Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Dogs Dumped On Streets Of Norwich

According to the Norwich Evening News, more than 400 stray dogs have been picked up by the city council dog warden in the last year, over 125 are estimated to have been deliberately dumped by their owners.

Dog warden Moria Ross-Dempster said:

“Because of the condition some of the dogs are found in, you can tell that they’ve been dumped deliberately. It’s not the case that they would have got into that condition during their time as a stray, because you can tell from skin conditions and other illnesses which take a long time to develop that they suffered from them before.  Owners need to take more care in making sure their dogs have a collar as it is against the law now for them not to have one.”

A spokesperson for the council said:

“We are experiencing a growing problem in particular with Staffordshire Bull Terriers – they take a lot of attention in terms of training and walking, which people need to take the time to do. In these cases the dogs aren’t vicious but get bored so do things like chew furniture and people dump them.  The state that some of the dogs that come to us in is upsetting, and there is no reason for that. If dogs are too ill to be saved then we would have to think about putting them to sleep which is not something anyone wants to do.  We would urge people to take more care before getting a pet as well as when they have one. The space they are kept in must be suitable – for example gardens must be secure – some of the issues with strays in the city are caused by dogs escaping.  Dogs that are found straying in Norwich are seized by us and will only be returned to the owner after payment of all costs incurred.”

It costs £65 for the first day and £10 for each day after for dogs that are picked up in Norwich, although costs do vary across the country from council to council.  That makes me wonder how many owners do not collect their dogs because they cannot afford it.