Christmas strays

No cats, but several dogs were brought in over Christmas, we even had a phone call about a stray at 3.0am Christmas morning!  Also we had reports of an extremely aggressive dog holding a couple at bay in a house on Christmas Day.   What happened?   Did the dog attack them?   Escape?   Calm down?   We didn’t get any more details.   Sometimes a dog under pressure in a stressful situation will react with aggression, this is why we always give the strays a chance to settle down and regain their composure before make any firm appraisal of their personality.

None of the strays who came in have been claimed but hopefully we’ll find their owners soon.   If you have lost a dog you need to contact the local councils, the Environmental Health Department are the ones who initially deal with strays.   They have a lost dog register (we email photos and details to them out of hours) – if your dog is on the list he or she will be safe and can be collected on payment of a release fee  (payable to the Council).   Please contact us if the Council Offices are closed over the holidays.    We do not set the release fee rates and this amount must be paid before your dog can come back to you.

If your dog has strayed (or been taken) out of the area, he will be in different kennels.   Where the dog is depends on where he was found and not where his home is.    Each council has an out of hours telephone care line and they will give you more details.   Just knowing that your pet has been brought in and is safe and uninjured will provide a lot of peace of mind.   Not knowing what’s happened is awful.   If your dog has gone missing and you have no news, please register the details with us.

Sometimes dogs turn up after a long time.    Sensie, a staffi who was lost in Sheffield and was gone for over a year, turned up here as a stray who was found in this area.   We eventually managed, by a miracle, to reunite him with his owners.

Dogs really do smile!