Dog Related Services

South Cambridgeshire District Council provides a number of dog related services.

Call us on 08450 450 063 or use our online dog service request (This link will open in a new window).

Stray Dogs

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 any dog found wandering in a public place alone can be seized by the council as a stray and taken to kennels. Owners will have to pay a seizure and kennelling fee before the dog can be released. If the dog is not claimed within seven days it will be signed over to the kennels for possible re-homing and you as the former owner will loose all rights to its return.

From April 2008 Cambridgeshire Police no longer have any responsibilities for stray dogs and are not legally obliged to accept any that are brought to them. However, arrangements have been made for the Police to accept stray dogs on behalf of the council outside normal office hours and at weekends at Parkside Police Station in Cambridge (This link will open in a new window).

It is a legal requirement that every dog in a public place must wear a collar and tag with identification. This enables anyone finding a stray dog to contact its owner.

What to do if you have lost your dog

Call us on 08450 450 063 to check if it has been reported found or use our online dog service request (This link will open in a new window) - it may have been found by someone nearby who still has it. Leave as many details as possible about the dog and the location in which it was last seen so that we can contact you if it is found.
You should also contact Wood Green Animal Shelter (This link will open in a new window) to check if they know where it is. Outside normal office hours and at weekends Parkside Police Station in Cambridge (This link will open in a new window) will accept stray dogs on the council's behalf so check with them on 0845 456 4564 to see if it has been handed in there.

If the dog has been seized and taken to the council's kennels you will need to pay a seizure and kennelling fee to the council before your dog can be released. The fee must be paid at our Cambourne office where you will be issued with a receipt. If the office is closed e.g. at the weekend, you will have to wait until the office is next open. You will need to take the receipt to the kennels as proof of ownership and payment. Under no circumstances will the dog be released without a receipt.

If the dog is at Parkside Police Station you will need to go there with proof of ownership and pay to the Police a £25 statutory charge plus costs to cover kennelling and administration before the dog will be released.

 

What to do if you find a stray dog

Do not approach a dog if you are unsure whether it is friendly or not. Call us on 08450 450 063 to check if it has been reported lost or use our online dog service request (This link will open in a new window) - it may belong to someone nearby. You should also contact Wood Green Animal Shelter (This link will open in a new window) to check if it has been reported lost to them.
If the owner is not known we will collect the dog and take it to the council's kennels as soon as possible. If we are unable to collect the dog that day you should either keep it, if you feel confident to do so, until we can pick it up , or take it to Wood Green Animal Shelter (This link will open in a new window)who will house it.

If you have found the dog out of normal office hours or at the weekend you should again either keep the dog until we can pick it up or take it to Parkside Police Station (This link will open in a new window) in Cambridge where it will be kept on our behalf until claimed by the owner or transported to the council's kennels.

What to do if you find a stray dog and want to keep it

If you find a stray dog and want to keep it you are legally required to notify the council. It is possible to retain the dog but you must agree to keep the dog at your address for a period of one month and to hand it over to the original owner if they come to claim the dog. The dog legally remains 'found property' and the original owner can reclaim it at any time so the dog never truly becomes the property of the finder.
If during the month you decide that you do not wish to keep the dog you must hand the dog to the council. You are not allowed to give it to a friend or relative.

dangerous

Dangerous dogs

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 if a dog is dangerously out of control in a public place or in a private place where it is not permitted the owner and the person who was in charge of the dog at the time is guilty of an offence.

Dangerously out of control means "any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person, whether or not it actually does so...". The dog does not have to have injured anyone.

If you see a dangerous dog that you believe is a threat to the public please contact your local police station (This link will open in a new window).


welfare

Animal welfare

If you believe that an animal is being mistreated by its owner, contact the RSPCA (This link will open in a new window) to investigate.


fouling

Dog Fouling

Under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 it is generally an offence for anyone in charge of a dog to allow it to foul unless they clear it up. If there is a persistent problem with dog fouling in your area we have a number of options.

  • We can investigate, issue warnings, fixed penalty notices or even prosecute persons in charge who fail to clear up after their dog, providing you know who that person is, have witnessed the incident and are prepared to give a statement and possibly go to court.
  • We can assess whether there are adequate facilities for the disposal of dog mess in the vicinity.
  • We can arrange for ad-hoc clearances of heavily fouled areas.



barking

Barking Dogs

If you have a problem with a barking dog in your area, call 08450 450 063 for the Environmental Health section. When you do contact us it would be helpful if you could provide us (wherever possible) with your name and contact details so we can keep you fully informed and up to date with your enquiry.