Contact:
  • Dog Warden
  • Address:
    9-10 Bath Street, Bath, BA1 1SN.
  • E-mail:
    council_connect@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 394041
  • Fax:
    01225 477596
  • Minicom:
    01225 477647
  • Page Updated:
    17/04/2008
  • Author:
    Sarana Osman
A to Z Index

Dog Warden Service

Stray Dogs

Bath & North East Somerset Council's Dog Warden is called out nearly every day to seize dogs which have been allowed to roam unsupervised in areas open to the public.  Most of these dogs are pets which have somehow escaped from their home, or have run away from their owners.  

The Dog Warden will, in most cases, reunite the pet with its owner provided the dog has a means of identification on it.

On any one day in the UK there are around 500,000 stray dogs.  These cause accidents involving vehicles, people or other animals, as well as untold damage to persons and property. They are also responsible for nuisances such as barking and fouling.

Seizure by the Police

The Dogs Act of 1906 enables a police officer to seize any dog found in a highway or place of public resort, which he has reason to believe is a stray.  A dog found on any other land or premises may be similarly seized if the owner or occupier consents.  The officer seizing the dog may then detain it until the owner has claimed it and paid all expenses incurred in its detention.  If the dog is wearing a collar showing an address, or the owner is otherwise known, the officer must serve on the person who’s address is given or the known owner (as the case may be) written notice that the dog has been seized and is liable to be sold or destroyed if not claimed within seven clear days after service of the notice.  The dog must be properly fed and maintained during detention by the person having charge of it.

After seven days of the service of the notice, or from original detention of the dog if the police have not been able to serve notice, if the owner has not claimed it and paid the expenses of its detention, the detaining officer may sell the dog or have it destroyed, but it must not be given or sold for purposes of vivisection and, if destroyed, that must be done so as to cause as little pain as possible.

The police must keep a register of all dogs seized by them and record the particulars.  It is open for public inspection at all reasonable times for a fee of 5p.

Finding by a Member of the Public

The finder of a stray dog must, at once, either return it to its owner or take it to the nearest police station or to the dog warden of the local authority for the area, advising them where it was found.

If the finder takes the dog to the police, he may choose to keep it and, having supplied his particulars to the police, will be allowed to do so.  He must, however, keep the dog for at least one month; failure to do so is an offence for which he can be prosecuted and fined.  If the finder chooses not to keep the dog, the police will treat it as if they had seized it as a stray, as detailed above under "Seizure by the police."

If the finder takes the dog to the local authority’s dog warden, the ensuing procedure is more involved.  The finder may then choose to keep the dog or not.  If he decides to keep it, the following steps are taken:

  • The finder supplies his particulars to the dog warden;
  • The dog warden also records a description of the dog, any information on the dog's collar and any particulars about its finding;
  • Where the dog’s owner can be identified and readily contacted, the dog warden will try to contact him and give him an opportunity to collect the dog;
  • Failing collection by the owner, the finder will be allowed to keep the dog if the dog warden's enquiries about his suitability as a dog owner are satisfactory;
  • The dog warden advises the finder of his obligation to keep the dog for at least one month (if unclaimed by the owner) on pain of prosecution.

If the finder of a stray, having taken it to a dog warden, tells him he does not want to keep it, the dog warden will retain the dog and, unless he believes that it is not a stray, will treat it as a dog seized by him.

Seizure by Dog Warden

From 1 April 1992 each District Council had to appoint a dog warden.  It is his duty to seize (if practicable) any dog which he believes to be a stray and to detain it.  Where it is found on private property, he must have the prior consent of the owner or occupier.

The dog warden must then serve notice on the dog's owner if he can be identified. This notice will be similar to that served by the police.

Claimed 

If the owner claims the dog, he must pay a prescribed sum of £25 and the expenses of its detention by the dog warden and kennels before he can collect it

Not Claimed

If not claimed within seven days of seizure or, if a notice has been served, within seven days of its service, the dog warden may sell or give the dog to a suitable person or a dogs home (who in either case will become its owner), or may have it destroyed.  It is not to be disposed of for vivisection.  The Dog Warden is obliged to keep a register of dogs seized.  This will include a description of each dog, any information on its collar, particulars of its finding and of any seven-day notice served, along with details of the dog's disposal or of its return to its owner.  The register will be available for free inspection by the public.