Report a dangerous dog
To report a dangerous dog in an emergency, call 999 immediately to report it to the police. If it's not an emergency, call the police non-emergency number, 101.
Report a stray dog
If you've found a dog, you can use our online form to report it to us.
Response times
We respond to reports about a found dog within 2 hours during office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm).
You need to make an appointment to bring the animal to a pre-arranged collection site if you find a dog outside of these hours.
Report a lost dog
We keep lost dogs for 7 days either from the date they were found, restrained and collected by us, or from the date of the service of notice, whichever is the later. During this time we’ll ensure the dog is properly fed and looked after.
However, a dog may be destroyed before the end of the seven-day period if we and a vet decide this should be done to avoid suffering.
Returning your dog
We make all reasonable enquiries to locate the owners of lost dogs we've collected. This includes checking for details on any collar and checking whether the animal is micro-chipped. We notify Battersea Dogs and Cats Home if the dog is not micro-chipped.
Once the ownership of the dog is established, we notify them of its whereabouts as soon as possible. If the owner can't be contacted or doesn't respond to us we will serve a notice on them within 24 hours. This notice will detail where the dog is being kept and explain that if it is not claimed within 7 days it will be disposed of.
If the dog is not collected
If a dog has not been collected by the owner after the seven-day period, we will either:
- sell it or give it to a person who will care for it properly
- put it to sleep
If the finder of the dog wishes to keep it we will make appropriate enquiries to make sure they are a suitable person to care for it. This decision is made solely by the designated dog warden.
Fees
We only return lost dogs after the payment of fees and charges incurred. Payment can only be made by credit or debit card.
- collection or retrieval of a dog is £99.20
- statutory admin fee is £25
- council kennels daily rate is £38.50
If our kennel is full we will use kennels owned by other organisations. Fees will be incurred during this time and will be priced individually.
Sick or injured dogs
We will provide any sick or injured lost dog we collect with appropriate veterinary treatment to prevent unnecessary suffering. If we return your animal to you we will charge you the full cost of any treatment provided in addition to the charges listed above.
Register of seized stray dogs
We keep a register of seized stray dogs which is available for inspection at all reasonable times.