Stray Dogs

What is a stray dog?

Any dog found in a public or private place where it should not be, which appears to be without it’s owner and not under the control of its owner or a person representing them.

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Legislation

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on local authorities to collect and detain stray dogs.

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What happens when a stray dog is detained by the Council?

Dogs found roaming the streets without a collar and tag or microchip will be seized by the council and placed in one of the Council’s stray dog kennels. The dogs are held at the kennels for a period of seven days to enable them to be claimed by their owners.

The owners are required to pay a fee for the return of their dogs to cover the expense of seizing the dogs and the cost of keeping them in the kennel. If after seven days the dogs have not been claimed, the dogs will be re-homed either by the kennel or a dog re-homing agency.

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What do I do if I find a stray dog?

Contact the Council - you can find the necessary contact details and an online report form at the side of this page - and we will arrange for the dog to be collected.

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What do I do if I lose my dog?

Contact the Council - you can find the necessary contact details and an online report form at the side of this page - and we will register your details and those of the dog.  We will cross match these details with those dogs we have already detained and advise you if we have a dog matching your dogs description at our kennels.

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Online Reporting