If, heaven forbid, it should come to that at least it would be a quick and painless death. Dogs leaft to wander can have all sorts of accidents and could be in pain for some time before perhaps dying, plus there could be human victims of a car crash etc caused by a stray dog. If his owners care enough they will be in contact with the dog warden long before the 7 days are up.

The other choice you have is to catch him and then take him to your vets the next day to get scanned. That way you are control of what happens to him and not the dog warden.

Also if he has got a chip the vet will give you his owners contact details and you can make the phonecall etc to let them know that you have found him and that he is safe and well.

Id probably try to catch him, but then I seem incapable of doping anything but my OH is never amused with me when I get on a mission.

At least then he will be safe off the roads etc and you can have him scanned and see what you can find out.

Well, I'm keeping an eye out, but no sign of him yet - I bet I never see him again now

Could there have been a bitch in heat in your street that was attracting him? Maybe she's now out of heat and you might not see him till next time.

It's possible - one of my neighbours has recently taken on a GSD bitch, and the dog did linger near his house, so it could be her attracting him if she is in season.

No sign of him last night. Will let you all know if he turns up again!

what i meant was that if she left it to the dog warden that may be the case, thats why personally i would take him in and sort it myself

I would definitely catch the dog and bring him home then contact dog warden, police, local vets, groomers, pet shops etc to put the word about that you have found him.

I would be really concerned for his welfare if he is wandering alone near roads. Just before my move, I tried to catch a straying lurcher bitch, who had a collar on but wouldn't let anyone near her. Tragically she ran in the path of an oncoming car in the dark and was killed. It was horrendous. She had a collar but no tag, and wasn't microchipped. I did a bit of investigation of my own, and now feel she had been a travellers dog, and they had dumped her. Very sad. I just hope this tale has a happier ending.