I was walking my 12yo chihuahua X late saturday night, or more like early hours of sunday morning, about 2am-ish. It was so late because I had just watched a film and took little one for a quick walkies before bed time. On the way, I came across a dog tied to the railings which lunged (sp?) at us...I immediately picked up my chihuahua ... (something which is now a quick natural reaction for me after 12 years since so many people have allowed their big dogs to run freely overpowering my dog and in one fairly recent situation, a staffy almost attacked him)

Anyway.... back to the tied up dog, luckily it had been tied to the railings so we were just out of its reach but it was barking at us. I dont know a great deal about dog behaviour to be honest, but knew enough to know that its bark was just basically telling us to go away and knew that I could get past it and through the gate which it was almost blocking without much of a problem. Anyway... I finished the walk with my own dog..walked back through the same gate, it barked but wasn't threatening and this time was much easier to get through.

I took my dog back home, and so followed a long night with only 2 hours sleep. I got some of my dogs food and took it to the tied up dog. Obviously with the food she was a bit more welcoming, but it also gave me a chance to look at the dog and my god it was so thin, it was cold, absolutely starving and gobbled up the food in seconds.. I went to fetch more....and some water... infact, it was so thin, I actually made the mistake of feeding her too much in one go... after about half hour, I very reluctantly decided to bring it back with me as I just didn't know what else to do, no phone credit, no one to call at the time of the morning anyway as I didn't know of any emergency numbers but I just could not leave her there. I brought her back with a view to keeping her with me until monday, taking her to the pdsa ad getting her checked out etc etc....which didn't quite happen that way as she's not my dog...so on the tuesday called the council as advised, and reported her..dog warden has yet to contact me which is frustrating me because Im eager to get her checked out.

I now know, after quite a few people seeing her including the PDSA, that she's most likely a staffy bull cross and she's the most beautiful thing!! Its almost a week now since I found her and I dont think I want to part with her. She's slowly putting weight back on and looks a lot healthier than she did last saturday, but I can still see a bit too much rib. (after the initial over feeding of her which I paid the price for all over the kitchen floor..sick and poo..I gave her small amounts of dry food, about 1 mug full 3 or 4 times a day, which I've now increased and there don't seem to be any problems now.


Theres no real point to this post, I just wanted to share my story but there are a couple of questions I'd like to ask which I thought about as I typed this:

I reported her to the council on tuesday, they have my details inc. phone number and dog description. I have heard nothing from them since, no calls, no visits.
a: Is it normal to wait for this period of time for wardens?
b: Even tho the wardens have not visited me, can I still claim the dog as mine after the 7 days, or does it have to be 7 days after the wardens have done their bit?

Anyway...I'll try and upload a picture of her some time in the future if anyone is interested!

It really beats me why people do things like this to animals but in a weird kind of selfish sort of way, Im glad her previous owners did do this to her because then I wouldn't have been blessed with this gift!! she's actually snuggled up against me right now as Im typing

Sorry for the long post, I had to let all of this out!! hehe.

What a wonderful thing to have done Really, you deserve a medal. Many people would have quickly walked on but thankfully you were there to care enough to save her. It sounds as if she has settled in well and some pictures would be fabulous. How is she getting on with your other dog now?

I am sure some others will be able to help soon with your questions but best of luck whatever happens!

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Firstly well done for taking her in

Personally if the dog warden hasn't got back to you, I would be chasing them............

She should be put on doglost, notify local vets and police. In this day and age you can not assume it was the owners that tied her up and left her - it is possibe she was stolen and proved no good...... Also you should have taken her into a vets/pdsa and had her scanned for a microchip - they will scan foc

Also as a finder of lost/abandoned dog, you can claim her as yours 28 days after finding her, but she must be logged with the dog warden. Only pounds/rescues have to wait 7 days.

I think that covers it, anything else just ask and I'm sure someone else will come along shortly

I have just added from my own experience

Lastly on this forum we love to see pics of doggies so hurry up and upload some

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Awe bless her, poor little girl and so glad you found her. A call to the RSPCA may be a good idea because she shouldn't have been in the condition she was in had she been looked after, maybe they could ensure the previous owner isn't allowed to have her back due to neglect.
I would put her on doglost just in case she was taken from other owners before the last neglectful ones but if she had and they know about the site then she may already be on there - doubt it though, just another Staffy cross abandoned I reckon.
Well done for taking her in and do be carefull with your Chi, she could be dog aggressive so don't under estimate her. Oh and ....... pics please!

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actually, quite a few people did walk past her apparently. my nephew told me the other day that a friend of his had mentioned it on facebook that some cruel ******* had left a dog on the railings.. so I believe she had been there quite a few hours before I found her.

regarding my own dog, I was very cautious at first and believe it or not, love him or hate him, I would not have had anywhere near the confidence to handle her had it not been for the many Cesar Millan/Dog Whisperer programs I've watched. I know I did not do things correctly, and sometimes became probably unnecessarily cautious with her around my dog, but recognising some of the things I'd seen, I cautiously and gradually let them interact with eachother. A couple of times she has made a seemingly aggressive move on my chi, but luckily she's very responsive to NO, or TSSST and stops. I honestly think it wasn't aggression but more like "oi, go away your getting on my nerves).

I started taking her walks alone at first, then started taking them together on a local field.. tested both of them off their lead and she's just great...and eeek. 2 big black rotties came out of nowhere and I panicked...but...she was just great with them, no issues whatsoever. She follows me everywhere, comes straight back to me when called.

I'll try to get a pic as soon as I can ... thanks for the reply

She is a very lucky dog to be found by the right person. The dog warden should have come out and scanned her, but it would seem that the poor girl has been abandoned.

Just one word of caution, though. I would not be letting her off lead just yet, not until you are 100% sure of her temperament. She has been through a lot and you have no idea how she might react. Also, do not leave her alone with your dog. Constant supervision is needed here and I do not say that because of her breed; I would say the same for any breed in her position.

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Thanks.. Im so glad I did!!

I haven't heard of doglost so I will check it out thanks! . Regarding vets and police. They don't deal with them now, you have to contact the council who then contact the dog warden, I did this on tuesday and as you advise, I will chase them up today


I tried not to be too judgemental of the previous owners (although its not easy) and I don't know what situation lead her to be tied up, but I never thought of what you suggested as a possibility and if that were the case, hard tho it would be, I'd be happy to give her back to her rightful owner...I just hope there isn't one! hehe. I took her to the pdsa on monday and she was checked for a chip and none was found.

Thats not actually the way I have been told is the case and I got my info from a council website, the pdsa, and the people I spoke to when I reported her, regarding the procedure if you find a dog. What happens after reporting is the Dog Warden is sent out to look at the dog, take all details, etc, they ask if you want it to be taken away or if you'd like to be guardian of it and if the latter, you are then the guardian of it for 7 days after which the dog is "gifted" to you and you become the legal owner..BUT, by law, you have to keep her for 28 days before you can give her away to anyone. (not that I would) this makes more sense to me because a dog that has been found in the condition I found this one needs to be health checked which the pdsa won't do because she is not yet legally my dog and I personally feel 28 days without a health check after finding her is far too long. Maybe the way you said was the case some time ago and these changes are fairly recent?
Thanks so much for the advice, its much appreciated!!! :-))

I've got a cheap digital camera somewhere...I can't remember where the hell I put it. I only moved into this flat a couple of months ago! I will get one up as soon as I can tho!! hehe!!

Well done for taking her in Many would have sadly blanked her!

I'd be cautious when she's with your dog (I'd advise this with any breed, you don't know her history and she'll need time to settle in properly before your able to access her behaviour) but I'm sure you know this, aslong as they are supervised I shouldn't see a problem, she sounds lovely.

I hope your able to give her a lovely home if her owners don't come forward How big is she, what colour? If we can't have a picture just yet we need details!

Hope to see lots of regular updates and pictures to follow

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This is actually a question I meant to ask but forgot...forget for a moment that she might have been stolen from a decent owner originally, ...lets say the previous owners who left her did come forward after I had followed all the legal procedures, given the state she was left in, could I fight for custody without having to give her back...would the dog wardens or council etc, be on my side in such a situation?


I am going to look into the doglost site and yea, its sad that people do this but ofcourse its not just staffys... a friend of mine found a golden retriever tied to a tree with very little room for movement..it had been there for quite some time and the weather was very bad, cold. I mean..its bad enough leaving them tied to a tree, but the poor thing couldn't even move!


Yes, I've been as careful as I can be with her. I've got her under control in the flat now which was hard work hehe, espeially with the food...but she now waits until I tell her, she waits til I go in the different rooms before she enters herself,..(not always, but she's learning)... Its early days yet ofcourse but Im growing to trust her more and more each day and I hope she trusts me more too! Pics will come soon I promise

I am going to be honest and say I started reading your first post, thinking here we go another bull breed bashing. But wow how I was wrong, well done for taking the dog on, whether it is just for the short term or the long term. I just hope you get the answer to whether she will be staying with you or returning home real soon.