Tearful Mr Callaghan said: “Our patio door was open for the dog to get some air. Then George has gone and she’s followed him because she loves being with him.They could, yes, if their object was to return lost dogs to their owners, but as with every other council ‘service’, it’s really to gouge yet more money out of their residents.
“She was found in an alleyway just yards from us by a member of the public who took her to Swanley Town Council.
“They had my details and the dog is microchipped. They could have got it back to me the very same day.”
But Mr Callaghan says the dog was instead handed over to Sevenoaks District Council who are asking the unemployed father to pay £120 for her release.If the dog was a persistent escapee, on the loose all the time, biting postmen, fine!
But this is claimed to be the first timer it’s escaped and that was a total accident, not a consequence of an uncaring owner and a ‘latchkey’ dog...
A spokeswoman for Sevenoaks District Council said: "The council's stray dog out of hours service was called and the dog taken to kennels. If a dog is collected outside of business hours it will be taken to kennels immediately and only returned during working hours.And if he doesn’t?
"The owner's were identified by the microchip and contacted next working day which due the bank holiday was Tuesday 31st May, 2011. The owner was advised that the cost of the return of the dog was £125, this includes a statutory fee, council and kennelling costs.
"The cost was reduced by £15 to reflect the fact the dog was micro chipped.
"It is the policy of the Council not to return a dog until full payment has been made."
What next, you clip off an ear and send it to the owner in a box..?
10 comments:
Aye £15 for kennelling over a holiday weekend is damn cheap! Collection and return service as well. I think I'll shove Spot out the back door this weekend.
Who the hell takes a stray to the council?! If you see a stray dog and it's obviously collared,fit and cared for then any normal person assumes it's just gotten out of someone's yard. If it's friendly then you check its collar for a tag and cell phone the owners. If it's unfriendly it gets a kick or two and then you phone the owners.
I'm with Shinar on this. Phone the owner if its got a collar and number. If not knock on a couple of doors to see if anyone recognises the animal.
Uh oh ...SBC and Chalcedon are suggesting solutions (which I totally go along with and have done) that sound dangerously close to the Big Society in action...and no one likes that...or do they.
How is this not theft?
If I find someones property, and upon being found to have it in my possession by the genuine owner, refuse to return it unless I get payment (and threaten to destroy the property to boot) I think even todays Plod might want to get involved.
What is different here?
Given the huge number of unchipped staffies wandering around Swanley with their tattooed f*ckwit owners on a lead this man should have been given an award!
The Police used to collect stray dogs but they only used to charge for a tin of dog food per day.
The dogs that were going to be claimed always were within a day or two....
"Aye £15 for kennelling over a holiday weekend is damn cheap!"
The £15 was just a deduction for being chipped...
" If you see a stray dog and it's obviously collared..."
It seems the dog wasn't collared, as they relied on the chip and her not being allowed out unaccompanied. They've learned a painful lesson.
"How is this not theft?"
To paraphrase Nixon 'When the council does it, it isn't theft!'...
"Given the huge number of unchipped staffies wandering around Swanley..."
Yup, once again, it's a case of 'go for the easiest target'.
"...they only used to charge for a tin of dog food per day. "
More 'progress', I guess :/
I nearly left a regrettable comment here but shied back at the last moment. I still fucking thought it, though.
Bins all over again. I think the council here don't charge you first time unless you're really slack about coming to pick up your pet, in which case kennel fees are fair enough I suppose. On the other hand we still have dog licences... and even cat licences. Mad, neither of my cats can even see over the steering wheel, much less reach the pedals.
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