Stray Dogs
Recent legislation, the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, will place full responsibility with your local authority for dealing with stray dogs and associated stray dog services.
From Sunday, April 6 2008, Calderdale Council will have full responsibility for the catching and safe-keeping of stray dogs throughout the borough. As a result of this new national legislation the Local Authority will be taking over some of the responsibilities previously managed by the police.
Members of the public who find stray dogs will now need to contact the council in order to obtain advice on how to deal with them. The Council is arranging for a kennel to accept dogs on the authority's behalf throughout the year.
The daytime telephone number for Calderdale Council is 0845 245 6000 and after office hours members of the public should call 01422 365101."
When the local authority accept a stray, they have to hold it until it is claimed or for seven clear days, whichever is the shorter.
The RSPCA and other animal welfare charities cannot pick up stray dogs or accept them from people who find them and will direct those people to their local authority. In fact we can only deal with a stray dog in an absolute emergency, ie. if the dog is in imminent danger of death or severe suffering and the authority is unable to attend.
If you find a stray dog please ring the council on 0845 245 6000 or out of hours 01422 365101
We will be happy to take a report and scan the dog but are not allowed to take it into our kennels.