CHESHIRE West and Chester Council has been recognised in the 2019 RSPCA PawPrint Awards, picking up a Gold accolade for the eighth year in a row.

The council scooped the Gold Community Animal Welfare Footprint (CAWF) Award for exceeding legal requirements in the way it handles stray dogs. The national awards celebrate local authorities that go above and beyond to ensure high animal welfare standards in their communities.

The animal charity has once again recognised the work regulatory services staff do in the collection and re-homing of stray dogs and the fact that the service has clear procedures and education programmes in place.

Members of the team are actively involved in community events and in engaging Year 6 pupils across the borough in workshops identifying how to be a responsible dog owner and how to behave if a strange dog approaches.

The council’s deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Cllr Karen Shore, said: “The dog warden team continues to do a marvellous job and has, yet again, been recognised for this by the RSPCA award.

“Dog owners can really help our Regulatory Services team by ensuring that their pets are kept safe, are tagged and micro-chipped and by picking up after them. As well as being legal requirements, getting your dog tagged and micro-chipped means you can be reunited with them as quickly as possible if they go astray.”

  • If you need to report a stray dog, call 0300 123 7038 (option 1) between 8am-7pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of these hours (including bank holidays), call 0300 123 7035.