The Dog Warden: Everything You Need To Know

For  any dog owner, the idea of them escaping the house or garden, running  off on a walk or even just losing sight of them can be terrifying.  

All  it can take is for the postie not to shut the garden gate, your dog  darts out the door as you’re taking in your parcel and they’re away!   You might call them, give chase, or otherwise try and get them back, but  once they’re out of sight any number of thoughts will, quite  reasonably, go through your head.  

What  if they get stolen?  What if they get hit by a car?  What if they can’t  find their way back?  What if they get spooked and hunker down to hide?   How will I get them back?  Will I get them back?

The  best outcome is that some kind person comes across them, reads the  contact details on their collar ID tag (which they are responsibly  wearing!), calls you and brings them home.

Unfortunately,  this is rarely the case.  This is primarily because too few owners are  aware that it is a legal requirement for dogs to wear a collar, with  identification, and that they be microchipped with up-to-date  information.

If a dog is found without a tag, and no owner is in sight, several things could happen:

- The finder takes the dog home and claims it as their own without care for who they belong to AKA, they steal the dog.

-  The finder may innocently take the dog home, post a picture on social  media and if they’re lucky the owner see’s it and they’re happily  reunited.  However, what could happen is the dog is given to someone  claiming to be the owner (but isn’t!) or the owner isn’t on social  media/doesn’t see the post and the finder decides to keep it.  They move  forward believing they’ve done their due diligence when what they have  actually done is inadvertently stolen someone’s dog!

OR

-  The finder may know the CORRECT thing to do which is to take the dog to  the nearest vets or rescue, or call the dog warden, to have the  microchip scanned.  If the microchip is up to date, the owner will be  reunited with their dog in very quick order!  If the microchip is not up  to date, the dog warden will be called (if they aren’t already  involved) and they will, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990,  seize the dog as a stray.

However,  even those people who are aware that the last option is the right thing  to do, they can quite often refuse to take the dog to an authority.   This is because of the long-standing misconception about the dog warden  system.  They believe that seized dogs are put to sleep instead of being  reunited with their owners and in taking action themselves, they are  more likely to have a positive outcome.

This is not the case.

Every  local authority will have an appointed officer, or several officers,  who are purposed with dealing with stray dogs found within their area  through a set of steps which are laid out in the legislation.

Dog wardens are not horrible people and they do not set out to put dogs to sleep without due process.

If  a dog is seized by the dog warden, they are transported to a holding  kennels, whether within the local authority or at an external contracted  kennels, where they are held for 7 days.

During those 7 days, they are well cared for, provided veterinary care if required and efforts will be made to locate the owner.

When  the owner comes forward to claim the dog, they must provide proof of  ownership, pay the release fee and any other outstanding expenses such  as kennelling costs (yes, you must pay for their bed and board!) and  veterinary care.

The fee will also be higher if the dog wasn’t wearing a collar, and its microchip wasn’t up to date at the time of seizure!  

While  the fee isn’t referred to as a ‘fine’, in effect it is designed as a  deterrent to allowing your dog to stray in the first place!

However,  should the dog have attacked another dog, a person or caused an  accident while straying, the owner will face substantial fines and even  prison time.

Once claimed, the  owner will also be presented with a microchipping notice.  The owner  will need to provide evidence to the council, within a set time frame,  that the microchip has been updated or they will be fined…and it’s no  small amount!

The dogs’ details  will be kept on record and their owner held to a greater account should  they stray again.  Repeat offenders can have their dog seized  indefinitely should it happen too often!

If  the dog is not claimed within the 7 days, the dog becomes the property  of the local authority, and as such they are then given the power to  decide the dog’s future.

There are three choices available to the local authority which are set down by the legislation:

- Giving the dog to a person who will care for the dog properly
- Giving the dog to an establishment such as a rescue, rehoming centre or sanctuary that accepts in stray dogs
- Humanely putting the dog down

Yes,  they do have the power to euthanise stray dogs, which is where the  misconceptions surrounding the dog warden system are rooted.  Unless the  decision is made on welfare grounds to avoid suffering e.g., the dog  was hit by a car, they cannot put a dog down until after they’ve served  their 7 days to give their owners the opportunity to claim them.

Even  then, they try to avoid having to make that decision wherever possible.   Up and down the country, there are people volunteering on behalf of  charities or organisations as ‘pound pullers’ who coordinate with the  various local authorities to place unclaimed strays into appropriate  rescues, fosters or homes.  
It is with their help that so many dogs are able to be placed, as the local authorities often don’t have the time to do it!  

So,  despite popular opinion, the dog warden system is not rigged against  dogs, and they do not set out to put dogs down.  Of the wardens we have  met, they actively avoid making that decision unless it is in the best  interest of the dog, because they love dogs as much as the next person  and don’t want to see them put down!  

Unfortunately,  though, with the ban on XL Bullies coming into effect, any dogs picked  up as stray by the authorities fitting the ‘type’ description will very  sadly be euthanised as a matter of course due to the restrictions on  rehoming them.

In years gone by,  any dogs in the stray system got priority space into rescues due to the  time restrictions and need to move them on to prevent a backing up  within the warden kennels.  A lot of people would use this as an excuse  to intentionally dump their dogs, or directly hand them in as 'stray',  to jump the queue in getting their dogs rehomed.  However, this is no  longer the case.

Due to the  financial crisis, there is also now a homing crisis, with rescues across  the nation at breaking point and unable to take in any more animals.   So, anyone chosing to hand their dogs into the dog warden, or dump them,  as an alternative to the waiting lists to put them into reputable  rescues is now putting them at a far greater risk of being put to sleep  than actually being rehomed due to lack of space and a crippled rescue  sector.

While accidents happen,  like gates being left open, there are steps we can all take as dog  owners to ensure our happy hounds don’t end up being swept away by the  dog warden…or worse:

- Ensure your dog is always wearing a collar with identity tag!
- Keep their microchip up to date!
- Keep your dog on lead in public, unless they have 100% reliable recall!
- Regularly check the garden fence and gates for damage, holes, or gaps (particularly after a storm!)

If  you do lose your dog, don’t panic.  The first thing you should do is  contact the local authority dog warden to report them missing.  This  service is there for a reason!  If they then get a call to collect a  stray dog, and it is yours, the process to reunite will be so much  faster as they will already have you on the system!

Additionally,  call your local vets and rescues to notify them of your dog’s  description and your contact details for the same reason.  You can also  notify your dog’s microchip company which will in turn triggers a lost  dog report to go out to relevant organisations.

Regularly  check social media such as local community groups on Facebook, or if  you don’t have socials, ask a friend or family member to check for you  as finders often advertise them online.

The  same applies if you find a dog.  Notify the authorities and take the  dog to the nearest vet where it can scanned and reunited, or be looked  after until the warden is able to collect it.

It  is scary when a dog goes missing, as inevitably people will fear the  worst, but if more people understand that the dog warden system is there  to help and that they should be contacted, more dogs will be  successfully reunited with their owners!

Local authorities have got details of their dog warden services on their websites if you want to look it up!