INC NEWS - Dog Found

[Ken Gasch]

Cindy Bailey talked about what citizens should do when we find a lost dog at the last INC meeting. She certainly opened my eyes. I have been guilty of keeping lost dogs in an effort to find the proper owner myself. No more. The following information (see below) is currently posted on the Old North Durham web site. I think it sums up Cindy's comments pretty well. Their URL is http://www.oldnorthdurham.org/

Ken Gasch 

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Stray Dogs
This is not directed at anyone in particular, but since it comes up from time to time, I thought we could offer a few words about stray dogs. We have a LOT of experience with dog rescue and with strays, and while there may be people with different opinions, this is intended to be practical and accurate information for those considering taking a stray dog off the streets. 

  1.. Unfortunately, OND has both lots of strays and lots of "kinds" of strays. Some "kinds" are: 
    1.. Emergency - Through a very unusual circumstance, the dog just got out and the owners will immediately start looking and do all they can to find the dog a.s.a.p. 
    2.. Escape artist - The dog got out AGAIN! In the past s/he didn't go far and it all worked out. Owners aren't panicked, but will go looking and follow the usual routine which has worked before. 
    3.. Ambivalence - Dog got away; owners figure that if it doesn't come home it wasn't meant to be. 
    4.. Stray - Dog may have had an owner or may still have someone who feeds it from time to time, but pretty much just roams free. 
    5.. Feral - Dog was born to a stray, has never had close human contact. 
  2.. There are too many of c,d, and e for the number of available good owners to take care of, so the sad fact is that many will end up being put to sleep at shelters. While this is a shame, many people (including me) argue that it is better than if they all ran wild, had puppies, spread disease, got injured, killed cats, got in to garbage, harassed people, and possibly caused accidents by running in front of cars. 
No matter what "kind" of stray you may encounter, if you do get the dog, you should immediately turn it over to animal control (560-0630). If you do not, you can possibly become legally liable for the theft of the dog! Only the animal shelter can legally take in a stray dog and make your adoption of it legal. Feel free to post to the list, to the Herald-Sun, or whereever you think appropriate to notify the work that the dog is going to the shelter, but again, it is illegal to just keep the dog yourself. 
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