Lost and found dogs

Report a stray, lost or missing dog

To report a stray, lost or missing dog, please call our Dog Warden on 01442 228455 (8.45am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8.45am to 4.30pm on Fridays) 

Outside of these hours, please contact:

Appledown Kennels
Address: Harling Road, Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire, LU6 1 QY
Telephone: 01525 220383

Claiming your dog

If we seize your dog as a stray, we will take it to our kennels. We will keep the dog for up to seven days and we will inform the owner (if possible). If the dog has not been claimed within seven days, we will find a new home for it.

To claim your dog we will need a good description of it, plus your name, address and a telephone number. We will then match those details with any reported strays. It is also likely that we will request evidence that the dog belongs to you.

When you claim your dog you must pay a statutory fee, plus any other costs. To claim your dog during normal office hours, all fees must be paid by card over the phone to Dacorum Borough Council (call 01442 228455). This may include the cost of your dog being microchipped, if it has not already been done.

If you want to claim your dog at weekends or bank holidays you will need to contact Appledown Kennels (details above).

Please note: Dogs can only be collected from Appledown Kennels between 9am and 5pm and all fees must be paid in cash. This can only be done at weekends or on a bank holiday. If you arrive at the kennels on a normal working day, and fees have not been paid directly to Dacorum Borough Council, you will be turned away.

Preventing your dog from straying is the owner’s responsibility. Remember, it is a legal requirement that your dog is microchipped with up-to-date information. Under the Control of Dogs Order 1992, when in a public place, all dogs must wear a collar and tag with the name and address of the owner inscribed on it. Owners who fail to do this can be prosecuted and fined up to £5,000.

Found dogs

If the dog is wearing a collar and a tag, you may wish to contact the owner directly.

We can arrange to collect the dog during office hours as long as it is confined in a secure place - for example, a house, workplace or small secure garden. Alternatively, we will collect a dog that has been secured on a lead, as long as someone is willing to wait with it.

If you have contained a dog outside of office hours you will need to take the dog to Appledown Kennels. Call the kennels on 01525 220383 (this may be an answerphone, so please leave a message) to let them know you have found a dog before taking it to them at the address above.

Please note: the kennels will not collect stray dogs.

You could also hold on to the dog until office hours, when our Dog Warden will collect it from you.