Lost and found dogs
If you have lost a dog, or have found a stray dog, you can report this to us online or by phone.
Before you fill in this form
You won't be able to save this form to complete later, so please allow yourself at least five minutes to fill in the form. You will need to tell us:
A description of the dog
Location of where the dog was lost or found
If it is microchipped. If you are not sure if the dog has a microchip, you can take it to a vet to check for this if it is safe to do so. If it is not possible to check, you can still report to us
If you have lost a dog, we will also need to know the name of the dog, vet information, and if the dog is neutered- If you have found a dog, we will also need to know if the dog is loose or contained, if it has any injuries, and where the dog is now
If you are unable to use the online form, you can call us instead at 023 8083 3005 during office hours.
What else you can do
For lost dogs
- Contact other agencies that may have information about lost dogs including local vets and animal welfare agencies such as the RSPCA or Blue Cross
- Local TV and Radio stations, and the local press may be able to run 'LOST' adverts for you
- Talk to people who regularly walk around the area, like delivery persons and neighbours
For found dogs
- If you can, try contacting the owner. Their details may be on the dog’s tag or microchip
- Remember it is illegal to keep a dog without informing the Animal Welfare Officers
Kennelling fees for 2024/25
If your dogs has been collected by the Council’s animal welfare officers, it may have been cared for in a kennel.
The fees set out below will need to be paid before the dog can be returned:
- First day kennelling charge - £43.95
- Additional days kennelling charge - £22.55 per day
- Statutory fee - £25.00
- Administration fee - £6.05
- Microchipping at reclaim - £22.00*
*Additional charge not included in scale of charges detailed below.
Scale of charges
| Day dog reclaimed (Day of seizure is day 1) |
Fees payable by owner including VAT (Not including vet fees) |
|---|---|
| 1 | £75.00 |
| 2 | £97.55 |
| 3 | £120.10 |
| 4 | £142.65 |
| 5 | £165.20 |
| 6 | £187.75 |
| 7 | £210.30 |
If you are looking to make a payment
You can make a Debit or Credit card payment online via the council's secure online payment service.
Before you make a payment
You won't be able to save this form to complete later, so please allow yourself a couple of minutes to fill in the form.
To make a payment, you will need to have to hand:
Reference number or brief description of what you're paying for
Payment card (registered with 3D secure)
Name of the owner of the stray dog
Address of the owner of the stray dog
Contact telephone number of the owner of the stray dog
Privacy Notice for Animal Welfare – Stray Dogs
Why do we collect and use this information?
In order to carry out this function, Southampton City Council processes personal data about the following types of people:
- The owners of stray dogs which are seized in Southampton
We hold this personal data securely and use it to:
- Return seized dogs to their owner
- To maintain a register of seized dogs, in compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992
Unless stated, we are the data controller for your personal data, and the following sections provide detail about the information we process and explains what allows us to do this (the lawful basis), who we may share it with, and how long we keep it for (the retention period).
The categories of information that we collect, hold, and share
As a local authority, we only process data that is necessary for us to carry out our statutory functions. To carry out our duties in respect of maintaining a register of seized dogs in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992, the type of information we process is as follows:
Personal Data
- Name of the owner of the stray dog
- Address of the owner of the stray dog
- Contact telephone number of the owner of the stray dog
- Email address of the owner of the stray dog
The lawful basis on which we use this information
The use of your personal data is compliant with the following conditions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA2018):
Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR – It is necessary for us to process your information so we can comply with our legal obligations.
Details of our statutory powers and duties can be found on the Local Government Association’s website: https://standards.esd.org.uk/?uri=list%2FpowersAndDuties
Under this lawful basis, we do not require your consent to process this information but we are required, through this privacy notice, to ensure that you are fully informed of why we are collecting this information and what we will do with it.
Please also note that no automated decision making (decisions taken without a person involved) occur for any parts of these procedures controlled by SCC and we do not use profiling to deliver our service to you.
Storing and Securing data
The information provided to us for maintaining a register of seized dogs in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992 will be held in a digital format.
The information provided to us will be held in accordance with the Council’s Retention Schedule, and then it will be securely destroyed.
For information held for the purposes of returning stray dogs which are seized within the city of Southampton, your personal data will be held for six years.
Who do we share information with?
We may share your personal information with external organisations, such as the Police, to prevent and detect crime, however, this would only occur when the law allows us to do so.
We may have to share your information with other teams and departments in the Council, in order to fulfil this, and other statutory duties, and to deliver a sufficient level of service, in the public interest, as a local authority.
For the purposes of caring for returning stray dogs which have been seized within the city of Southampton, we will routinely have to share your data with the provider of kennel services for the care of seized dogs (Portsmouth City Council).
