Dogsey

Sunderland City Council has allocated a budget of £121,568 to deal with stray dogs this financial year, over£31,000 more than any other North East council.

Information released by the council also shows a budget increase of £11,781 for dealing with stray dogs. This is also the highest increase over 11 councils in the North East.

Sunderland City Council say that the budget increase is due to the fact that more stray dogs were picked up in the last financial year. However, this number has been higher in previous years. In the 2011/12 financial year, 6 95 stray dogs were picked up, compared to 673 from April 2013 to March 2014.

Sunderland City Council refused to comment on the comparison of their budget with other councils.

However, with such a large budget and number of dogs being picked up, it is evident that stray dogs are an issue in Sunderland.

Lynne Ebdale, a volunteer for Sunderland based charity Pawz for Thought, said: “What we would say is that the situation with unwanted animals is worse now than ever.

“The bedroom tax has not helped at all when you think people are being forced to give up their homes with yards and gardens and move into one bedroom flats and apartments where animals are not allowed. There has been a lot of that about over the last few years.

“Rescues cannot cope with the onslaught of calls from desperate people wanting to offload their animals. We find that the amount of people wanting to home from rescues is less than people wanting to give to rescues which can only mean that there is a volume of animals in the middle without a route to a new home.

“My theory is that there is a new breed of people that are basically selfish and treat animals as they would treat say a new mobile. They see, they want, they get and then they want to swap, get rid or throw away. They are not putting enough thought into the commitment that getting a pet should have.”

In a bid to reduce the number of stray dogs in the area, as well as the spending on the issue in future, Sunderland City Council has guidance for pet owners and details on the process of picking up stray dogs.

Coun Michael Mordey, portfolio holder for city services for Sunderland City Council, said: “Stray dogs can cause traffic accidents and inconvenience to the community with increased dog fouling and nuisance.

“Owners have a responsibility to look after their animals and we would encourage all dog owners to look after their pets responsibly by having them micro-chipped and not allowing them to stray.

“Owners can also be fined for failing to keep their dogs under control.

“The dog warden responds to calls to pick up stray dogs from across the city, with dogs temporarily kenneled until they can be re-united with their owners.

“Calls are also taken from owners who may not wish or be capable of caring for a dog.

“Where dogs remain unclaimed, and wherever possible, they are re-homed to new owners by our animal welfare partner.”

The authority spent a total of £60,500 - which equates to around £165 a day - on lost and abandoned animals over the last financial year.

Hundreds of stray dogs were picked up on the borough's streets in the past year - with around half returned to their owners.

Councillor Hilary Bills, cabinet member for environment and culture, said: “In 2013/14, 522 stray dogs were collected from streets in the borough and we returned 242 of these to their owners.

"Since April this year through to the end of November we had collected 265 stray dogs and returned 145 to their homes.

"We invest around £10,000 each year on a kennels contract, and we work closely with them to re-home dogs when they are not reclaimed by their owners.

"To help us increase the likelihood of dogs being returned to their owners the council encourages people to identify their dog with a suitable tag bearing their name and address as well as having the dog micro-chipped," she said.

Stray dogs found are taken outside of the borough to City Dogs Home in Bucknall, near Stoke-on-Trent, which can charge up to £60 to £70 for a week's stay.

Last week it was revealed nearby Sandwell Council spends more than £300 a day to send their dogs to the same kennels, paying out nearly £105,000 to Serco to pick up the dogs and take them to the rescue centre.

Half of the dogs, however, are claimed by their owners, who pay a £25 fee to the council and a £10 a day charge to the kennels for veterinary and kennelling costs.

If the dog is not claimed within seven days it is put up for rehoming.

Dudley Council's budget for dealing with stray animals for the upcoming year is expected to increase with a total of £61,700 set aside to deal with the problem.

It said it will not take responsibility for the dogs of people taken into hospital or care, dogs belonging to prisoners or the dogs of evicted tenants. It also has no responsibility to rehome unwanted dogs.

The Dogs Trust said 18,798 abandoned and stray dogs were picked up across the Midlands in the last financial year.

Denise Broadman, from the Dog Rescue Federation, said the problem lies not with the councils but with the issue of dog breeding across the UK.

She said: "We need to see legislation which stops the breeding of dogs where there is no demand for them. It is this which leaves us in the situation of abandoned dogs left on the streets.”