Council takes over responsibility for out of
hours stray dog care
From April 6th
South Gloucestershire Council took over sole responsibility from the police
for looking after stray dogs in the district.
Previously, if anyone found a stray dog outside normal office hours, then
they could take it to the nearest police station that was open.
Now councils across the country, including South
Gloucestershire, have been tasked with providing a service to
look after stray dogs outside of the normal working day.
If a person finds a stray dog between 7am – 8.45am during Mondays to
Fridays, or from 5pm – 11pm during Mondays to Thursdays and 4.30pm
– 11pm on Fridays, then they can ring the council’s out of hours
contact number and will be informed where they can take the dog.
During the weekend and Bank Holidays the out of hours service will be
provided from 7am until 11pm.
During normal office hours the council’s dog wardens will continue to
respond to sightings of stray dogs.
Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “If someone
finds a stray dog then hopefully it will have a collar and identity tag, as
required by the law, and in those cases we would advise that people call the
owners first. However if a dog does not have this, then people can call the
out of hours service. I would like to thank everyone for their cooperation while
the council takes over responsibility.”
Chief Inspector Tim Harris of South Gloucestershire Police District said:
"The local authorities have always had responsibility for dealing with
stray dogs during the day time. Now they are taking over out of hours
responsibility as well, the public will only have to contact the one
organisation if they have lost or found a dog."
Anyone who finds a stray dog outside of normal hours should ring the
council’s corporate contact centre on 01454 868009 where they will be
diverted to the emergency out of hours services.
Staff will then give the caller an address and contact details for the
kennels where they can take the stray dog. If people are unable to take the
dog to the kennels, then they will be asked to look after it until the next
working day when the dog wardens can go and collect it.
The change of responsibility is part of the implementation of the Clean
Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
South Gloucestershire Crossroads is an independent registered
voluntary agency which supports people who care for a person with a
disability living at home. It provides a much needed opportunity for the
carer to have a short break.
South Gloucestershire Crossroads is completely autonomous but
affiliated to the National Crossroads Organisation. It is administered by a
manager who is responsible for assessing a family’s needs and for
supplying the practical help at times required by the family. Trained Career
support workers are employed and trained by Crossroads to give the carer a
break; the help and support provided by the career support worker depends on
the individual needs of the family.
In order to meet the high demand of our service that can not be met
through our current funding, we are now able to offer a service that families
can pay for.
Anyone can refer a person or family to our scheme-carers, people with
a disability, their relatives and neighbours, as well as doctors, social
workers and health visitors.
If you would like more information about the service we offer, or are
interested in becoming a Carer support worker please contact Bridget Suitters
on 01179477735.
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