We are warning the public to be vigilant after a report was made to our helpline of a Scottish SPCA officer looking into the window of a property on Lochside Road, Dumfries.
When call logs were checked, we had no record of any incidents being reported at that address and local inspectors confirmed they had not attended.
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent, Mike Flynn, said, “The incident occurred on Monday 12 December when the resident’s mother was alerted by a friend that they’d seen what looked like a dark Scottish SPCA van parked outside the premises and an inspector looking in the window.
“A second witness told the resident’s mother that this person then returned on the morning of the 14 December. Unfortunately, the witness was unsure if the person who visited was male or female.
“We have checked with the local inspectors for that area who have confirmed they did not attend the address and our helpline has no record of any incident being reported in that area.
“Our helpline team advised the resident to report the incident to the police, which we would always advise people to do in these type of circumstances.
“Although our inspectors will sometimes look in the windows of properties when there’s a report of a trapped or abandoned animal, we would always leave a calling card to let the resident know we’ve attended and contact details of how they can get in touch.
“Our inspectors will always be in uniform and will be able to provide identification badges with a photo and authorisation. Our inspectors will also be happy to provide you with vehicle registration.
“If you are at all unsure about someone who comes to your door claiming to be from the Scottish SPCA, then ask them to wait outside and call us immediately. Our inspectors will respect your need to do this.
“If someone contacts you by any other means such as phone or email then you can always call our helpline to check if the communication is genuine.
“If anyone has any information on this incident, or would like to report a similar incident to us, they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
