I'm posting this in Pet Rescue and the Dogs Group in case anyone has any immediate thoughts or suggestions.
A couple of days ago one of my neighbours asked me if I knew anyone who wanted their dog, a cross border collie, as they were moving to a nearby town and weren't going to take her with them. If no-one was interested they'd send her to the SPA.
This evening another neighbour came round and said the couple had apparently moved out yesterday morning and have simply locked the dog in the barn where it's been ever since, barking and carrying on. I don't know about the food/water situation and when (or even if) the owner intends to come back.
I don't know what the SPA's position is on this and how long it has to be before a dog is classified as abandoned/neglected/whatever.
I can't take the dog in because she tries to attack my cats on sight and attempted to bite my foot when I walked to the bus stop the other day. I also obviously have Twerp's safety to think about. My other neighbour who told me of the situation also can't take her because she has two small dogs.
This will be the dog's second night in the barn. I will pop round tomorrow to see if there's any sign of the owner. I am assuming he has sold the property, or is in the process of doing so, as they have just moved to a new house. If he's not there I'll try to (extremely carefully) open the barn to check for water/food.