Apparently someone called the RSPCA!

[~clover~]

I have a 12 month old mastiff x staffy. Have had her about 8 months. I was talking to a friend this morning & apparently someone, actually 2 people, have called the RSPCA on me!

I'm stunned. Apparently she barks all the time, & I went away for 4 days & left here with no water or food. People were supposedly jumping over my fence to feed her & they found her curled up in a ball shivering one time.

WTF?? For starters, she doesn't bark. If a dog walks past she will, & every time she does I go out & see whats up & its lucky to last 5 minutes. There've been a few times where there's been a frog out there & she won't shoosh, but even that wasn't an all night thing. Maybe half an hour or something! & not late at night.
I buy an 8 kg bag of dog food every fortnight, plus she gets all scraps & left over bread. I have a tap that drips constantly into a bowl for her so she's always got water & why on earth would someone jump my fence too feed her when there's a gate at the side of the house? Actually on both sides.

None of this makes any sence to me. The last time I was away was just after christmas & at that time there were 2 dogs here, not just one. & there was plenty of food & water left for them!
The only neighbours houses that can see into our yard are holiday houses, so there are only people there for a weekend every few weeks. How on earth would they know my where abouts all the time? One is across the road & one behind us. TBH other than our next door neighbours I don't even thing anyone else knows we have a dog! We have 6 foot fences & she doesn't go out of the back yard very often.

I'm just in a bit of shock. I grew up where dogs are kept on 4 foot of chain & going mad coz they aren't let off at all. My dog may not be allowed inside, but she has a huge yard & access to under my house to get out of the weather. I think she's very lucky TBH. I just said, oh well, they can come knock on my door anytime. Doesn't bother me!

But why? There are no other dogs in the neighbourhood that bark non stop, so I can't see how someone was just confused. I'd expect a call to DoCS sometimes, with the way my kids sometimes are, but not the RSPCA!

I'm making a million excuses, but I'm trying to make sence of all this.

[alioops]

Sounds to me like someone either doesn't like you or doesn't like your dog's breed, and is hoping they take her and deem her a dangerous dog because of her breed. So wrong.

[misty]

How does this 'friend' even know?

Sounds like a load of codswallop. Firstly you don't complain about barking dogs to the RSPCA, you complain to the council. Secondly, if someone had complained to the RSPCA about the dog being left at home without food and water, the you would find the RSPCA on your doorstep, checking it out, long before it filtered down the gossip chain to your friend.

[Pandora]

Sounds to me like someone either doesn't like you or doesn't like your dog's breed, and is hoping they take her and deem her a dangerous dog because of her breed. So wrong.

I agree with Ali.
It sucks thugh, I was going to suggest calling the RSPCA yourself but i dont think they can tell you anything anyway with privacy laws etc.

FWIW on the radio Dr Hugh Wirth said anyone who goes on holidays and gets someone to feed their dog while they are away is guilty of neglect?!!

[black_rose]

I agree with misty, you would have known about it if the RSPCA has been involved. The council would have been in contact too. Are you sure it's not you friend who isn't happy with the dog but is making up stories instead of talking to you openly? It sounds like you treat the dog just fine.

[skybie]

our old neighbours had two little white fluffsters that we're absolutely gorgeous!! BUT their neighbours(so 2 doors down from us) would constantly ring the council saying the dogs were barking all day everyday and that the owners had left the dogs outside on a 40 degree day with no water.
They used to squirt the dogs with a hose over the fence and throw chillis and tablets over the fence in hopes the dogs would eat them and die.

a number of times i had our poor neighbours on my doorstep asking if the dogs were always barking. and seeing as though im sahm i could tell them that they barked no more than our dog did, which was only when they heard something.
The poor chick on the 40 degree day was sent to hospital at 35 weeks pregnant because of heat exhaustion and had her dad go around checking the dogs.

some ppl are just a holes hun

[~clover~]

Hmmm...that does make sense about the breed. Alot of people are like that I wondered why they would wait til now, after I've had her so long, but I've been taking her out to mum & dad's lately when we go out there & a couple times while getting her in the car she's gone wandering up the road, so I guess people would've seen her.
Noone really knows us here, we keep to ourselves & our neighbours aren't home much as they all work full time, so other than hello's thats all we really have to do with them. Half them we've never even seen.
Do they come out on the first call, or does it take 2 or 3 people calling in before they would come here?
Ahh...good luck to them deeming her a dangerous dog. She'll lick anyone to death, lol.
I would like to know who said it first, for my friend to hear it, so I have an idea how it could've come about, but I don't think she'd tell me.


Really? Its neglect to have someone else feed the dog? So basically they have to go to a boarding house? Wow.

My friend doesn't have the problem that I can tell. She used to have the same dogs growing up & loves them. She always gives her alot of attention when she's here!

[~clover~]

Got this from the RSPCA website

How we investigate
Here is the usual process of investigation a cruelty complaint.

•A concerned member of the public contacts the RSPCA NSW by phone on 02 9770 7555 or submitting an Cruelty Report Form.

•Details are taken – including the contact details of the person making the report. These are confidential and are never passed on to the offender but are required by law as an inspector may need to contact you for further information.

•The job is dispatched to an inspector.

•An RSPCA NSW Inspector will attend the premises. Inspectors have the power to enter premises and inspect an animal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act – with or without the presence of the owner. The Inspector will view the animal in question and query the owner regarding the animal’s condition, to establish reasons for the state of the animal.

•Action taken by RSPCA NSW Inspectors depends on the animal’s condition and if an act of cruelty under the law has been committed. The Inspector will do one of three things – issue instructions to assist the owner to rectify the situation, give an official warning or seize the animals.

•If instructions are given, the Inspector will then revisit to ensure they are complied with. The complainant may be required to provide proof of compliance. Should the owner fail to comply with instructions given by the Inspector, the animal may be seized.

I think I'd know by now if something was going on. Would really like to know why someone would bother saying stupid things like this about us though? Whats the point? We're not well known, long term residents & don't do anything exciting. This town isn't really a huge gossi centre...

Feeling alot better though. Would still like to know who said it in the first place.

[Miss.September]

I've attempted to complain about a dog before and it isn't as easy as calling the RSPCA. I have two of my own dogs, but the dog I tried to complain about had the biggest bark and would bark all night every night, these loud noises echoing around the neighbourhood. I was told that to complain, it was to start with the council. I had to keep a written diary listing all the times the dog barked over a four week period and submit it to council who would then decide if the dog was barking often enough for them to send a letter to notify the owner. If it persisted, I had to continue the diary for (I think) a couple more weeks after they notified the owner, and then they would pay a home visit. After that, if it still persisted, they would fine the owner. It's not as simple as making a complaint. Could you imagine how many complaints are made about barking dogs?

As far as being guilt of neglect if you get someone to feed your dog, I think it's probably based on if the dog is being walked or not. RSPCA was in the news recently for wanting to legislate dogs being walked each day or owners face fines. I guess they might believe if you are getting someone to feed them, they aren't necessarilly being walked. The last time I went away, we had someone stay in the house with our dogs, but if we can't get someone to stay, they always go into the kennels, as expensive as it is.

Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Corelly

[~clover~]

Thanks all.
I did hear that about the walking. And TBH she probably isn't walked as much as she should be. Well, I don't walk her in town at all. Every week or fortnight we go out to my parents block & she, along with our bigger mastiff & mum & dad's jack russell get all their exercise. There's 7 acres out there & they spend the whole time running & exploring it all, playing together. We walk them around the 3 dams, probably 3 times a day.
Its not possible for me to walk her here often enough. Someone said if thats the case I shouldn't have a dog, but I have her for my kids & safety. I'm home alone most nights & feel 100% safe knowing she'd bark if there was something worth barking at. I think she gets what she needs. But I feel different to most as I was raised with chain mad dogs...

[Kazbah]

Out of curiousity, how did your "friend" know the RSPCA was called?

You are able to contact the RSPCA and find out if they really were called, or the city council. They won't tell you who, but they have to tell you if. A stress you really don't need

Good luck.

[~clover~]

I've no idea how she knew. Just that someone else had said someone had called. Or rather that 2 people had called.
She knew it was 2 different people, not 2 seperate calls from one person.

I've put it out of my mind. I'm just assuming they got me confused with someone else somehow. I have no other explanation that I can think of.

I might call them tomorrow & see if I can find out anything else.

[Miss.September]

As far as walking goes, Clover - I don't know any busy mum who can manage to walk their dog every single day . Like today - it's raining and cold in Melbourne. DD has a cold. Puppies aren't going to get their walk today, as much as I love them.

Corelly x