# Rescue Drop Off Policy



## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Maybe that is the case at some county/city facilities? But i think animal control typically has to take whoever is brought in.

We take all dogs. Sure, it may not be the persons dog or may not have been found.... but what else can we do? Most of ours are actually found running loose.


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## cham (Feb 21, 2008)

It all depends on the state laws. Some states require a 10 day hold others require 7 days, on alleged strays it varies. Others require a court appearance for a seizure warrant. All 50 states have different rules and regulations.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I assisted with Intakes and Owner Surrenders for CFGRR. When we were contacted by someone who had FOUND a dog and wanted my group to take it into Rescue, there were several questions/steps we asked the person to complete prior to us taking it into rescue. 

Here are the things we *required* the person do before we would take a dog into Rescue

#1-We required that the dog be taken to a Vet to see if it was Micro Chipped and check for a tatto. 

#2- Asked them to contact the local Animal Control informing them they had found this dog, provide their contact info and list it as being found on the shelter website. They would be required to follow the city/county hold times for Strays for an owner to claim their dog. The hold times for an owner to claim their dog varies by county in my state-anywhere from 3-10 days depending on the city/county you live in.

#3- We would ask the person to put a Found Ad in the local newspaper, Clist, PF classifieds, etc. Put up fliers in the area where the dog was found and at Vet clinics in the area. 

If no one came forward to claim this dog according to the City/County Hold time for it to have be claimed, then we would have the person complete an Owner Surrender/Intake form-it was a questionnaire mainly about the dog such as it's medical history, vet information, overall behavior and their contact info, where they found the dog, etc.

Once this was completed, a volunteer would evaluate the dog and if/when the Rescue decided to take the dog into Rescue, the person who found the dog would sign an Owner Surrender waiver waiving all rights of ownership to the dog. 

Once the dog came into Rescue, it would go directly to our Vet, it would be scanned again to see if it was Micro chipped, then receive a full exam, be updated on all shots, receive treatment for any medical issues, be spayed/neutered, before being available for adoption. The dog would reside in a foster home of one of CFGRR foster families.

*There are several legal issues involved when taking in a dog into Rescue, especially one that is found as a Stray. The Rescue tries to do everything possible to make sure the Owner of the dog is found first before taking the dog into Rescue.*

*If the person wanting to surrender a dog to our Rescue, we required a copy of the Vet Records of the dog. *


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

I think here, in Alberta, if you find a dog and want to keep it, you have to put it in the spca/pound for the required time (I think it's three business days) and then they can adopt it back out to you etc... You can't simply 'find' a dog and claim it as your own, even years later the original owner has the right to get their dog back.

Now not totally sure on the exact 'rules' but it appears that a rescue could take an animal in from a peace officer (animal control, police...) and use the same guidelines but that wouldn't count for someone who simply found the dog on the street and was looking for a home. 

After that official holding period, the dog is legally theirs to do whatever.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bender said:


> I think here, in Alberta, if you find a dog and want to keep it, you have to put it in the spca/pound for the required time (I think it's three business days) and then they can adopt it back out to you etc... You can't simply 'find' a dog and claim it as your own, even years later the original owner has the right to get their dog back.
> 
> Now not totally sure on the exact 'rules' but it appears that a rescue could take an animal in from a peace officer (animal control, police...) and use the same guidelines but that wouldn't count for someone who simply found the dog on the street and was looking for a home.
> 
> After that official holding period, the dog is legally theirs to do whatever.


The Goldens my Rescue group pulled from Animal Control-we had to follow the required hold time for the owner to claim the dog. For example, one shelter has a 7 day hold period for an Owner to claim a dog that has been brought into the shelter as a Stray or picked up by AC. After the 7 day hold period, if the dog is not claimed, then it is moved to the Adoptables and available to the public for adoption. The public is given three days to adopt the dog, if it is not adopted, then a Rescue can pull the dog and take it into it's Rescue program.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

In Missouri, there is a 10 day hold requirement, AC or Shelter has to hold the dogs for 10 day before it can adopt it out or call a Rescue. Also if a person finds a stray dog , a Rescue Cant take the dog in until the 10 days are up


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Maggies mom said:


> In Missouri, there is a 10 day hold requirement, AC or Shelter has to hold the dogs for 10 day before it can adopt it out or call a Rescue. Also if a person finds a stray dog , a Rescue Cant take the dog in until the 10 days are up


I really like that ALL of MO has the same required 10 Day HOLD period for owners to claim their dog. It was VERY confusing for me with the different shelters that we pulled from as they ALL had different Stray hold times depending on the city/county the shelter was located in or where the person who found a stray resided. My group REQUIRED that a person who found a dog contact their local AC, but they were not required by us or AC to turn the dog into the shelter.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm glad you created a separate thread for this. I was also wondering exactly what kinds of policies were out there and in what situations a rescue would refuse a potential owner the opportunity to come look at a dog.

I also wonder in what situations a rescue would try to hold onto a dog they felt had been abused or neglected, even if the owner wanted it back.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> I'm glad you created a separate thread for this. I was also wondering exactly what kinds of policies were out there and in what situations a rescue would refuse a potential owner the opportunity to come look at a dog.
> 
> I also wonder in what situations a rescue would try to hold onto a dog they felt had been abused or neglected, even if the owner wanted it back.


Usually the local AC would be involved with handling any abuse or neglect cases against an owner such as filing charges, court case, etc. before the dog would be allowed to be released to a Rescue Group, at least this is the way it is handled here in NC.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

For strays that have to be held onto by the finder for X days before the rescues take the dog...what if the people can't hold onto the dog that long?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

RedDogs said:


> For strays that have to be held onto by the finder for X days before the rescues take the dog...what if the people can't hold onto the dog that long?


It's really GREAT when a person can hold onto a stray, but if they can't, they usually turn it into a shelter. Alot of the shelters here in NC are HORRIBLE and when a stray is at the shelter, they usually end up getting sick.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

RedDogs said:


> For strays that have to be held onto by the finder for X days before the rescues take the dog...what if the people can't hold onto the dog that long?


Again in Missouri if the person who found the stray and cant hold on it for 10 days, they can take it to a vet, shelter or animal control.

In the 6 years of doing rescue, we have never refused a person that wanting to come visit our shelter to see if we had there dog. As stated before, ac is the one who can take a dog and keep it if they think its neglected etc, we as a rescue cant. I can say this this, we get tons of dogs from southern IL and 99% of them are hw pos, and we know a lot of the vets over there dont have there clients put there dogs on Hw preventative, as they stated if the dog just goes out to do its business and doesnt spent a great deal of time outside theres no need, that being said I dont always blame a person who doesnt know to give it to there pets, if they are going by what there vet said... I blame the vets.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

We recently had this happen when my vet contacted me about a person that found a golden and brought it into their vet to be microchipped. This dog was not microchipped. He had contacted both county shelters as we live right on the county line and the local vets but no one had contacted them about a lost golden. Before he brought him into the vet, he held onto him for several days to see if anyone would call about him but no one did so he then brought him to get scanned. During this time, he checked craigs list, the paper, checked back with the shelters, nothing.

So I picked him up from the vet. Our rescue president personally contacted the shelter managers of both county shelters and let them know we had picked the dog up and if anyone called about a golden to contact the rescue and gave them 3 different numbers to contact us. No one called. I personally checked the paper, craigs list, & other online listings. There was one golden listed but it looked nothing like the golden I had and was a different area. I called anyway because I thought someone might have picked him up and then released him somewhere else. That guy said he found his dog but thanks for asking anyway. 

One county has a law to hold for 7 days, One county ten days. We took him to the vet during this time to make sure he was ok healthwise, he was ok. No rabies tag so we got him his rabies shot and wormed him because he had worms. After 3 days, someone finally responded by putting an ad on craigs list. her brother was supposed to watch the dog but he out and didnt contact the shelters by phone onlly went in person to look for a golden. He didnt ask for a lost golden. She said she was going to call them the next day. And in the meantime put an ad on craigs list. 

I asked her for certain information on what color collar, any marks or size, and his name. When I said his name, he came flying across the room. I knew it was her dog and then when she said he had bambi legs, I knew for sure because this dog looked like bambi on stilts. and she had the color of the collar right down to the tag holder with the tag missing. We didnt charge her for the cost of the rabies tags or worming but they gave us a donation. 

We would not have done anything with the dog until the 10 days because we were right on the county line and we didnt want any questions on wether he was found in the one county or the other. And during this time, one of us from the rescue usually me, would be checking craigs list, paper, petfinder and other places pets are listed. After that time, we would then put him up for adoption. 

When she came to pick him up, one of the first things she said to me was she was going to get him microchipped.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Maggies mom said:


> Again in Missouri if the person who found the stray and cant hold on it for 10 days, they can take it to a vet, shelter or animal control.
> 
> In the 6 years of doing rescue, we have never refused a person that wanting to come visit our shelter to see if we had there dog. As stated before, ac is the one who can take a dog and keep it if they think its neglected etc, we as a rescue cant. I can say this this, we get tons of dogs from southern IL and 99% of them are hw pos, and we know a lot of the vets over there dont have there clients put there dogs on Hw preventative, as they stated if the dog just goes out to do its business and doesnt spent a great deal of time outside theres no need, that being said I dont always blame a person who doesnt know to give it to there pets, if they are going by what there vet said... I blame the vets.


 
Mary,

You have a shelter so can people bring a dog to you if they find a golden? Or do they have to take it to the shelter? I know that no vet can force a person to put a dog on HW meds but I just dont see all these vets out there saying "heck your dog is an inside dog, you dont heve to put him on heartworm meds." If they are saying that then someone needs to report them for not being a responsible vet. Maybe something like "Heartworm meds are not required but I recommend them" Being in the military we moved around alot, in several small towns, and each vet told us about putting our dogs and cats on heartworm meds. Even with our cats being indoor cats. They had posters on the walls showing the cycles of the heartworms.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Here's a good general article regarding lost dog laws:

Lost Dog Laws


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

BeauShel said:


> Mary,
> 
> You have a shelter so can people bring a dog to you if they find a golden? Or do they have to take it to the shelter? I know that no vet can force a person to put a dog on HW meds but I just dont see all these vets out there saying "heck your dog is an inside dog, you dont heve to put him on heartworm meds." If they are saying that then someone needs to report them for not being a responsible vet. Maybe something like "Heartworm meds are not required but I recommend them" Being in the military we moved around alot, in several small towns, and each vet told us about putting our dogs and cats on heartworm meds. Even with our cats being indoor cats. They had posters on the walls showing the cycles of the heartworms.


Carol, they can not bring it to us to hold for 10 days, it has to go to a AC, or state shelter, or vets office. Over in Southern Il is the WORST state we get dogs from, as far as HW pos. out of the last 30 dogs we have gotten from there only 1` wasnt hw pos.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

My mother lives in Newport (Middletown, RI ). There is a very good no-kill animal shelter there. Being a tourist area, many dogs are lost and dumped, and they always seem to find my mother. She has brought many found dogs to the shelter, no problem. The shleter lets her come and visit these dogs until the owner is found or a new owner is found.

My mother would not even know how to look at craig's list, etc.


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