West End Farm Kennels

What to do if your dog is lost

If your dog is lost, it is important that you start looking for them quickly. One of the first things you should do is to contact our local district council's dog warden. The telephone numbers of the dog warden at the councils we deal with are:

Forest Heath Council	01638 719733	out of hours 01284 763252
Babergh District Council	01473 826622	out of hours 0800 1114554
Mid Suffolk District Council	0300 123 4000	out of hours 0800 1114554
Ipswich Borough Council	01473 433115	out of hours 01473 433444
St Edmundsbury Borough Council	01284 757058	out of hours 01284 763252

If you live near the border with another council area, then we also recommend that you call the neighbouring council in case your dog was picked up in that area. Neighbouring councils do not tend to cross-refer to each other.

Alternatively, you could call us during our normal working hours on 01449 737641.

Please do not contact the police as stray dogs are the responsibility of district or borough councils, not the police.

If your dog has been micro chipped, then you have a good chance of him/her being returned to you. All Rehoming centres, including ours, are able to access the micro chipping database to retrieve the dog's address and contact details. However, this assumes that you have kept your details up to date with the micro chipping company. To check this, give them a call using the telephone number and microchip reference number you would have received from your vet (or similar) when they were chipped. If you no longer have the phone number or microchip reference number, your vet may be able to help.

It is important to act quickly because, after your dog has spent seven days in a Rehoming centre, you will no longer have any legal claim to him/her. They could be rehomed as a stray - if this happens, you will have no right to reclaim the dog. That's why you should not delay in trying to track them down.

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What to do if your dog is lost