What to do if you’ve lost your dog:
In the first instance contact your local dog warden service. These are usually operated by your local council (Environmental Health Department). If it is out of hours and the council is not staffed, go to their website as there should be an out of hours service listed.
You can contact us on 01942 671215 during our opening hours to leave a description of your dog, the area the dog was lost & your contact details. We can then contact you if we hear anything.
Also contact your microchip database, check that your details are up to date and let them know the dog is missing. They will flag your dog as missing and can sometimes help with producing posters, etc.
Local dog warden phone numbers:
– Leigh/Wigan: Â Â Â 01942 404364
– St. Helens:Â Â Â Â Â Â 01744 676789
– West Lancs: Â Â Â Â 01695 577177
– Bolton:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 01204 333333
It is advisable to also contact local vets and other local kennels. There are online services who can support you (such as DogLost). It is important to inform as many people as possible to have the best chance of your dog being returned home.
What to do if you’ve found a dog:
If you find a dog during office hours (Monday to Friday) contact your local council dog warden service on the phone numbers above.
If you find a dog after 4pm on weekdays (when most councils close) or anytime at weekends, contact the relevant out of hours service for advice. These should be listed on the Council’s website.
You MUST report all found dogs to the Local Authority warden service by Law. If you wish to keep hold of a found dog then this must be done with permission of the Local Authority and you must have the dog scanned for a microchip. If you are permitted to retain a found dog you must keep it at the address provided for a minimum of 28 days – during this time it cannot be passed to any other person, charity or rescue.
We receive stray dogs from West Lancashire.
On arrival at the Home all strays are vaccinated, scanned to see if they are microchipped and photographed. The photos are posted on our Stray/Found Dog Pictures page but this is not exhaustive and all of the found dogs may not appear on the page immediately so we would still advise contacting us.
If your dog has been collected by a Warden there will be a release fee to pay. This fee is set by the Local Authority and they are the only people who can waive/reduce any fees. If you have any query or dispute with these fees please direct these to the relevant Local Authority prior to attempting to collect the dog as Leigh Dogs & Cats Home have no sway over the costs.
Each Local Authority has a different reclaiming fee for dogs found in their respective area. This fee must be paid to the Local Authority or can sometimes be paid at the Home before a dog can be released to it’s owner. Please contact the Home to check the proper procedure.
When fees are accepted at the kennels it is on behalf of the local authority and monies are paid back to them. RECLAIM FEES DO NOT GO TO LEIGH DOGS AND CATS HOME and Leigh Dogs & Cats Home do not make any additional charges to the Local Authority Fees.
In all cases identification MUST be provided.
Details of the current reclaim fees for Local Authorities who kennel dogs at Leigh Dogs & Cats Home Can be found here
Please note that after 7 days in the kennels, LEGAL ownership of the dog will transfer to Leigh Dogs & Cats Home. Any previous ownership is forfeited without further notice. Hence, we advise that all dogs are reclaimed as soon as possible.
All stray dogs are kept for 7 clear days from when they come in to the Home. During this period their behaviour is assessed and monitored and any medical requirements are seen to.
If a dog is not reclaimed after 7 days it will be health checked by our on site Veterinary Surgeon and given any vaccinations, microchip and treatments necessary. These dogs then become eligible for rehoming.
For information about adopting an unclaimed stray dog please visit our Rehoming page.
If you have lost a dog please check the gallery to see if your dog has come in to us as a stray from your local dog warden. Strays dogs are listed with the area they were collected from by the dog warden and a reference number, e.g. St. Helens area – 01234.
We are open Monday to Saturday to view the found dogs if you think your missing dog may be here. Please phone to make an appointment.
All dogs should be microchipped and ownership details up to date. In a public place they should also wear a tag on their collar with their owner’s contact details on – IT’S THE LAW !
Microchip your pet here for £15 including registration!
