news, latest-news

Lack of security cameras at an ACT government animal shelter has been highlighted after a confusing case involving a lost dog. A weimaraner called Krieger went missing in January and was picked up by people who took the dog to the Domestic Animal Services centre at Symonston. When the finders arrived back at their home in Canberra's inner north, they found a flyer and contacted the dog's owner, Elizabeth Knapp. Ms Knapp said the people who found the dog told her they had put it in the after-hours cages, closed and locked the gate and filled out the paperwork. But when Ms Knapp turned up at the shelter the dog was gone, leaving her unhappy with the government service. She said that after leaving the shelter she got a phone call from a person in Red Hill who said she had found the dog. A spokeswoman for Territory and Municipal Services said the padlock had not been secured on the cage properly and that Domestic Animal Services had now posted up instructions to help people dropping off lost dogs. ''Dogs have allegedly been removed from the drop-off kennel in the past, but this can only happen if the padlock or pad-bolt combination is not secured properly or if the padlock is not attached at all, which happens at times,'' the spokeswoman said. ''DAS rangers found no paperwork attached to the gate nor any paperwork in the surrounding area. It is possible for a third party to remove the form from the drop-off kennel area. It appears the dog either escaped or was removed by a third party. ''Currently there is no security camera in the drop-off kennels area. TAMS is exploring options to install cameras in or near the drop-off kennels and at other locations as part of normal upgrade works. ''The first priority of DAS is always to re-home dogs to their original owners when they are lost or handed in. ''DAS rangers care for a large number of dogs and have achieved one of the highest re-homing rates of any pound in the country, at around 95 per cent.'' Meanwhile, Krieger is now safely at home with Ms Knapp, and both look happy with the outcome.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/4dc34309-aac6-474a-8107-b95a1c055452.jpg/r2_0_728_410_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg