I MUST express my thanks to the owner of Slaidburn's Riverband Tea Rooms who spent considerable time and effort (despite being busy) in what resulted in a fruitless attempt to assist a lost, distressed and far-from-well Alsatian dog that we came across while travelling on the Bentham to Slaidburn Road.

His half-dozen telephone calls to the police, local councils and RSPCA were to no avail, amazingly!

"Council dog warden off sick and no-one else available to help"; adjacent councils unwilling or unable to assist as "not in their area"; local police unavailable at that time.

We were told the police would take custody of the dog if it was taken in by us.

How were we expected to lift a frightened and therefore probably dangerous animal into our car and drive four miles.

We suggested that we would willingly drive back to the dog's location (about one mile beyond Catlow Farm) immediately with someone, but were informed that a council representative would possibly go out there the following day.

Maybe they were half expecting it to be shot for sheep-worrying -- problem solved, except for the farmer and dog's owner!

The moral of this experience is that ordinary members of the public are willing to put themselves out to help animals in trouble, while the parties with whom the responsibility lies, or have the "equipment" to help, are unable or are unwilling to assist.

As the tea room owner said: "Forget Rolf Harris - this is the REAL world!"

TONY BARTLETT, School Lane, Wargrave-on-Thames, Berkshire.