Dog Warden Services

Tonbridge and Malling's Dog Warden is responsible for promoting responsible dog ownership, dealing with microchipping, fouling, lost and stray dogs, dangerous dogs and noisy dogs. Any enquiries concerned with animal cruelty or animals in distress should be made directly to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) on 08705 555999.

The Council's Dog Warden can be contacted on 01732 876181 or by email dog.warden@tmbc.gov.uk.

Lost, Stolen and Stray Dogs

Lost Dogs

If you have lost your dog, there are a number of things you should do:

• Contact the Dog Warden at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Your dog may have been picked up as a stray or reported to us as a found dog;
• Contact all vets in and around your area;
• Contact all boarding and stray dog kennels in and around your area. You should contact Viking Oak Kennels on 01732 883468 and Red Sheen Kennels on 01892 863333;
• You should also visit Dog Lost or telephone 01302 743361. Dog Lost helps reunite dogs with their owners. You can post details and a photograph of your dog on the website. It also has details of found dogs;
• Contact councils bordering Tonbridge and Malling as it may have been reported to them as a found dog.
  

Stolen Dogs

If your dog is stolen, you should:

• Contact the police immediately, report your dog as stolen and get a crime reference number;
• Visit Dog Theft Action. This website provides information to victims of dog theft and assists them in their search for their stolen or missing dog;
• Contact the RSPCA, telephone 08705 555999
• Contact all local kennels including Battersea at Brands Hatch on 01474 87994, Viking Oak on 01732 883468, Red Sheen on 01892 863333 and Foal Farm on 01959 572386;
• Visit Dog Lost or telephone 01302 743361.

Stray or Found Dogs

It is illegal for a dog to stray. The Dog Warden can seize any dog they believe to be straying - that is a dog which is off its owner's property and outside of its owner's control. If you find a dog, you must return it to its owner or inform the police or council. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

Having provided your details to the police or council, you may choose to keep the dog. If you choose to keep the dog you must, by law:

• Keep the dog personally for a minimum of one month;
• Give up custody of the dog at any time if its rightful owner requests its return.

If the dog is passed over to the Council's Dog Warden, they will make every effort to reunite the dog with its owner at that time. If unable to do so, the Dog Warden will take the dog to the kennels. This is considered by the Dog Warden Service as the safest way to ensure it does not cause harm or injury to itself or to a person. Re-homing can take place after seven days of being kept in kennels. If a suitable home cannot be found, it may be destroyed.

If a dog has been seized by the council or the police by any means and subsequently re-homed, legal title to the dog will rest with the new owner of the dog.

If a dog is reclaimed by its owner, they will be responsible for any costs involved.  These include:

• Kennelling fees, which are calculated on a daily basis; and
• A government fine of £25 plus the cost incurred by the Councils' dog warden service, making a total of £65; and
• Any veterinary costs.

Report a stray dog with the online form.

Responsible Dog Ownership

Collars and Tags

A dog must wear a collar and a tag when in a public place. The minimum information on the tag required by law is the name and address of the owner, but adding a phone number is also recommended.

Microchipping

It is strongly recommended by the Council's Dog Warden Service that you have your dog microchipped. The process only takes a few moments and is no more painful than a vaccination at the vets. The microchip contains a unique number that corresponds with the dog's address and owners' contact details, which would normally be recorded at the same time the microchip is fitted. The details are stored on a national database.

All dogs picked up as a stray are scanned for microchips. If chipped, the dog's details are then retrieved from the database allowing the dog to be returned to its owner.

You can have your dog microchipped by your vet. Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council's Dog Warden Service also offers a microchipping service at a cost of £15 per dog.

Get more information about microchipping with the online form.

Fouling

Please clean up after your dog. The Council encourages responsible dog ownership and urges dog owners to clear up after their pets and use the red dog waste bins.

Bag it and Bin it! (PDF format 107KB) leaflet for more information.

Report fouling with the online form.

Owners who do not clean up when their pets foul roads, pavements, grassed areas, paths in playing fields, public open spaces, sports fields, housing estates, village greens, children's play areas, car parks, church yards or cemeteries can be charged a fixed penalty fine of £50. If the case is taken to court, the maximum fine is £1,000. If you are walking across private land on a public right of way who must pick up after your dog within three metres either side of the footpath too. The best policy is to always pick up after you dog or risk a fine.

Dog fouling prosecution

A woman from East Malling was successfully prosecuted by the Borough Council under the Dog (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. Mrs Patricia Cody failed to clear up after her Jack Russell dog when it fouled the grassed area in Temple Way, East Malling on 17 October 2008. The offence was witnessed by a police opffice who reported the incident to the Borough Council. Mrs Cody was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £50 which she failed to pay. As a result, Mrs Cody was prosecuted under section 3 of the Dog (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. She was found guilt at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court and fined £175 aswell as £50 costs and a £15 victims surcharge.

Bag and Flag Events

Dog mess is one of the country's biggest litter problems but in several 'hot spots' around the borough the problem has been flagged-up and dealt with in the latest drive by the Borough Council to promote responsible dog ownership. 'Bag and Flag' events highlight the dog mess problem in an area and encourage dog walkers to clear up after their dogs in the future. Officers bag all the dog mess found in an area in bright yellow bags with a flag alongside for 24 hours before it is collected and disposed of by our waste contractors.

 

Caught Doing Right

"Caught doing right" is a national campaign organised by Animal Wardens and the Borough Council, which recognises responsible dog owners who do clean up after their dog with a reward card. Dog owners can then choose to send off their completed cards to be entered into a free national prize draw for a chance to win a year's supply of dog food or a VIP ticket to Crufts. there is also a local draw which reponsible dog owners can be entered into a draw to win grooming vouchers and various other prizes. A resident from Snodland was one fo the first people to win a prize.

Dangerous Dogs

It is an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for a dog to be dangerously out of control and to put a person in fear of being attacked.

The main points of the Act are:

• A magistrate can issue a control order which could result in the dog being destroyed. The owner can also be fined or receive a prison sentence of up to six months or both;
• If your dog bites a person the sentence is increased to a fine or a prison sentence up to two years or both;
• If your dog attacks and injures another animal you could be sued in a County Court for the damages caused.

If you are attacked by a dog you should contact the Police or Council.

Report a dangerous dog with the online form.

Noisy dogs

Noise nuisance caused by a dog barking could result in the Council taking action against the dog owner. There are many reasons why a dog barks. These include:

• Loneliness;
• Boredom or frustration;
• Attention seeking;
• Defending its territory;
• Medical problems.

The importance of training cannot be overstated, as barking soon becomes an uncontrollable habit. Try to:

• Feed and exercise your dog before you go out,
• Make sure its bed or basket is comfortable,
• Leave its favourite toys,
• Check that the room is not too hot or cold and that there is adequate ventilation,
• Leave a radio on at a reasonable sound level,
• Leave a light on if you are coming back after dark.

The Borough Council also take part in the national Noise Action Week annually in May. Noise from barking dogs is an area we will be focusing on for 2010 campaign.

Report a noisy dog with the online form.

Re-homing your dog

If you can no longer care for your dog, the Council's Dog Warden Service will provide you with advice on how to re-home it. In exceptional circumstances, the Council may be able to accept it as a gift and undertake to re-home it.

No dog will go for animal research and all contacts will be subject to home checks before it is released by our charity contacts.

Further Information

To contact the Waste Services Team, telephone 01732 876147, e-mail waste.services@tmbc.gov.uk or SMS text message to 07781 482959.

 

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Last updated: 01/04/10 at 14:57:44 Office use only: 354/2011-03-30