first mate

CORRECTION the dog is a bitch.. Yes, I have given her fresh water. She does not look badly cared for, which makes her current set up all the stranger. I can easily access her and have been popping in and out. Another call to RSPCA and have been advised in the strongest terms to leave her, and I quote, " or we'll having nothing to investigate, I know it sounds cruel but..." So, as it stands, I've had a call from the RSPCA call centre and they say an officer will investigate, but no time given. I will continue to monitor her myself over the next few hours. Again, if anyone recognises the description of this dog please say. She is lovely and really friendly.

Ok, every conceivable person has been called. Working under my own steam and with the help of another neighbour, who lives even closer to the dog, I have managed to locate and see it. It is a tiny intact, Jack Russell Male, mostly white but with tan on head. The dog is being kept in the rooms above Iceland. The room it is in has nothing in it and is near derelict- it had been left since yesterday afternoon with some dry biscuits but no water, no bedding nada. But there are a few posion bait boxes in the room! The dog is friendly and was desperate for water and to get out of the room. It is highly distressed and panting. The only person I could find living in the block said she dod not know who the dog belonged to. There is a whole series of empty, derelict rooms, many have dog shit in them. I have called the RSPCA and at last they seem to think this might be worth looking at. I cannot take the dog as this might constitute theft, so I am currently waiting in my house trying to work, listening to it yelping, hoping the RSPCA turn up soon. All I can do is keep popping in and checking on it. I wnated to take it away with and would keep it until the RSPCA i/d the owners, but was advised not to. If anyone recognises the description of this dog please let me know. If the dog is owned by someone 'living' in the building it is a very strange way to treat an animal you care about- the lack of water is shameful.

Well, it's morning, the dog/puppy is still yelping and has been throughout the night. The noise seems to be coming from the office/flats above Iceland. Judging by a sign on the door an organisation called Catch 22 may be using parts of the building. The RSPCA say there is nothing they can do without sight of the dog. Will try Southwark next.

silverfox, It's really not that difficult to sense when a dog is in distress, the type of vocalisation is different. Whatever you think of that observation, it's probably fair to say that a dog that barks for three hours straight is not having fun. Moreover, it's not fun for the people, like me, who can hear and cannot sleep as a result. And yes, it's still going on.

Yes, that had occurred to me as well, but I think separation anxiety is the most likely explanation and many owners are often unaware. At the very least perhaps someone who knows them and sees this can have a word.

Can't access front door, though have tried.These houses are approx behind Willis B on Lordhsip Lane. The design is such that the only access is up an alleyway off Ashbourne Grove, where a short row of houses are accessed through the garden. All the gardens have high fences and locked gates. I've tried knocking, calling out- no response.

It's nearly 12pm- the dog is hysterical. I hope the owners are home soon. It is heartbreaking to hear an animal like this.

The dog is sounding increasingly desperate........

Yes, that is my concern. What is frustrating is that I can hear the dog, but there is no way of getting to it. I'm hoping that someone who knows of the dog reads this and is able to contact the owners.

For the last hour, at least, a dog has been distress barking and whining. The noise is coming from a bunch of houses up an alleyway off Ashbourne Grove. The houses are behind the post office etc.. The gardens back on to the alleyway and are all fenced and gated, so no way in. I have been out twice to check gates and doorbells with no luck. Two police out on the beat tried too, but no way in and cannot access doors to knock on. Does anyone know of a dog that lives in these houses and any way of contacting the owner/owners? The dog sounds really distressed and frankly it's keeping me awake.

Until your cats become old and infirm and then they become the fox's prey. Nature- it's all swings and roundabouts. In culling foxes one would need to know the population and then what the ideal population is. A total wipeout would probably mean proliferation of other'vermin'.

malambu, With your mother the signs were clear that she would not recover and as she was not conscious the decision to withdraw nutrition and fluids would make sense. I think the LCP has been used with patients who are conscious and who request fluids but have been refused them. It seems to me that the issue is not with the LCP so much as a lack of training by some who have used it incorrectly.

I stand corrected. The OP was visited by a bolder, travelling rat.

I think we all have rats within 6-9 feet of us pretty much anywhere in the city environment. They live in sewers and anywhere else they can get a ready source of food, most stay clear of humans as a survival mechanism. In this case, I'm sure it is no reflection on how clean your house is- merely the mix of a bolder rat, wram weather and opportunity.

I think the key point is that it is patient led- therefore if the patient communicates that they are at the end then the LCP can help the last few days/hours. The patient has already started to refuse nutrition and possibly fluids too, this has not been imposed on them. Should they then ask to drink they would be allowed to. It is my understanding that the LCP has been abused/misunderstood and, for instance, seriously ill patients wanting to drink have been refused because they are on the LCP- that is clearly wrong and scary and not the way the LCP is meant to be used.

The possibility that domestic cats may have ended up in the trap is rather worrying- I would certainly want to know more about that and whether there is any truth in the allegation. I have noted a large number of foxes around that area and so it is entirely possible that some trapping is going on but it would be nice to know that this is being properly managed and with a minimum of suffering to the animals trapped.

oh steveo, shssssssh!

malambu, I think that the expert view is that if used properly the LCP is a good thing but there are serious concerns that is has been used inappropriately and has therefore caused/hastened death where this was not the best/only outcome.

I think for someone to take an action as extreme as this is absolutely intent on ending their life and almost certainly would not have expected to survive. The degree of anguish this woman must be in to have done what she did is probably and thankfully beyond the understanding of most of us. I hope that she and her family get all the help they need. I also hope that the driver and witnesses get plenty of support and understanding.

I hope that someone from the school is reading this as they may find themselves on the wrong side of the law. No animal, even a fox, should be caused protracted or unnecessary suffering. By law a trap must be inspected every 24 hours and the fox released or humanely dispatched. It is a bit of a grey area, but given the recent high temperatures, the ease of access to the trap, and the density of the urban fox population, it is arguable that the trap should be inspected much more regularly and that the fox should not be in the trap for very long at all. I would contact the school and ask what is going on and who is managing the trapping.

Moonlaunch, I read your first post and found it most inspiring, in particular your references to the original design of these old terrace houses to ensure that each neighbour has some sense of space and light along the side return. I agree, if your neighbours need more space/light than they are currently getting from a double-fronted 4 bedroom house, then perhaps they should go and buy another house. I do not believe this is about 'need', it is about 'want' and is arguably a type of greed. As I have said before, in building a larger, airy and light-filled space for themselves, your neighbours are quite happy to block your light and wreck your outlook. I find the selfishness of this sort of mindset hard to fathom. Please let us know how you fare and more power to your elbow. I truly hope that the various councillors who visit this website also acquaint themselves with your situation. Might I suggest that you cut and paste your first post to James Barber's thread. Good luck

To my uneducated eye they do look almost identical but the markings on the thorax are different and DJK's has a slightly plumper abdomen. But, the OP's spider also has horrific-looking prongs sticking out of its bottom. Perhaps we cannot see those on DJK's spider because of the angle of the photo..........? I hope so as the prongs might signify a different type of spider...euuugh!

Borderlands, Thanks for this. It sounds worrying. Anyone with experience of 'new model' GP practices like Melbourne Grove/Concordia will have a sense of where our services are bound.

EG, No if you are out with your dog and your dogs crosses a road, either with you offlead or on its own off lead, you are breaking the law- presumbaly the idea is that offlead dogs have no place on a public highway. I ceertainly understand your anxiety about offlead dogs coming at you and your dog. One tip is to always keep some high value treats, like a little pack of cheese cubes (you can chop them up yourself). If you see a strange dog approiaching offlead simply throw a handful of cheese cubes away and in front of you and hopefully the dog will focus on scoffing those while you cross the road and put as much distance as you can between you and the offlead dog. The other tactic, if you can't get away, is to draw yourself up to your full height, put your hand out in front of you like a policeman's stop sign and tell the dog to go away, or to sit . Obviously try to put yourself between your dog and the other dog. Don't be aggressive just be calm and assertive.

It is my unjderstanding that in law the issue is the behaviour of the dog rather than if it is on or off a lead. Bizarrely, a dog that was on a lead but managed to viciously attacked a dog off a lead might render the owner holding the lead liable. It is an anomaly that needs sorting and I agree we need legislation to make having a dog on lead on the street mandatory and not just subject to bye laws. However, the two dogs you describe are clearly not under control as they moved away from their owners. If the dogs jumped up at you they might render their owners liable under the DDA if you felt intimidated or under attack from those dogs. What is little known is that while it may be lawful to walk a controlled dog offlead, you are not allowed to cross a public highway with your dog offlead. The problem I think is the definition of 'control', but a dog being on lead is not proof of control per se, though it is likely to be a mitigating factor.