Who let the dogs out?

So, you’ve found a stray dog at 11 pm on a Sunday night. He has no visible signs of identification and it’s a bit late in the evening to start knocking on doors!

What do you do??

Did you know that since April 2008, the Police are no longer responsible for stray dogs and that the responsibility now lies with your local Council? Did you also know that if you find a dog straying, it is your legal responsibility to help to reunite the dog with its owner?

Grove Lodge Veterinary Hospital in Broadwater is now the local authority  acceptance point for stray dogs found out of hours (ie before 8 am and after 6 pm, seven days a week) in the areas covered by Worthing Borough Council and Adur District Council. If you find a dog wandering between those times, please bring him to Grove Lodge. The Dog Warden will then collect him the next morning. At all other times, call the Dog Warden on 01903 221410.

Please call us first on 01903 234866 to let us know you are coming and an approximate time of arrival. This allows the nurses to prepare the paperwork and a kennel. You, the finder, will not incur any charges as, once the dog arrives at the Hospital, he will become the responsibility of the Council, but you will need to take a moment to complete some paperwork.

Subsequently, the dog will be examined for injury, scanned for a microchip, logged on our lost and found register, fed, given a comfy bed for the night and collected by the Dog Warden the following day. If he has a microchip, our staff will call Identichip to obtain the owner’s details and call them so they can be reunited with their dog.

If you are unlucky enough for this to happen to your dog and you are happily reunited, please expect to pay the fee charged by the Council for this service. THE FEE IS £46 AND IS IMPOSED BY THE COUNCIL AND NOT BY GROVE LODGE. It is worth remembering that if you collect your dog from the holding kennels the next day, the release fee is £58 and increases every day by £12 until the 7th day when the dog is put up for rehoming.

It’s worth mentioning at this point of the major benefits of having your pets microchipped. If a dog (or cat) strays and has a microchip, their family can be contacted and everyone reunited very quickly. Without a chip or collar, it is impossible to trace the animal’s owner and we can only rely on owners being able to track down their pet. Please note: If the Dog Warden finds a dog with no means of identification, the owner has only seven days in which to find and claim their dog before it is rehomed.

During August and September, we are offering microchips for £12.50 (usually £16.50) – a very small price to pay for peace of mind.