RSPCA awards Council’s stray dogs service platinum standard

Cheshire West and Chester Council has been recognised in the 2024 RSPCA PawPrint Awards, picking up a new platinum accolade after reaching its thirteenth successful year.

The national animal charity has once again recognised the hard work and dedication of Council staff involved in the collection and re-homing of stray dogs.

The Council scooped the Platinum Award for exceeding legal requirements in the way it handles stray dogs.  The Awards celebrate local authorities that go above and beyond to ensure high animal welfare standards in their communities. 

The platinum award was a new standard introduced last year for those organisations with over five years success at achieving gold standard.

Council officers also enforce the Public Spaces Protection Order relating to dogs, issuing Fixed Penalty Notices to combat incidents of dog fouling or other related breaches of the legislation. 

The Order also includes the requirement for dog owners to always have something with them to pick up after their pet.  Anyone who does not have the means to pick up after their pet could face being issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100.

Councillor Christine Warner, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Homes, Planning and Safer Communities said: 

“Many thanks to everyone involved in our stray dog service. Thirteen years of achieving the RSPCA’s top standard for our work with stray dogs is a wonderful achievement.

“Dog owners can really help our Public Protection team by ensuring that their pets are kept safe, are tagged and micro-chipped and by picking up after them.  It is a legal requirement for a dog to be both microchipped and to have a tag with their owner’s name and address; a telephone number on the tag is helpful too.

“Please make sure you register your details and keep them up-to-date. As well as being legal requirements, getting your dog tagged and micro-chipped means you can be reunited with them as quickly as possible if they go astray.”

Lee Gingell, public affairs manager at the RSPCA, said:

"We are thrilled to recognise Cheshire West and Chester Council with a Platinum Award in this year's RSPCA PawPrints Awards.

“Their commitment to animal welfare is truly commendable and reflects the high standards that the PawPrints awards aim to celebrate. By winning this award, the Council has demonstrated outstanding dedication to protecting, promoting and enhancing animal welfare, and we hope their achievements inspire others to strive for excellence in this vital area."

During dog warden working hours, any dogs collected in Cheshire West and Chester are scanned immediately for the presence of a microchip and, if possible, returned immediately to their owner.  If there is no microchip, the collar information will be used, if available.  If return is not possible at this time, the dog is taken to the kennels.  Outside of working hours, dogs are taken immediately to the kennels and are scanned on arrival.  

In 2023, only around 18 per cent of stray dogs were returned to their owners immediately; in the majority of cases owners could not be identified or contacted by the warden, or were picked up out of hours.  Many more dogs than the Council becomes aware of may have been returned without the intervention of the dog warden as finders are able to identify the owner by the collar information.

If you need to report a stray dog the following telephone numbers can be used:

• Telephone: 0300 123 7038 (option 1) 8am - 7pm, Monday to Friday
• Outside of these hours (including weekends and Bank Holidays) - call 0300 123 7035

Pictured - Casper says: Please, always keep your dog tagged and micro-chipped, and pick up after them.