting through just before they closed, they confirmed they had him but I would have to wait till the morning to claim him. I was there the minute they opened to collect him, and it cost me £25 for my trouble. He was wearing a collar and tag and was chipped but no one bothered to call me. The warden said they would have called me the next day, hmm not convinced but I didn't care, I was just glad to have the little oike back.

I feel dreadfully sorry for the elderly lady concerned. Perhaps she is not as mentally agile as some on this forum, but she clearly truly loves this little dog and it is her last link with her husband who has died. The dog slept on the end of her bed ever since the death of her husband, and was a huge comfort to her. She raised it from a puppy, and the dog must be missing her as much as she is missing it.

The dog did have a collar and tag, but the tag had been broken off.........many of us know how easily this can happen; and yes - there was no microchip but again I say that with some older people this may not seem to be such a necessity.

I know that the new owners legally have every right to keep the dog, but surely if they truly love dogs they will contact this lady, via the rescue centre if need be, and sort something out with her.

We have had our rescue Jack Russell for three months now and love him.............BUT, given that he is geriatric if his true owners turned up and he fell about with joy and delight then I would have no hesitation in handing him over.

If the story is reported accurately (and it's not a promising start to have the first error in the headline) then I would not return the dog to its former owner.

The dog was on a local, public register of found dogs, maintained by the local authority's dog warden, for seven days. Even if the owner didn't think to contact the dog warden, many routes of enquiry - the police, local vets, rescues, kennels, etc - would have pointed her towards that register.

The local authority have a right to charge a reasonable fee to cover their costs however, in practice, they are between a rock and a hard place if the owner refuses, or claims inability, to pay. For this reason it is often waived because the alternative is another dog in rescue or pts which may cost more than the release fee.

EDit to add: Wow! A thousand posts. Do I win anything?

You win the Order of the Windsock and are well on your way to being a fully qualified Gasbag. (as you can see, I am approaching Zeppelin status)

In the story I read, the lady left the description of the dog and her details with the Rescue in the first week, but it wasn`t passed on. So it is an administrative c*ck-up. The dog is 11 and has lived with the lady on a farm all its life.
I hope the `new` owner will realise how cruel this is.

Agree with Hali Also heard this lady, first owner of the dog in q speak on the radio just the other day- she sounded very odd, something did not add up about her or her story. Her voice sounded cold, too. To be honest with you think the dog is now in the best place- in a loving home!!

Warm wishes, Clarita

What on earth is cruel about what the new owner has done. They simply gave a home to a rescue dog that was found wandering the streets.