Canine Custody Battle

There's a huge storm in our Sunday paper about a dog called Buckley.

Buckley is two years old and lived in rural Victoria. She was out wandering on the road one day and was collected by the RSPCA (our equivalent of ASPCA) and taken to the pound. She was wearing no identification and had no microchip. After a week of health checks etc, Buckley was offered for adoption and was given a home with an elderly man.

Now, the former owners have contacted the newspaper saying that Buckley was their dog, they thought she had been bitten by a snake and want the dog taken off her new owner. They only contacted the pound a week later because they saw her being advertised in the local newspaper. They have offered up to $1,000 to buy this man another dog of his choice so they can have Buckley back. They have been liaising with the new owner via the RSPCA as they maintain customer confidentiality.

The newspaper has stepped in and started a 'Let's Find Buckley' campaign, asking readers to find and dob in the new owner. I don't know what they plan doing after that. :eek:

Who do you think should have Buckley?

Regardless of the outcome, I'm furious with the paper for starting a witch hunt for an old man who was only trying to do the right thing at the time. I'm just typing my e-mail to them now ...

What did they do in the newspaper? I am not quite understanding what you mean.


If the family wanted and loved the dog so bad why didn't they look for the dog at the pound and why didn't he have a collar. If they are offering a thousand dollars it makes no sense that he didn't have a collar, which only costs a few dollars.

I think the old man did a very noble thing and adopted an animal, they shouldn't harass him for that. Is it possible for you to copy the story??

Yikes! I think the doggie should be returned to the previous owners, and the older man helped to find a suitable pup! How sad to do this when the money and energy could be better spent to help homeless pets...:(

Gosh, I think we should ask Buckley herself!

Bring Buckley someplace and give her to a neutral third party for an hour. Then let her enter a room with the old man and her previous owners. Whoever she goes to (they do not get to call her to influence her) gets to keep her. The thousand dollars, in any case, goes to shelter-type charity.

That's my solution!

I agree, let the dog decide who she'd rather be with. This
meeting should be on neutral ground so she wouldn't by
"cowed" by the former owners. This would be fair to everyone.
Best of luck to Buckley.

Maybe the dog was getting a bath and the owner just removed the collar and she ran off.
But there is NO reason that the dog shouldn't have had a micochip and NO reason the owers should not have been at the shelter the very day the dog was lost and every day after. They may love this dog but they don't seem like very responsable owners.
I vote for the new owner. And lets make sure the dog is microchiped now.

This is the text of yesterday's article. There have been a couple more stories over the last month, but they aren't on the paper's website (and I'm a diligent recycler :))

Tomkatzid, Buckley didn't have a collar or tag. I think the rationale was that it's a big country town, don't need a collar on OUR dog ...

I still can't believe they didn't call the pound in the week they were looking for the dog and none of their friends/family suggested to do it either???

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Sunday Herald Sun
12 January 2003

Readers demand kelpie's return
Give Bucks back now
By ADRIAN TAME

THE RSPCA has been blasted over its refusal to intervene on behalf of a couple whose much-loved dog they sold to a family of strangers.

The Sunday Herald Sun has received many letters and phone calls from readers protesting at the RSPCA's harsh stance over 18-month-old kelpie cross Buckley.
Readers have offered owners Steve and Donna Richards everything from financial assistance to legal advice, and even suggested dognapping Buckley back.

RSPCA national president Dr Hugh Wirth said Buckley could have bonded with her new owners "within two or three minutes".

He described the Sunday Herald Sun's treatment of the story as "sensationalist".

Buckley has been the devoted pet to the Richards family since a few weeks old.

She lived with them on their 86-hectare property in King Valley, 40km south of Wangaratta, until two weeks before Christmas, when she was seized by a council dog catcher on a nearby dirt road.

Nobody saw Buckley taken, so for a week the Richards scoured the area, fearing she had been bitten by a snake.

A week later the RSPCA advertised Buckley for sale.

Mr Richards, 47, contacted the RSPCA only to be told Buckley had been sold to an elderly man living alone.

Later, RSPCA chief executive Maria Mercurio denied this, saying Buckley was in a loving family home which had been assessed according to RSPCA procedure.

But she admitted the RSPCA had not visited the home.

Confidentiality laws prevent the RSPCA from giving the Richards details of the new owners, but it has passed on their offer of a replacement dog if Buckley is returned.

Many readers suggested a true dog lover would have returned Buckley, particularly as the new owners had her for only three days.

Mrs Richards said: "Steve is completely heartbroken. How could anybody be so cruel?"

Vet Debbie Calnon, of Mount Waverley, said: "I find the suggestion that a dog would bond with new owners in three minutes a bit ridiculous.The RSPCA does a lot of good, but it is such a large organisation that hiccups like this do occur."

A spokesman for the Lost Dogs' Home in North Melbourne said his organisation insisted people buying stray animals sign a document agreeing to hand back the animal to its original owner should they turn up after the sale.

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The article is completely one-sided, quotes a vet who isn't even associated with the case, quotes another humane society with a different procedure to make the RSPCA's process look bad, and tries to make the RSPCA look negligent because the officer didn't look at the new owner's home (even though it's never been their process). Grrrrrrrr

The paper has taken upon itself to start a public witch hunt for the new owner. I find this part most offensive. What's going to happen when they find the new owner and the dog???

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...4/fcc98df5.jpg

I work at a shelter. This kind of thing does happen. That is why shelters have a legal holding period. Ours is five days. During that five days, the dog must be held at the shelter, cannot be adopted. This is to give the owners time to find the dog. After that period, the dog becomes the legal property of the shelter, to with as they see fit, be it adoption or euthanasia. This law is to protect both the shelter, the dog and the owners.

My personal opinion is that if the owners of a dog are too stupid, thoughtless or apathetic to drive to the shelter at least ONCE during the five day holding period, they don't deserve to own a dog, any dog, period. If one of my dogs ever got lost, first of all, it would have it's collar and tags on!! And I live in a VERY small town in a rural area. Second, I would be at every shelter in the county every day. I would be putting up fliers, posting on the internet, everything. This dog could have just as easily been euthanized as adopted out at the end of the holding period, all because its owner didn't check the shelter for it. Sorry, I don't think people like that deserve to own a dog.

This dog is legally the old man's property now. He got it from the shelter, where it was legally the shelter's property. The former owners have no legal claim to the dog. Saying The new owner's reasoning is probably, "Well, if they really loved this dog, they would have kept it in a fenced yard, put a collar with tags on it, and made the slight effort to drive to the shelter to see if it was there." And I have to agree with that. Yes, things happen, mitigating circumstances sometimes ... but in this case it sounds like the owners simply didn't care enough or weren't bright enough to put ID on their dog, and to check the shelter. That's their loss, IMO, maybe they will learn something and take better care of the next dog they get.

Those owners wouldn't have even needed to drive.. they obviously have email and phones.. couldn't they have looked up the number at the shelter via internet and called to see if their pup was there?

I lost a cat once. I called every shelter three times a day, called Cat Find (a local organization in the area I was living) three times a day and faxed them photos, and put an ad in the paper. He also had a tatoo. He was found within three days, because someone picked him up, saw his tatoo and put a found ad in the paper. All the phoning and faxing I did was a tiny price to pay to get my cat back.

i think shelters should wait atleast a couple weeks before giving a dog up for adoption. things have happened where people call the spca everyday since their dog is gone and there can be confusion and the spca will say the dog isnt there when it really is... although i believe a good owner would go have a look for themself...
i think that the old owners should get the dog back....how would u feel if you lost your best friend and then have to see it get put in another home? i would feel sad and replaced. i also dont think that letting the dog choose is a very accurate thing. my dogs love me more then anyone, naturally, but one would definately run to someone they dont know as well in order to befriend more people. my dogs see some people everyday, but because they dont see them every minute of everyday, they are sure to be more excited to see them.

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i think shelters should wait atleast a couple weeks before giving a dog up for adoption.

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In a perfect world, that could happen. But, the reality is, shelters do not have the room, staff or funds to do so. Most stray dogs are picked up by the local animal control agency, which is funded by the city or county. The budget of those organizations is set by city council or county commision. We, the voting public, decide who gets elected to those positions and which referendums and laws are passed. Therefore, the general public has decided, by their voting record, that animal control is at the bottom of the barrel as far as importance, staffing and funding go. The answer is to educate, publicize and carefully check each candidates views on animals issues before voting. But, until the general public decides animal control is a more important issue, shelters will continue to not have room, time or money to hold dogs for several weeks.

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things have happened where people call the spca everyday since their dog is gone and there can be confusion and the spca will say the dog isnt there when it really is... although i believe a good owner would go have a look for themself...

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You bet, this happens all the time. What is a "grey terrier mix" to the shelter staff is a "salt and pepper schnauzer" to its owners. But you hit the nail right on the head .... a good owner will go to every shelter, every day, frantically trying to find their beloved pet. They won't settle for a phone call and call it good.

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i think that the old owners should get the dog back....how would u feel if you lost your best friend and then have to see it get put in another home?

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Well, if I lost my best friend, I would find my best friend. I wouldn't let him sit at a shelter for days and days without going to check! I wouldn't let my best friend roam the neighborhood. I wouldn't let my best friend be without a collar and tags, not to mention a microchip and tatoo. Good, responsible pet owners do not treat their 'best friends' this way.

All this stuff has really got me thinking. My cats are indoors all the time, but I travel with them to the USA and across the border. I'm wondering if microchips are a good idea? How much do they cost? Does it hurt the animal? Any info would be helpful :)

I had to just skim this thread because I'm falling asleep but I'll read it completely tomorrow.

I just wanted to say that since I work at a shelter, I see these circumstances sometimes. And I have been involved in one as some of you may remember my sweet precious Nookie. There is a LOOOOOOONG thread about that case. It is DEVASTATING for the person who has just adopted the dog (which is what happened to me). I think that is stupid of the paper to try to track the poor old man down. I think after the legal stray hold period (different length of time for different places - here its 3 days), the dog should be allowed to legally stay with the new owners.

I dont know. I think every case is different and sometimes I may think the dog should go back to the original owners, but definately in this case, I think she should stay with the old man. And in my case, I think I should have kept Nookster :(

This was exactly what I was afraid for , when we took Maya home from the shelter ! She was found too , and was in the shelter since 2 1/2 weeks . I was afraid for at least 1 month that the original owner of Maya would find us and want his cat back ...:eek:
Luckily , he didn't :D :D

I vote for staying with the new owner. I do not know the past owner's situation, but it does seem to me they waited too long before they came forward. If we adopt our current rescue, we plan to have a collar, and get a tatoo in his ear.

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Originally posted by Nomilynn
All this stuff has really got me thinking. My cats are indoors all the time, but I travel with them to the USA and across the border. I'm wondering if microchips are a good idea? How much do they cost? Does it hurt the animal? Any info would be helpful :)

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Nebo has a microchip. I think it was around $35 to put it in, but I'm sure it varies in price. They insert it between the shoulder blades with a needle...I believe it is around the size of a grain of rice. I'm sure it hurts a little bit, but it's no big deal...it's over fast, they don't put the animals out or anything.

I feel bad for the original owners of the dog, but I also think they are stupid. If my dog was missing for even 2 hours I would call every shelter in the area. I don't know how they could go that long without even putting up signs or calling shelters....the "snake bite" thing is a pretty lame excuse. It's their own fault, the dog should have had tags, and not been running loose.

I don't know anymore, I am not sure either way is always rights. It is sad, and hurts all the parties involved. I hope the older man comes to learn this, and does right by the pet.

Here's a different and terrible slant to what can happen if your dog gets away..... This happened in my own town. :(

Posted Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 3:01 am

Jeanne Brooks
Losing Truman: three days and one possible subpoena later

On a Friday night, not too long ago, JF Lucas called to his dog.

Lucas -- JF is his full given name -- was standing outside Simpsonville's animal control kennel. It was after hours, Dec. 12. The gates were closed.

But a dog knows its owner's voice, just as an owner knows his dog's bark. Soon as he called, Lucas says, Truman started barking excitedly.

There, in the cold and dark, Lucas felt reassured. His dog was found.

But that was already Day Two.

So if you ask the Greenville Humane Society, Truman's fate was set in Simpsonville.

By city ordinance, animals picked up in Simpsonville are kept at the city's kennel for just three days.

On Saturday, Dec. 13, about 10 a.m., Lucas and his daughter McKenzie, 3, went to the kennel to get Truman back. The gates were open, but no one was around.

They saw their 7-year-old part yellow lab/part golden retriever behind a fence and walked over to him.

McKenzie asked her four-legged friend, "Truman, you coming home?"

Lucas says, "If I'd known then what I know now, I would have jumped that fence and got my dog out."

Instead, he drove to the police department to find the animal control officer. But Simpsonville's animal control officer works Monday through Friday.

Another officer took Lucas' name and telephone number and said she'd leave a message. Lucas and McKenzie left expecting to retrieve Truman on Monday.

But Saturday was Day Three.

Simpsonville Chief of Police Charles Reece says his officer took Truman to The Greenville Humane Society around 9 a.m. Monday.

On Monday afternoon, Lucas left work early to go get his dog.

At the kennel, the animal control officer explained the three-day policy. She never received any message, she said. She told Lucas that Truman already had been put down.

A very upset Lucas then drove to the Humane Society. "I just couldn't believe they would euthanize such a friendly, beautiful dog in less than four hours," he says.

He asked to see his dead dog.

Lucas says the staff told him to come back the next day, which he did, arriving 10 minutes before the shelter opened -- but two hours after a sanitation department truck. Truman was gone.

Judy Outlaw, the society's director, says she doesn't know the exact sequence of events, but finding Truman at that point would have been difficult in any case.

"Typically, (the owner) would have to have a picture," she says.

When he couldn't see his dog, Lucas wanted to see a written record of what time Truman was delivered to the Humane Society shelter, what time the dog was euthanized and why.

For that, he was told, he'd have to get a subpoena.

Outlaw says it's simply Humane Society policy not to release information without a subpoena.

Lucas called a lawyer.

So here's where things stand. Reece says what happened was a shame and that Simpsonville has changed the days it delivers animals to the Humane Society.

Outlaw says every municipality ought to keep animals for the same number of days, preferably five. And owners ought to tag their pets.

As for Lucas, he says after two weeks any record can be altered.

And, "If my dog was adopted, that's wonderful, he's not dead. Somebody got a great dog."
Jeanne Brooks' column appears on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at (864) 298-4261.

Oh Logan what a sad story. :(


I adopted Pooka from the Orange Country Animal Regulation Control when I was 17. She was spayed, vaccinated and I had tages and a chip in her.

When I was 19 Pooka would like to sit outside on the porch (gated, would be tresspassing) to enjoy the sun. One day I came home in the morning and Pooka was not on the porch. My mom said that she let her out and then she was gone. There is no way she could have gotten out. Her collar was left on the porch and you could see someone had taken it off. She was stolen. I didn't have a car but I took a whole week off work (my dog was missing, I didn't care!) and took the bus each day of that week to look for Pooka. On the weekend I went to a far away shelter and looked there also. No Pooka! I posted flyers and filled out a lost pet tag at the shelter. I checked with local chihuahua rescues. Nothing! She was gone.

The next week our neighbors chihuahua was also stolen right from their backyard. The puppy was a purebred dog they were going to use to breed to their other long coated chihuahua. This dog was a Valentines Day present to my neighbors wife. Again, another dog stolen. This was when the Taco Bell adds started to hit TV. And coincedently Pooka looked JUST LIKE the Taco Bell dog.


I am STILL looking for Pooka. In Orange Country we didn't have shelters who had a microchip gun, but I don't know if it has changed since then. The one vet I did get her microchipped by never had a chi brought in. I contacted every vet, every petstore etc! I went to Sherlock Bones even! He is a man who posts flyers and info about your pet in a 45 mile radius of where the pet disapeared. They also go door to door for a I think, 25 mile radius of your home. I combed the streets everyday for my dog. I only hope whoever took or found her is caring for her and if she is dead she died peacefully. I still look online at rescue sites etc for her and a friend of mine goes to the shelter every weekend to see if she is there. I still have not given up. This dog was my life! She was an eldery dog, 12 years old. She had arthritus and needed medication. She was abused and I rescued her. She was so in love with me and me her. I taught her so many tricks. How to sit pretty, dance etc. She was so smart. :) :(

Sometimes even a chip doesn't help get them back. This story
was in today's paper;

http://www.indystar.com/print/articl...-9706-009.html


Plainfield is a small community about 15 miles SW of Indy.

I agree with you Twisterdog!

Besides, the old owners ASSUMED their dog was dead! If my dog went missing, I'd be calling all the shelters in my area every day, no.. EVERY HOUR!.. besides looking on my own.

Buck should stay with the old man.

There have been no updates on Buckley's story in the paper, but I got this reply from the RSPCA giving its side of the story. (Microchipping isn't compulsory in Australia, I didn't know that. But then again, our cats' microchip information is kept by a volunteer organisation, so I guess it's not a government priority :()

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Thank you for your letter regarding ‘Buckley’.

This particular case highlights some very significant issues that are important in being a responsible pet owner.

The first issue is the need to Register your animal. Not only is it a legal requirement for pets to be registered and wear identification, but the tag will assist in the return of a pet in the event that it does find itself in a Pound or Shelter. Unfortunately ‘Buckley’ was not registered and was not wearing any tag.

The RSPCA has continued to maintain pressure on Government to make microchipping on all pet dogs and cats compulsory. Every animal that is adopted from the RSPCA is now microchipped. Just prior to Christmas, we were able to reunite a family and their dog which had been missing for over 12 months because it had been microchipped. A dog in England was reunited with its owners after five years. Although not a legal requirement at this stage, it is a security measure for being a responsible owner. ‘Buckley’ was scanned at the Shelter, but she had not been microchipped.

Another important point is not to leave it for a day or two to see if your animal turns up of it’s own accord. It could be sitting in the Pound or Shelter waiting to be reclaimed. The Wangaratta Shelter was the nearest one to where the dog was picked up by the Council Ranger.

We urge people to contact their local Pound or Shelter to see if their animal is there. Sometimes telephone descriptions can be quite vague and the animal may be hard to recognize from the details supplied. ‘Buckley’s’ owner did not telephone the Shelter until the Monday afternoon of the 23 December. ‘Buckley’ had been adopted in the morning of that day.

Under legislation, all animal shelters and pounds are required to hold unregistered lost or stray animals for eight days before being available for adoption. ‘Buckley’ was received on the 13 December and adopted on the 23 December.

The Wangaratta Shelter did publicise in the Wangaratta Chronicle on the Friday 20 December that a Kelpie Cross Female, six months was being held in the Pound. Buckley is, in contrast, said to be 18 months old.

One of the many hard line decisions the RSPCA must sometimes make is to euthanase an animal because it has not been adopted. We are always very pleased when our Shelters are able to rehouse an animal, as was the Wangaratta shelter in this case.

The RSPCA has and will continue to promote responsible pet ownership and management. Thank you for taking the time and effort to write to us. We will take the opportunity to review the way we work, to ensure that the cause of animal welfare is advanced in the best way possible.