Found dogs

If you find a stray dog please do not bring it to any of the Council's offices or depots as we do not have facilities for accepting it.

Please keep the dog somewhere secure and we will collect it from you:

  • if you find it on a week day between 9am to 5pm, please contact Public Protection on 01708 432777
  • outside of these hours, or at weekends or on a Bank Holiday, please contact the Out of Hours Team on 01708 433999

We will notify our contractor who will aim to collect the dog within four hours.

If you lose a dog we will pass on the details to the dog warden in case he has your dog.

To report a lost dog please call 01708 432777.

Please also see Battersea dogs home advice on lost dogs page.

We have a responsibility to seize stray dogs. If the dog is not claimed then we have to keep and ensure that its needs are met to the extent required by good practice for a maximum of seven days.

After seven days the contractor becomes the legal owner of the dog. The contractor will then attempt to re-home the dog. Please be aware once this happens we are no longer involved with the dog.

Costs to recover lost dogs

If your dog has been collected by our contractor he will contact you.

You must pay the contractor to get your dog back.

The cost will be made up of a number of parts which are as follows:

  • statutory fee imposed by legislation: £25
  • local authority administration fee: £10
  • kennelling fees. These are £14 for each day the dog is held, starting immediately as it is received by the contractor
  • any veterinary charges for keeping the dog in good health whilst in the contractors care
  • collection cost (see below)

Collection cost is based on the day and time that the contractor collects the dog.

Weekdays:

  • 8am to 4.59pm is £50
  • 5pm to 11.59pm is £65
  • midnight to 7.59am is £70

Weekends and Bank holidays:

  • All Day £70

Micro-chipping animals

If you own a dog it must be microchipped. If not you will be committing an offence. It is also illegal to transfer a dog to a new owner if the dog has not been microchipped.

If you buy a puppy it must be microchipped before you take it home with you as the new owner.

An authorised officer from Havering Council can serve notice on a dog owner requiring them to microchip their dog. If they fail to do so they are committing an offence and Havering Council can seize the dog, microchip it and recoup the costs from the owner.

For more information visit the Dogs Trust website (Opens in new tab).

Reporting dead animals in public areas

We will remove dead animals from public areas once they are reported to us.

Find out more and report a dead animal

Animal licences