Advice for owners of lost or stray dogs

What to do if you have lost your dog. Lost and stray dogs that have been handed into the care of Basildon Council.

There is a common misconception that a dog which is considered by its owner to be 'lost' is not the same as a dog which the regulations consider to be a 'stray'. This is not the case as the regulations state that: any unattended dog on public land, or any unattended dog on private land where it is not permitted to be, is considered to be a stray dog, regardless of the circumstances.

The regulations also state that responsibility for allowing a dog to stray lies with the dog's owner, regardless of how the dog has come to stray or if it is microchipped or wearing a collar and tag.

Under Section 149 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Basildon Council has a duty to take in stray dogs found anywhere within the boundaries of Basildon Borough. Stray dogs taken into the care of Basildon Council will be boarded at a local kennel facility for up to seven days, during which time the animal can be claimed by the owner on payment of a statutory fee plus additional expenses. See Stray dog release fees.

Dogs which remain unclaimed by their owner after seven days in Council care then become the property of Basildon Council.

Who you should contact if your dog is lost, missing or has strayed

If you are the owner of a dog that is lost, missing or has strayed, you should report the matter to the following agencies who may be able to help you recover the animal.

Basildon Council Animal Control

To inform us that you have lost your dog within the boundaries of Basildon Borough of Basildon Borough please contact:

Customer Services 01268 533 333 (24 hour service)
- Office hours Mon-Fri 8.30am- 5.30pm
- Out of Office hours and bank holidays - calls to this number are automatically transferred to our emergency response centre. Please listen, if you have lost or found a dog you will be prompted to press the * key to speak to an operator.

Basildon Council's kennel provider

After you have contacted Basildon Council to report a lost dog you can contact our contracted kennelling provider who may have news of your dog. This is worthwhile because during busy periods the Council's main offices may not yet have been notified of any stray dogs collected and put into kennels by the Animal Control Officer.

Phone 01268 770402 to contact our current kennelling provider (you may have to leave a message).

Basildon Council Street Scene

It is a sad fact that each year a small number of dogs are found dead in public places. Usually a member of the public will report finding a dead dog to our Street Scene department which will arrange for the animal to be removed. In most cases Animal Control is notified and will check to see if the animal can be identified, in which case the owner will be informed. Because there may be a delay in passing on a report of a dead dog to Animal Control, especially over weekends, you may prefer to make enquiries direct to Street Scene.

Customer Services 01268 533 333 during office hours Mon-Fri 8.30am- 5.30pm.

The company who microchipped your dog

Contact the company who microchipped your dog to tell them that the animal is missing. Contact details for the microchipping company will be on the registration document you were given when the dog was microchipped. When you inform the microchipping company that your dog is missing they will raise an alert and confirm that all your contact details are correct, should they need to inform you that your dog has been found.

Local veterinary practices and animal charities

Veterinary practices animal charities have no obligation to deal with stray dogs however if the finder of a dog has no knowledge of what they should do they may initially seek advice from organisations that work with animals.

Doglost on the Internet

The DogLost website keeps an online register of lost and found dogs. It's run by volunteers and is free to use. See www.doglost.co.uk (opens new window).

Neighbouring local authorities

If you live close to the border of our borough it may a good idea to report your dog is missing with the neighbouring Council.

If you live in Basildon or Vange consider contacting:

Thurrock Council (opens new window)

If you live in Billericay consider contacting:

If you live in Laindon, Langdon Hills or Dunton consider contacting:

If you live in Wickford consider contacting:

If you live in Pitsea, Bowers Gifford or North Benfleet consider contacting:

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