Animal welfare team offer a “Platinum” service for work with stray dogs in Northumberland

Animal welfare officers in Northumberland are doing “Platinum” work in tackling the issue of stray dogs in the county.

Northumberland County Council’s Animal Welfare Team has been awarded a prestigious Platinum Pawprint award in the 2018 RSPCA Community Animal Welfare Footprint Awards.

The awards recognise and celebrate public service organisations that go above and beyond to ensure high animal welfare standards in their communities .

The platinum pawprint has been awarded to the team because they have achieved the highest Gold standard award for more than 5 years in a row. The team were recognised for their continuing high standards in the provision of their stray dog service.

In 2017/18 the team dealt with 620 stray dog cases either returning the dogs to their owners or taking them to a place of safety. Nationally the number of stray dogs collected by councils is falling and this is also the case in Northumberland. The reduction has been put down to two reasons; the new legislation brought in last year which makes it compulsory for dog owners to have their pets micro-chipped and the role of social media in helping to reunite lost dogs with their owners.

Cllr Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for Environment and Local Services at the council, said: “We have a team of great officers and this prestigious award is a worthy recognition for the outstanding service they provide. We are very proud of them.
“This platinum award is only awarded to teams who have consistently delivered the highest standard of service for animals in their area.Northumberland County Council is one of only a few councils in the North of England to be awarded the platinum award.

“It is important that owners continue to play their part and take necessary steps to prevent stray dogs before accidents happen. I ask that all dog owners, including those with working dogs, ensure their pets are wearing ID tags, that they are microchipped and that their details are kept up to date on the microchip database.”

Pictured: Cabinet member for Environment and Local Services Cllr Glen Sanderson and members of the Animal Welfare Team.