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.”