Welcome to Houndmistress

Houndmistress has been set up to provide a source of information on microchipping issues and stray dog policies for Wales. 

The site includes information on Council policies and practice, news from the charity and voluntary sector, useful links and news on policy developments.  

In particular, the site contains up to date information on all Welsh Councils' policies with regard to stray dogs.  Many dog owners think that if their dog is chipped, they will be automatically contacted if their dogs is lost - not so. 

In setting up this site, I've been thinking about three groups of site users. 

Dog owners - particularly if you have lost your dog. Please use this site to check on the policy of each Welsh Council - this could save your dog's life.  Remember - once a dog is in a Council pound, it only has seven days before the Council can either dispose of it or have it destroyed. 

There is also a huge variation between Councils and other public  bodies in how they treat dogs that have been killed on the road.  Some will check and scan for chips while many do not - please read the guide for details on what is happening in your area.  Don't forget to contact all neighbouring Councils - in many parts of Wales, it is very easy for dogs to travel the short distances that separate local authority areas, and policies are often radically different.   Click here to see a handy list of what to do if your dog is lost, plus some tips on keeping them safe (opens in new window).  

Campaigners, charities and welfare groups - I am proud to be passionate about dog welfare and responsible dog ownership. Local authorities have a duty to provide efficient effective services, especially in the current climate of financial austerity.  The site will highlight areas where services can be improved and the benefits of responsible dog ownership can be shared.    Please email me if you want to discuss how any of the information I have can be of use to your welfare campaign, how we can work together or suggestions for improvements or how I can showcase news that is of interest.  I am also happy to accept suggestions for links.  

Local authorities - Can find information on all other Welsh local authorities in one place, as well as a detailed comparison of policies, statistics and activity.  In particular, I hope it will highlight examples of best practice and encourage change towards more responsive policies for dogs.  In the longer term, I would love to see a benchmark emerging for how stray dog services are managed.  To give one small example, not all Welsh Councils actually publish the scale of charges for releasing a dog from their pound and virtually none make clear what payment methods are acceptable.   It would be unthinkable in this day and age for a business not to provide a list of their services, charges and payment methods accepted on their website. See the Website Comparisons page for more detail on this. 

Similarly, very few Councils actually tell dog owners what they think about encouraging responsible dog ownership.  Have we become so fixated on solving problems in the short term (strays, dog fouling) that we have forgotten to share the many benefits of responsible dog ownership?   

Page updated 18th January 2012 

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