Two days agao I rescued a stray dog. It was 7.30pm and the council dog warden was off duty.
It was sub-zero, the dog, a bitch, was heavily pregnant, she was down on her honches, whimpering. And with one jealous doggy in the house, she couldn't stay there very easily (I had to lock Toby, howling, in the bedroom).
I called the RSPCA. All you get, having navigated their automated menu is a message telling you that strays are the responsibility of your local council.
This is the kind of grandstanding politics that really pisses me off.
Yes, the council should help, but a charity that claims to be about animal welfare needs to deal the situation as it stands, not just sit there playing politics.
So I had both the RSPCA and the local council out-of-hours service washing their hands of the problem, bot prepared to allow the dog and her unborn puppies to spend overnight outside in -3C.
In the end, after much phoning around, I found a boarding kennel 7 miles away took in strays overnight, so I coaxed the dog into the back of the car and took her there.
Now I'm fit and well, and I have a car. What if I'd been a pensioner, or had no transport?
I will never give another penny to the RSPCA until they change their policy and help with strays, especially in cases like this where the council is refusing to act.