The Dog Runs Away a Street Away and Is Taken 40 km to a Shelter

A reader wrote to us about the story of her dog’s escape and the difficulties involved in recovering it.

I posted about my dog being missing and was informed that the dog was at the Municipal Police station, ready to be collected. I went to get him, but they were closing the Municipal Police station, and the dog was being taken to Nowogrodziec to a veterinarian. I still couldn’t collect him because of the procedure.... You have to go to the Municipal Police station. On Monday at 8:00, I showed up with the documents. The veterinarian called to say that the dog would be handed over to a shelter (editor’s note), because he claimed that no one would come for the dog anyway. I drove to Nowogrodziec. Suddenly I found out that he wasn’t there. I went to the shelter, where they told me to pay PLN 70, even though the dog had only been there briefly. I won’t even mention that I also received a fine from the Municipal Police. More expenses and fuel. The dog is stressed and does not tolerate journeys well. Is this the normal procedure in such a case? I would like to point out that the dog has a chip and the veterinarian read it.
I am writing to the editorial office because I am very angry about all this and believe it should not happen this way. The woman at the shelter said that our municipal police operate this way. They do not look for owners and take the dog away immediately. Surely someone should look into this so that it does not happen. The dog runs away a street away, yet is taken 40 km away. In this way, other people often no longer collect their four-legged companions because they cannot afford it. I would be grateful if you publicized this matter to warn others whose dogs might also run away. It happens, after all—it’s only a dog.

Kamila Chalewicz-Pudłowska, commander of the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec, reports that the escaped pug had not been reported to the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec and therefore was not listed in the register maintained by the unit.

With regard to the information provided by your reader, I would kindly inform you that the dog was caught at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, 7 August 2021. The veterinarian collected the animal from the headquarters of the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec at approximately 6:00 p.m. Until 8:00 p.m. that day, no one contacted the duty officer of the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec in this matter or came directly to the headquarters. The dog’s owner contacted the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec on Monday, first by telephone and then in person. In accordance with the procedure, the dog was initially taken to a veterinarian and then to the shelter. Questions about the procedure for releasing the dog by the shelter should be addressed directly to the shelter. I would also like to point out that, in the case described, the animal did not have up-to-date vaccinations against rabies.

The Municipal Police in Bolesławiec informs that, in the event of a report or an intervention of their own concerning a dog running without supervision, municipal police officers attempt to catch the animal. The microchip is then checked. If the dog has a microchip, the officers verify whether the dog has been reported to the database of the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec (the mere implantation of a microchip by a veterinarian does not mean that it is in our system; the animal must be reported to us, as this is voluntary).

If the dog has a microchip and has been registered with the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec, the officers contact the animal’s owner because, thanks to the registration, they have the owner’s details. In that case, the dog goes neither to a veterinarian nor to a shelter, but directly to its owner. When the dog is not listed in the system, and the owner’s details are therefore unknown, the Municipal Police notify the veterinarian designated by the Bolesławiec City Office. The veterinarian collects the dog and then transfers it to the shelter carrying out this task for the city of Bolesławiec. At present, this is the shelter in Przylasek.

Following each such intervention, proceedings are conducted concerning the offense specified in Article 77 of the Code of Petty Offenses, namely failure to take ordinary or required precautionary measures when keeping an animal, as well as the offense under Article 85(1a) of the Act of 11 March 2004 on the protection of animal health and combating infectious animal diseases, namely evading the obligation to vaccinate a dog against rabies.

In both proceedings, the possible outcomes are an admonition, a fine or the submission of a motion to the court for punishment. Recognizing the serious danger associated with owners’ failure to comply with the obligation to take precautionary measures when keeping an animal, the legislature tightened the criminal sanctions in this area, not only increasing the maximum fine from PLN 250 to PLN 1,000, but also allowing restriction of liberty, alongside a fine and a reprimand, as a penalty for this offense. More information is available on the website of the Municipal Police in Bolesławiec.