The Council promotes responsible dog ownership, which includes such issues as:
Our Dog Warden can be contacted about these issues on 01732 876184 or by email at dog.warden@tmbc.gov.uk
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 0300 1234 999.
Any reports of dangerous dog attacks on humans should be made to the Police.
Any reports of dangerous dog attacks on dogs (or other domestic or farm animals) or even aggressive behaviour in a public place should be made to the Dog Warden on 01732 876184 or by email at dog.warden@tmbc.gov.uk .
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:
If you have lost your dog, there are a number of things you should do:
If your dog is stolen, you should:
It is illegal to allow your dog to stray. The Dog Warden can seize any dog they believe to be straying. This means any 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 Animal Wardens on 01732 876181. 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:
If the dog is passed over to our 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:
Report a stray dog with the online form.
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.
It is strongly recommended that you have your dog micro-chipped. The process only takes a few moments and is no more painful than a vaccination at the vets. The micro-chip contains a unique number that corresponds with the dog's address and owners' contact details. The details are stored on a national database. All dogs picked up as a stray are scanned for a micro-chip. 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. Our Dog Warden also offers a micro-chipping service at a cost of £15 per dog.
If you already have your dog micro-chipped and are registered with Petlog, but have since moved or changed your contact details, Petlog are offering a free update service during the month of June.
Get more information about microchipping with the online form.
Please clean up after your dog. The Council encourages responsible dog ownership and urges dog owners to clear up after their pets.
Bag it and Bin it! leaflet for more information.
Report fouling with the online form.
Owners who do not clean up when their pets foul will be fined £50. If the case goes to prosecution the maximum fine is £1,000. The best policy is to always pick up after you dog or risk a fine.
Noise nuisance caused by a dog barking could result in us taking action against the owner. There are many reasons why a dog barks. These include:
The importance of training cannot be overstated, as barking soon becomes an uncontrollable habit. Try to:
Report a noisy dog with the online form.
If you can no longer care for your dog, our Dog Warden can only normally provide you with advice on how to re-home it. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept it as a gift and try to re-home it through dog charities. No dog will go for animal research and all contacts will be have home checks before a dog is re-homed by our charity contacts.