URGENT
I desperately need some advice.
I am the owner of a 7-month-old dog who lives at my friend's place. During the first vet appointment, they asked for my details over the phone; I thought it was just to book the appointment, but it turned out it was to register me as the official owner. I bought this dog, but he lives with my friend, and he and his brother are the ones looking after him.
We got this dog to be a guard dog. Since he's still a puppy and hasn't been fully trained yet, when we're out at work, he stays in his crate (which is plenty big enough for him) with toys and food.
Yesterday, 6 police officers, 2 specialist unit officers, an investigator, and people from the RSPCA turned up to seize my dog, Kiwi.
I wasn't notified about this seizure at all; it was only later in the afternoon that my friend called to let me know the dog had been taken because a complaint had been filed against me for animal cruelty.
I was in total DISBELIEF. First of all, my dog has never been mistreated. Furthermore, why wasn't I told that my dog was being taken away? After all, I am the legal owner, my details on his pet health record are up to date, etc.
Are they actually allowed to seize a dog without notifying the owner at any point?
Once I heard the news, I called the police station to try and understand what was going on. I soon realised that the women working in the offices opposite our place had contacted the RSPCA to report that the dog was being kept in a crate. I’m not going to deny the facts: it’s true that Kiwi stays in his crate for a few hours while we’re at work. I want to point out that he is taken out in the morning, afternoon, evening, and at night (since there are several of us looking after him, so everyone takes him out around their own schedules). I understand that leaving my dog in a crate isn't the best situation for him, but he's still young and he destroys everything he sees, so unfortunately we can't leave him loose in the house when we aren't there. I'd like to know, is it normal for them to take my dog straight away? Isn't there some kind of warning before a seizure? I find it hard to accept that leaving him in a crate that is spacious enough for a few hours constitutes such serious neglect that they'd seize him instantly—especially needing 6 police officers, specialist units, and so on...
When I found out he'd been seized, I called the police station but also the people from the RSPCA, who were completely dismissive and looked down on me over the phone. They wouldn't tell me anything, they didn't answer any of my questions, and they really spoke to me as if I were the worst person in the world.
