Stray Dogs New Rules

Posted on April 1, 2008

From 6th April, Mid Beds District Council will be responsible for accepting stray dogs found by members of the public.

New rules mean the Police no longer have responsibility for accepting stray dogs but they will continue to be responsible for dealing with dangerous dogs.

Anyone reporting a stray dog can continue to call Mid Beds on 01462 611222 (or 08452 30 40 40) during normal office hours and our Dog Warden will collect it as soon as she can.

In addition, Mid Beds now provide an out-of-hours service, meaning that anyone holding a stray dog can call us on 07850 032360 from 5.00pm to 10.30pm Monday to Friday and from 8.00am to 10.30pm on weekends and Bank Holidays.

The Dog Warden will only collect a stray dog held at a specific address out of hours - we cannot offer to search an area.

All dogs found straying are taken to Appledown Kennels in Eaton Bray near Dunstable. Owners can arrange to collect their dogs from the kennels and will be asked to prove their identity and to pay a fee of £35.00 plus a kennelling charge of £8.00 per night.

People in receipt of means tested benefit will be required to pay £25.00 plus any kennelling charge above the first £8.00. Payment can be made by cash or cheque direct to the kennels - debit and credit cards are not accepted.

Steve Whittaker, Contract Services Manager at Mid Beds said: "Dog owners must take full responsibility and ensure that their dogs do not get out and stray. This would save them not only a trip to the kennels and kennel charges but also a lot of worry. We would strongly recommend that dogs are micro-chipped so that time can be saved in tracing owners and the costs to the owners of kenneling are reduced."

Source: Mid Beds District Council