Kennel and Cattery Management Magazine

The plight of the Stray Dogs

I wondered how many kennel owners had ever had a stray contract – or if any had ever considered taking in the dogs from the councils?

The Stray Dog Contract is a highly emotive subject throughout the UK and is something that I am sure we could all debate about for many months to come. Would we ever come up with a solution? Maybe we would.

I would like to put over some of my thoughts on this subject and explain to you what I am attempting to do. I would love to hear any comments from you – whether for or against taking the contracts – or just to give me an insight into the reality of the problems you have personally experienced with taking these stray contracts. I am also really interested in any views you may have about what can be done on the problem with stray dogs. Bearing in mind – I am on the side of the dumped dog and the genuine dog owners. I have no say in council policies or in their financial compensation. (If only I did). I know that the majority of kennel and cattery owners deal with owners who love and pamper their dogs – Yes I know not all – you who are in close daily contact with dogs who are cared for don’t usually see the same faces of the same types of dogs – just before they are killed. They are killed for no other reason than they were picked up by the wrong council in the post code.

“I have always had a passion for dogs and loved being with them all my life From leaving school – I always wanted to work with them. However, I got an office job where I spent too many years. During that time, I spent a lot of voluntary hours in local rescue centres – dealing with people dumping their pets – for a multitude of lies (sorry reasons). We attempted to re-home some of them – the waifs and strays – dumped and bemused – lost, scared and in a totally alien environment. However, I felt I was at least giving them a little bit of pay back when they were so vulnerable.

It was during my time at one of the rescue places that I had my eyes opened to the PLIGHT OF THE POUNDIES. Poundies are council strays and hand-ins – collected from the streets and held in kennels of varying descriptions. Depending on the postal code that the dogs are collected in – depends very much on the fate of those dogs. Certain post codes – and thus certain local councils – will pay a fair price for boarding the dog – in kennels who have isolation facilities – hold the dogs for 7 days – pay for vaccination and necessary veterinary treatment. At the end of the 7 days – the council will help the boarding kennels to re-home the dog – or move it to a rescue place somewhere around the country.

Some councils pay below minimum boarding kennel costs – to a non-boarding establishment – where the dog is held until its 7 days are up – and then it is killed. Thrown onto a rubbish pile along with the rest of the dogs for the day – and carted off to a maggot farm. Many of the dogs spend their last 7 days in filthy kennels – with mange sores oozing puss – and laying on wet bleached floors to add to their misery and pain. With excrement spilling into their sleeping quarters and urine all around them and the workers walking over channels overflowing with old faeces – into drains that don’t work. Coughing and spluttering – many go down with pneumonia – never to receive veterinary treatment – what for – they will be dead soon.

These pitiful creatures are held in kennels during winter without heating – under draughty roofs which leak and allow the gales to blow onto them as they sit in their empty plastic beds – barely sheltered from the elements. Held in kennels so hot in the summer – the flies have a brilliant breeding ground – whilst the dogs pant and breathe in the rancid air.

Here they stay for their 7 days. Sometimes people come round and see them held in these conditions – sometimes nobody is allowed round. Do people realise the conditions these dogs are in? Do they feel that these conditions are acceptable – or don’t they know what to do about it?

At the end of the 7 days, these councils wash their hands altogether of ownership of these dogs and either put them to sleep them – or hand them over to the pound owners to do as they wish.

The pound owner’s options are

a) Re home the dog themselves – sometimes they are careful where they go – sometimes they will just sell them to anyone.

b) Work with rescue groups like ourselves and attempt to move the dogs around the country to anywhere that has space to take the dogs. Sometimes the kennels will help with petrol costs – sometimes they won’t pay a penny.

c) Regularly destroy the dogs to make room for the next lot of strays – either by the vet or by someone on site.

The Dogs Trust collate information each year about the number of healthy dogs that have been put to sleep during the previous year. In 2006 – 8,000 healthy dogs were killed just because they were unwanted. That’s ANY BREED, ANY TEMPERAMENT and ANY AGE. The only underlying factor was that they were unwanted, unclaimed and un-noticed.

This problem has been around for years – and it will no doubt be around for many years after we get burnt out. Small rescue groups around the country constantly struggle to help prevent dogs being kept and killed in these abysmal conditions and I am sure that the dog loving, dog owning public of Britain, could force the Government to care.

The new Animal Welfare Bill is being put in place to ensure the protection and well being of pets and to ensure they are cared for to a set standard. You – the kennel owners of Britain – along with every single rescue shelter – will be monitored to ensure that you conform to that standard. I ask you this?

WHO WILL MONITORING THE DOG POUNDS?

Why – when you pay your license for your annual inspection – and your hygiene standards, your health and safety standards for your staff, your emergency veterinary procedures, your cleaning products and your COSH certificates – your knowledge and awareness of the animals in your care – is all inspected. Tell me this – who is inspecting these privately owned DOG POUNDS. I will tell you who – THE COUNCILS who are holding the dogs there. Those who will only pay £2.00 per night, and close their eyes and walk away.

We the small voluntary rescue groups that go into these places have nobody to complain to. Who is there The RSPCA inspectors will often be going in themselves and they know the councils won’t pay any more money out – they know that no other boarding place wants these dogs in case they are full of disease and because of the abuse the kennel owners and staff get from the violence and abuse some owners give when demanding the dogs back – or because the council won’t pay for the dogs to be vaccinated. So where else is there for the councils to take the dogs to – but these hell holes.

How can it be possible that in this day and age – a dog being paid to be boarded by the general public has to be kept at one high standards – whilst a dog being boarded by the local council – and ultimately enforced by the government can be allowed to be kept AND KILLED in pre-war conditions.

May every one of your lucky boarders lay comfortable in their warm beds tonight.

I would love to hear your views on the subject in the hope that we can open discussions with the Government, local councils and the major National Rescue Centres – to open their eyes to the conditions of these poor dogs. Please email me on admin@rainrescue.co.uk

Jacquie Neilson