Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Abandoned Dog in Harringay Passage
This morning we found a dog tied to a lamp post in the passage between Falkland and Frobisher Road (it was heard barking from around 8am but we thought a neighbour had acquired a new pet).
I phoned the Council's out of hours number to report it but was told that the Dog Warden service was suspended as the kennels were full and was advised to contact the RSPCA. I duly contacted them, and Battersea Dogs Home, only to be informed that they no longer collect stray animals and was advised to contact my local dog warden (vicious circle time).
I then emailed and phoned SNT on the off-chance someone was available (they weren't) and so decided to phone to the non-emergency police number. Fortunately the person I spoke to put me through to 'control room' and I repeated the details yet again. The officer said he would contact the local police in view of the situation.
The situation being; a large, rather scary looking dog albeit friendly (my neighbour had given it a bowl of water and was able to talk to, and comfort, her). The dog was also somewhat emaciated as her ribs were quite visible. Our local postie thought that he recognised the dog and told us the address of the possible owner.
However, having started off being quite friendly, the dog was becoming increasingly distressed and a bit aggressive, and a number of people felt unable to walk along the passage. Passerby John McMullan identified the dog as a French Mastiff.
Half an hour or so later, 6 police officers turned up, one of whom had brought some food for the dog. After she had eaten and calmed down, she was taken to the van with the police officers who were trying to find a place with the RSPCA for her.
So, a big thumbs up for the Met and our local police who dealt with a situation outside their remit. But I do wonder what would happen if (god forbid) this situation were to happen again.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Here's a picture John uploaded to Flickr earlier and tweeted at HoL's Twitter stream:
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Not to mention the state of its bowel movements (visible bottom right). An animal like this will cost about £40 a week in food, let alone vet bills. Expect more. Utterly heartbreaking. Good on the Met for taking her away, I hope they manage to find the idiot who left her in the passage and at least do him for not cleaning up after his animal.
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Permalink Reply by Abi on
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What a horrible thing for someone to do to a dog. I'm glad you were able to get her looked after but it sounds like it was hard work getting there! Hope they do manage to identify the owner - I have no doubt that a postman would be only too well acquainted with local canines and their addresses, and will be in the best position to point them out!
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Permalink Reply by RNM on
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I saw that dog early on Saturday when she terrified my friend's toddler who was running down the passage. Not the dog's fault - she looked very agitated. After we dropped off the toddler, we went back to check on the dog (as we were unsure if she was abandoned or tied-up while the owner was doing something nearby). The original poster was already on the case by that point. Hope they find her owner. What a cruel, horrible person to do that to an animal. And also to leave her scared and confused in a place where she could scare people. Hope the dog has now found a better home with the RSPCA.
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Agreed. It's just wrong on every level really. The more I think about it the more I seriously hope they catch the person responsible - I'd hate to think that this is the sort of thing people just get away with...
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Possibly a desperate move by the owner and maybe they tried to have the dog taken in first. All three avenues tried at first on the day this dog was found in the Passage failed (the council, the RSPCA, Battersea Dog Home). The police didn't see it as their responsibility either until it was explained that no other agency was willing to help, that the dog was unwell, distressed & agitated and dumped where people were trying to walk (narrow passage - possible dangerous situation). Yes the police did help in the end, maybe helped by the fact the driver of the police van had had dogs all his life. They even turned up with dog food! Now that's 'community policing'. :)
I think the story here is the failure of the other agencies to deal with this situation. The RSPCA in particular brought in a new policy in 2010 of no longer dealing with strays;
'Stray animals
We are no longer able to take in stray cats, dogs, equines or farm animals. If you find a stray animal please follow the advice below:
• Dogs – contact your local authority.
• Cats – visit our stray cats pages for more information.
• Equines and farm animals – contact the police.'The Local Authority, Haringey in our case, had no capacity but crucially no advice as to what to do. Yes, hopefully the police were able to add more authority & weight to dealing with the situation. Thanks to the postman they did have an address to check out.
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Of course if we'd had our wits about us and were not so frightened we might have just unchained her and said "home girl!".
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Permalink Reply by ElleCarumba on
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a quick google finds:
"Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 your Council has a statutory duty to deal with stray dogs and this is undertaken by its Environmental Health (Commercial) Services Unit"
If Haringey has suspended its dog warden unit and is referring people to the RSPCA then surely it is not fulfilling its statutory duty? If the kennels are full then it really needs to get some more, rather than failing to provide one of the statutory services we pay our council tax for.
The problem of stray dogs is only likely to increase due to unemployment and as many of the teenagers currently sporting a staffy/mastiff grow bored or move on or out of their current homes and can't take it with them.
Lucky the police were willing to step in - and presumably they might carry a bit more weight with the RSPCA when searching for place for the dogs - but on other occasions they might be unable or unwilling to do so.
Six police officers does seem overkill for one (mean looking) dog though.... is that their minimum patrol size now?!
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Saturday, midday, originally they were very reluctant to come. There were four when I left and still none of us had the balls to so much as pat her on the head.
They need to stop storing them and sadly, start destroying them.
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Already happens. This from a press release for a Panorama programme aired 2010;
'Last year a third of all dogs taken in by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home were put down, BBC One's Panorama can exclusively reveal.
In a special investigation reporter Tom Heap finds that irresponsible dog ownership is so out of hand that dog pounds and pet rescues across the UK are overflowing with strays. This crisis is being fuelled by the street fashion for aggressive looking dogs.
The problem is now so acute that the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and the Metropolitan Police in London want the Government and local governments to act.
Scott Craddock, Director of Operations Battersea Dogs and Cats Home says: "Last year we reunited over 2,000 dogs to members of the public, those dogs which came in as strays. We re-homed 3,000 dogs, just over. But, sadly, over 2,800 dogs were put to sleep."
That's around a third of the total number of dogs Battersea Dogs & Cats Home took in last year.
Of the 2,815 that were put down, 1,931 of them were healthy but were judged to be too much of a risk to be offered to the public for re-homing because of their temperament or behaviour.
By far the biggest single group of dogs coming into Battersea Dogs & Cats Home are bull breeds and bull breed crosses – many of them Staffordshire Bull Terrier types known as "Staffies". They account for more than half of the home's longer term residents.
Hard-looking dogs have become a status symbol on the street. And the Staffordshire bull terrier, once highly regarded as a loyal family pet, has become a casualty of that fashion.'
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Permalink Reply by David Schmitz on
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I got in touch with one of the animal charities over the weekend, and will assist them when they wish to take the matter up with the Council.
I'm grateful to ElleCarumba for providing the statutory reference and very grateful (as every other resident and animal lover must be) to those who came to the dog's rescue.
Please note that I check the messages quite frequently on my council phone (07854 002742), and can often be of help in emergencies.
David Schmitz
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Harringay Ward
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