Cheshire West and Chester Council has been recognised in the 2018 RSPCA PawPrint Awards, picking up a gold accolade for the seventh year in a row.
The council scooped the Gold Community Animal Welfare Footprint (CAWF) 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 national animal charity has once again recognised the hard work and dedication of CWAC’s Regulatory Services staff involved in the collection and re-homing of stray dogs.
Their work involves awareness-raising and linked initiatives such as the council’s approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour (eg: failing to clean up after your dog).
During office hours, any dogs collected in Cheshire West and Chester are scanned immediately for the presence of a microchip and, if possible, returned without charge 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 office hours, dogs are taken immediately to the kennels and are scanned on arrival.
In 2017/18, the council returned 116 dogs to their owners without charge because their owners could be identified and contacted by the warden.
The council adds that many more may have been returned without the intervention of the dog warden as finders are able to identify the owner by the collar information.
Cabinet member for environment, Cllr Karen Shore said: “It is a wonderful achievement to secure this award for the seventh year running.
“The dog warden team continues to do a marvellous job and has, yet again, been recognised for this by the RSPCA award. We continue to work to reunite as many dogs as possible with their owners.
“Dog owners can really help our Regulatory Services team by ensuring that their pets are kept safe, are tagged and micro-chipped and by picking up after them.
“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.”
If you need to report a stray dog the following telephone numbers can be used:
• Telephone: 0300 123 7038 (option 1) 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday
• Outside of these hours (including weekends and Bank Holidays) call 0300 123 7035
Pictured: Basil the Black Labrador is proud of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s achievement
