Stray dogs

Middlesbrough Council's Dog Warden Service aims to promote responsible dog ownership and control nuisance.

A 'stray' dog is any dog that is out in a public place and is unattended, regardless of whether it's wearing a collar or is microchipped. The dog may have been let out for exercise on its own, or may be an escaped pet. Stray dogs can cause problems including road accidents, attacks on children, adults or other animals, and indiscriminate fouling.

Dog wardens are responsible for the seizure of stray dogs in Middlesbrough. Any dog that is in a public place (including gated alleys) unsupervised may be seized by a dog warden.

We always try to return dogs to their owners, but in many cases there is no way of identifying to whom they belong. Stray dogs are taken to secure accommodation (kennels), to allow owners to come forward and claim them. Unfortunately many remain unclaimed.

You can report a stray dog online.

Alternatively, you can call the Environment Contact Centre on 01642 726001.

Out of hours service

If you find a stray dog out of office hours (4:30pm to 9am) you should inform us by calling the out of hours service on 01642 726050.

There is no collection service outside normal office hours so you'll be asked to either keep the dog until the next working day when it'll be collected by the dog warden, or requested to take the dog to the council's out of hours drop off centre.

This must only be done by arrangement and we'll tell you what to do when you call us.