Dog Lost? Dog Found?

Have you ever wondered what you would do, where you would start, who you should contact, if you lost your dog? Such an experience prompted two owners to set up a website to help reunite owners and lost and found dogs. DogLost covers the whole of the UK, and at the moment is dealing with a few lost dogs in the Belfast area. They need local helpers to download, print and distribute posters of lost dogs, posters that can be posted in the area where the dog has gone missing

Have you lost a dog? If your dog is lost they can put details and a photograph on their site within minutes, free of charge, helping re-unite you and your dog.

Have you spotted a dog that looked lost? You can check the DogLost site to find out if it is one that has been reported and contact the owner.

You can help by downloading, printing and circulating posters of dogs missing in your area. You can help find and return the prodigals, the wayward, the wanderers, the rovers, ...

http://www.doglost.co.uk/

What happens to the lost dogs?

In the 12-month period January to December 2004 district councils in Northern Ireland impounded 9145 dogs and placed them in approved dog pounds. Of these 3371 were humanely destroyed. The remainder were either reclaimed by their owners or sold by the dog pounds. (Hansard)

Rehoming Centres in Ireland

• You can find a list of animal rehoming centres within Ireland at the Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCAR) website. If you have lost (or want) a dog you can find contact details of your local pound here. http://www.secondchanceanimalrescue.net/links_national_2.html
• The Ulster region of the “Irish animals on the web” organisation is also worth a look. http://www.irishanimals.com/ulster_homes.html

Dog Theft Action

The objectives of this charity are to:

• provide vital information to the victims of dog theft to assist them in their search for their stolen/missing dog.
• promote responsible dog ownership so that incidence of dog thefts are reduced
• act a catalyst bringing together all agencies involved in the canine world that could have a potential impact on this issue.

Following on from the micro-chipping of dogs, they are campaigning to:

• Get vets to routinely scan new dogs,
• Ensure that pounds scan all dogs prior to rehoming, recognising that stray and donated dogs may actually be stolen dogs from a different part of the country, and whose owners are desperately searching for them.
• http://www.dogtheftaction.com/