WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF:

ADVICE SHEET

 YOUR LEGAL POSITION AS THE DOG’S PROVISIONAL OWNER

The Rescue Scheme is the OWNER of the dog during the time it is on probation with you.  In law you are the KEEPER. The Keeper must ensure that the dog does not escape and cause road accidents, worry livestock, foul footpaths etc., and annoy neighbours by excessive barking.  A collar bearing your name, address and phone number is required of any dog in a public place, but because most escapes are from home or garden we advise that a collar and disc be worn at all times.   Dogs may also be micro chipped to aid recovery.  As KEEPER you will also be liable for any damage caused. Dogs bite - other dogs, cats, household pets, and, very occasionally people. The Rescue Scheme will charge you a non-returnable fee of £10 to cover third party liability during the probation period. Household insurance policies may provide this cover but we strongly advise a comprehensive policy which also covers veterinary bills. We hope you will not find it necessary to change the name of your new companion; however The Dogs name must not be changed during the probation period. 

TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS

The Rescue Scheme will usually ask you to travel to see the dog you intend to take into your family; the dog might be in boarding kennels or still in the family home. This way if you are uncertain about the dog, it will not be upset and can remain where it is. The people parting with the dog know that if you are happy with the dog they must be prepared for it to leave with you. We will have provided your name to them, so that they know who will be contacting them to make arrangements, but no other details will be given. This makes sure that the old owner will not be tempted to phone you to see how the dog is going on. We have told the old owner that we have advised you not to release your personal details to them.

RESCUE HELPLINE

Please telephone your local Rescue contact or the Rescue Secretary if you have any problems at all.  We would certainly want to know if the dog is ill, or has been lost.

If the dog is ill you have the Scheme's authority to consult a veterinary surgeon and act on his/her advice, the Rescue Scheme will pay the bill. This does not include preventative medicine such as vaccination, worming and flea control.

Escapes should be notified to your local dog warden, or if one is not on duty or available, the Police. Take the name of the person you are speaking to, also the address/phone number of the premises at which stray dogs are held in your area, so that checks can be made. 

RESCUE SCHEME CHECKS

Our first check is usually by phone on the day of transfer, to make sure that the dog is safely with you, and that you have no problems at this stage.  You can expect a further phone call in approximately twenty-four hours, and again in about a week.  After this the number of checks/visits will depend on the dog's progress but at least one visit will be made. The probation period lasts for between one and three months, after which the final form transferring ownership of the dog may be signed. The Secretary’s contact details are as above.  The phone number of your local helper and the Chairman of the Rescue Scheme are below as additional contacts

Local Helper…………………………………Tel……………………………………………..

Chairman Mr. B. Ross …………………..Tel 01873 840291

Please see reverse side

The Rescue Scheme has a period of probation that varies with the individual case. This period gives both the Provisional Owner and the Rescue Scheme time to decide if the home should be permanent.

The Rescue Scheme aims to sign over a healthy dog and to this end will pay veterinary fees, with the exception of preventative medicine, during the probation period. We have also arranged third party liability cover for this period. During probation Provisional Owners should make insurance enquiries so that their own insurance takes over after the period covered by the Rescue Scheme. If owners decide that the veterinary risk can be managed without insurance; they should be aware of the problems that might arise out of failure to ensure cover for third party liability. Some household insurance policies might include this cover.

We also have in place a continued care fund to help support re-homed dogs that are too old to insure for veterinary risk, or that are re-homed with a known long term problem.

The Rescue Scheme is not allowed to sell the dogs it is asked to re-home but the costs of re-homing are considerable. These are made up of veterinary services, boarding fees, Insurance, administration and transport.

Most dogs need some form of veterinary care before or during probation. Dental and ear problems are common and because a dog cannot be asked to keep still - any procedure to deal with even these simple problems requires a general anesthetic which is expensive.

DONATIONS:

We are often asked what a donation should be - but we are not allowed to sell and therefore cannot name a sum. It is always our hope that people who take on a healthy dog of insurable age will make an adequate donation. This will help us to support the elderly and infirm dogs that with care can live a good life.

Form up-dated February 2007