Dog Warden service
Our Dog Warden service is available for stray dogs reported to us between:
- 8.45am and 15.30pm Monday to Fridays.
Our Dog Warden has powers to deal with:
- stray and lost dogs
- excessive dog barking.
However, we do not have powers to deal with:
- dangerous dogs (please contact the police)
- animal cruelty and animal welfare issues (please contact the RSPCA)
- unwanted pets (please contact rehoming centres).
Stray or lost dogs
Please contact us if you find a stray dog by calling 01775 761161.
If a dog is picked up and it is wearing a collar and tag, and is microchipped, it is easier to reunite it with its owner.
If you find a dog within working hours, please contain it somewhere safe then contact the Dog Warden on 01775 761161 who will collect the dog and take it to the holding kennels. We do not collect uncontained dogs.
If you have lost or found a dog outside of our working hours, please contact our out of hours service 01522 782235 where you will be given advice on what to do.
If you've lost your dog
To report your dog lost, please contact us by calling 01775 761161 . It will help us if you are able to email a description and photo to DogWarden@sholland.gov.uk as well.
We'll be able to determine if a dog matching the description of your dog has been collected as a stray or reported to us by the public. We will endeavour to reunite dog and owner as soon as possible. However, if this cannot be achieved and the dog has to be kennelled, there will be a seized dog fee of £75 and other charges to cover kennelling and veterinary costs, as necessary.
The best advice we can offer you is that you:
- ensure your dog cannot get out of your home boundary
- ensure that your dog has a collar with a current contact telephone number and address
- get your dog microchipped
- keep the information on the microchip up to date.
Microchipping and neutering
A dog must wear a collar and tag giving the owner's name and address, as well as being microchipped. You can read about exceptions to this in The Control of Dogs Order 1992 here
It is compulsory for dog owners to have their pet microchipped by the time it is 8 weeks old. You can be fined up to £500 if your dog is not microchipped.
It is important that you keep your dog's microchip details up to date, and that if you have brought a dog into the country, you use a UK approved microchipping service. These are listed here
We do not offer a microchipping service. Please speak to your vet or one of the organisations listed in the link above.
If you require information on neutering your pet, please see the RSPCA neutering advice (opens new tab).
Barking dogs
All dogs will bark to some extent, however we can investigate an allegation that the barking is unreasonable. If the noise level is shown to be so, then our Environmental Protection team has powers to take further action against the owner. Please see our noise nuisance page for more information.
