law about dogs when the law fails

an alternative would be to take the dogs to an animal charity that don't put them down

Ive tried to do that with a stray before - Ive never been able to find a charity to take a stray unless the animal is injured. The DSPCA will not take a dog unless it is injured, they tell you to call the dog warden for strays. When you phone around the other charities you will find that they are either (a) full or (b) dont take strays only injured animals.

I agree in an ideal world its not nice to have to bring a dog to the pound - but what would you suggest is done if the charities wont take them unless they are injured?
 
"its the person taking it to the pound, not the owner I was addressing"

Yes, I understand that. I don't understand why the OP (or the people suggesting he/she take the dog to the pound) should have to question their own conscience if the dog owner is irresponsible enough to not care about the animal's welfare. Aside from this case, the dog could get hit by a vehicle and I'm sure the dog owner would be crying to all who would listen about how sad they are and how much they loved their little doggie, loved them enough to leave them on the street.

In fairness as much good work as animal charities do more often than not they have to turn away animals because they can't afford to keep them.
 
I don't understand why the OP (or the people suggesting he/she take the dog to the pound) should have to question their own conscience if the dog owner is irresponsible enough to not care about the animal's welfare.

+1. Its also dangerous to leave a dog unattended on a public street from a human point of view, dog could go for a child or adult, or attack someone else walking a leashed dog. Plus the dog dirt carries nasty germs and can be very dangerous for children. Its just not acceptable and I dont think anyone but the owner is responsible. It might not be pleasant to deliver a dog to the pound, but unless owners become responsible its a reality.
 

And I will second that - as I said in an earlier post, stray dogs often go for my dog and there is no way to control the situation as they're generally not on leashes or wearing collars and their owners are nowhere to be seen.

And aside from the points already made, dog faeces is dangerous, yes the OP is unlikely to go out to his front garden and start eating the stuff, but his front garden is his own property and he shouldn't have to worry about coming into contact with it.
 
clearly not. It seems to me however that it's the dogs that suffer through neglect or being put down whereas the real issue revolves around the owners lack of responsibility that is facilitated by a system that ignores the legislation
 
This is why I think there should be HUGE restrictions regarding the ownership of any animal as a pet. Any person can buy/adopt a pet without any background check being done or any home check being done. The only requirement is that a person spends E12.70 on a yearly dog licence and more often than not possession of a licence is not checked up on. Convictions in relation to animal cruelty are low and there's nothing stopping a person owning another pet because the law is not enforced.
 
Any person can buy/adopt a pet without any background check being done or any home check being done.

Depends where you get the pet. The DSPCA do home checks and will refuse an animal in circumstances they deem unsuitable. They seem to be the only ones who do that.

My neighbours wanted a dog, the DSPCA refused them a dog, so they went and got one from the pound - no checks done at all.
 
An old neighbour of mine used to swear by...

"A pound of mince and a good handful of rat poison"

I don’t condone such action, I don’t even know if it would work.
 
An old neighbour of mine used to swear by...

"A pound of mince and a good handful of rat poison"

I don’t condone such action, I don’t even know if it would work.

Why would you inhumanely poison a dog when you could bring it to a pound to be humanely euthanised?
 

Forgot to include that the DSPCA do home checks but as you said yourself DSPCA do their job but other places just undo their work.
 
"Why would you inhumanely poison a dog when you could bring it to a pound to be humanely euthanised?"

I don't know.
I do not agree with poisoning any animal where a quicker more humane alternative exists, and an alternative does usually exist.

But the old codger of a neighbour never had any problem with dogs when word got out he would poison/shoot any that was on his land
 
An old neighbour of mine used to swear by...

"A pound of mince and a good handful of rat poison"

I don’t condone such action, I don’t even know if it would work.

you don't condone it but happily offer it up as wisdom. whats with that?
 
I offer it as another alternative.
It is up to the OP to decide what to do.
I even stated that I don't agree with it.

Shooting such animals would be the lesser of two evils...
 
I offer it as another alternative.
It is up to the OP to decide what to do.
I even stated that I don't agree with it.

Its an irresponsible alternative to offer. The OP could end up with a suffering, foaming at the mouth animal on his front lawn and be done for cruelty. Or other peoples family pets or even children could ingest the poison.
 
what planet are you on?

I live in rural Ireland where such methods are very common occurances, and legal, where dogs enter private property.

People do shoot and poison dogs
 
well, regardless of the morality of deliberately poisining or shooting or using any methods to kill a dog, the poster did say they were in a suburban area. This ain't compton...
 
I run a lot near my home in a very rural setting. There was a time when 2 dogs in 2 separate houses used to come out and chase me and snap at my heels etc. They were pretty angry. They don't do that to me anymore thanks to some well aimed/timed kicks and stones. I suppose I should have gone into the owners and complained but I didn't bother. That said, I know dogs, we bred pedigrees when I was growing up and I have no fear of them. One thing is for sure, a dog reflects its owner/master. Make the dog afraid to come into your garden, problem solved.