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The Council has a statutory duty to deal with stray dogs in accordance with Section 149 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 - to (if practicable) seize stray dogs and detain them. Dogs found straying on private land can only be seized with the consent of the landowner.
All costs relating to the collection, kennelling and return of a stray dog to the owner can be recovered from the owner of the dog.
All dogs found or reported as strays will, if possible, be reunited with their owner (see below). If an owner cannot be located at the time the Dog Warden attends, the dog will be removed to holding kennels where it will remain for up to 7 days after delivery to the kennels. During this 7 day period the dog can be reclaimed by its owner. After this 7 day period has expired, any unclaimed dog, by law, becomes the property of the Council and the dog will be re-homed where possible.
Dogs abandoned on public land are treated the same as stray dogs, in that all methods of trying to find an owner are attempted.
Our stray dog service is delivered in-house. All callers to the Council in relation to stray dogs are considered a high priority and are attended to as soon as possible.
The Dog Warden is available Monday to Thursday 08.00 - 16.00, excluding holidays. Holidays are covered by a reciprocal agreement with a neighbouring Council and by cover, where possible, by other officers within the Environmental Health Service. The Contact Centre is open from 08.45 - 17.00 to report stray or missing dogs. At all other times a voicemail takes calls and these are picked-up and dealt with first thing in the morning.
Requests for our service in relation to stray dogs fall into two categories:
Calls from members of the public (not being the owner of the dog)
1. If the stray has been secured by the complainant the Dog Warden will attend to take the dog off them as soon as possible.
2. The Warden will attempt to determine the ownership of the dog by looking for an ownership tag on the collar, and scanning the dog for a microchip.
3. If the owner's details can be ascertained from either the tag on the collar or from a microchip record, and the dog lives in the immediate vicinity of where it has been found, then the dog will be returned to the owner at no charge.
4. If the dog's owner cannot be contacted at the pick up site, the dog will be taken to the holding kennels awaiting collection from the owner. If the dog has identification on it and the owner can still not be contacted at the time, a message will be left for the owner with details to contact the Dog Warden. If only an address is available a notice will be sent to this address advising the owner that dog has been taken to kennels and with instructions on how to collect it.
5. The dog can be reclaimed from the holding kennels by the owner upon payment of an up front fee of £50 (this is currently being reviewed), which is payable at the Council offices.
6. If the stray dog has been caught 3 or more times before, the dog will automatically be taken to the kennels. The owners will be contacted to let them know where the dog is upon payment of £50.00.
1. Callers to the Council will be directed to the Contact Centre where the dog's details are taken.
2. The Contact Centre will take details of the dog including description, the owner's address, and when the dog was last seen, and by checking their records they will seek to determine if the Dog Warden has collected the dog.
3. If the dog is still with the Dog Warden in the van, the dog can be returned to the owner.
4. Lost dog records will be kept on file in case a dog of that description is later found.
5. The Council will make every effort to link dogs picked-up as strays with dogs reported as lost, and reunite them with their owners. However, owing to differences in time being the dog being lost, reported as missing and picked-up, and differences in geographical location between where the dog is lost and where it is found, and differences in descriptions of dogs, this may not always be possible. It must be borne in mind that the Council's duty is to remove stray dogs from the streets where they can cause harm and accidents to themselves and others. It is not our primary duty to reunite lost dogs with owners.
6. It is in you interests to check regularly with us if you have lost your dog, and to report is to us as soon as possible. If you live near the boundary of the District you are also advised to liaise with the Dog Warden of the neighbouring District, as the dog may have crossed the boundary and been picked-up there.
To report a stray dog or enquire about a lost dog please call the Contact Centre on 01789 260839 between 08.45 and 17.00, Monday to Friday. For all Out of Hours calls, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible the next working day.
These are reported in the same way as stray dogs - please phone 01789 260839 and leave as many details as possible about the location.
Stray dogs are held for a minimum period of seven 'clear days' following seizure or following service of a notice of seizure, whichever is the latest. After this period, the dog becomes the property of the Council.
Section 149(6) of the Environmental Protection Act entitles the Council to deal with unclaimed stray dogs in one of three ways:
But no dog seized under this section shall be sold or given for the purposes of vivisection.
The Council maintains a policy of re-homing unclaimed strays through the re-homing centre attached to the stray dog kennels. If they do not want to keep the dog, every effort will be made to house the dog elsewhere until another re-homing centre can take the dog on, or suitable owners are found by the Dog Warden. The Council policy is to only destroy dogs which are very ill or have suffered severe injuries and destruction is recommended by a veterinary surgeon to relieve suffering, or where the dog is recognised as a type of dog which is banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Once transferred to the Council or designated kennels, the former owner of the stray dog has no legal claim for the return of the animal.
See also:
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