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Welcome to Houndmistress Wrexham Council Stray dogs are scanned for chips, and if wearing one, the owner will be notified. Wrexham are to be congratulated that the overall number of strays seems to be falling. Wrexham will scan dead dogs, though their website does not make this clear. They have an online form for reporting dead animals and will endeavour to remove them within twelve hours. This means if your dog has strayed in Wrexham and you think it could even be a possibility that it might be a road casualty, then don't delay in notifying the Council of your dog's description and its chip status. Microchipping - Wrexham advise chipping via a vets' surgery and that they occasionally do joint working with the Dogs Trust, but I couldn't find any information on past or forthcoming events on their website. Out of hours service - Wrexham are to be congratulated for having limited but clear references to out of hours facilities on their website. On evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays an out of hours number is given, collection can be arranged until 10 pm and there is apparently also a drop off service. Numbers of stray dogs - Click here (opens in new window) to view Wrexham's stray dog figures for the past three years. They could not supply me with complete figures for 2007-08 so I decided it would be better not to put these in. A number of features are apparent, which are all positive. Firstly, the overall number of strays is declining. Secondly, the number killed is very low, both overall and in terms of seven day dogs. Thirdly, a relatively large percentage of dogs are either returned directly to their owner or are reunited within seven days; this is better than many authorities where there are higher numbers of abandoned animals. Dog Control Orders - Wrexham introduced Dog Control Orders in 2009. They have a borough wide order against fouling, and a sensible approach to dog bans - with dogs being prohibited on fenced children's' play areas, bowling greens and marked sports pitches. There is also a borough wide order allowing enforcement staff to enforce dogs being on leads. This is a sensible approach, as it allows enforcement staff to target particular dog owners rather than a specific area. Contact Details for Dog Warden Service - email environmentalenforcement@wrexham.gov.uk or use one of the many online forms on the Wrexham website. Telephone 01978 298989 during office hours. The Wrexham website is one of the most frustrating to use. Layout is via the use of Frequently Asked questions with a range of questions that might be asked about dogs and separate areas/pages about dog fouling, Dog Control Orders, online forms etc. To be fair to the Dog Warden service, this dreadful design appears to be used by other parts of the Environmental Services department, but it does little to help the user. Some of the FAQs are sensible - such as giving very brief but clear instructions on stray dog services if you find a dog. But yet again, there is NO information about say, charges for releasing strays, payment methods and so on. Several of the legislation sections had links to DEFRA; but given the Welsh Government's role in animal welfare policy, surely it's possible to link to them too? WG have published an excellent guide to dog ownership incorporating the recommendations of the Animal Welfare Act - why not have a link to it? There were no events listed and the microchipping section was particularly frustrating. If a dog owner went to the page hoping for information on subsidised chipping they'd be disappointed. All it said rather vaguely was that events are organised from time to time with the Dogs Trust - no mention of frequency, cost, how to access etc. Many of the answers were patronising, vague and didn't give a real sense of the priorities of the service or what they are doing to promote responsible dog ownership. I found this particularly frustrating since Wrexham have some very positive things to report and could be doing much more with them. When I looked on the website, the home page had a link to the Food Hygiene service with the now well known "Scores on the doors" for catering premises, and guidance on how to report such concerns. What a pity this proven model couldn't be adopted for breeding and boarding kennels, and some quick links for stray dog issues. Costs of Releasing Dog from Council Pound - Via a FOI request, I discovered Wrexham charges £60 fixed fee plus £10.42 per day in kennels. Cards are not accepted as a payment mechanism. Revenue Budgets 2010/11 £ 97,838 2011/12 £ 97,785 Kennelling services are provided by a contractor and are due for renewal in April 2012. Page updated on 7th August 2011.
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