Dog owner’s anger over fine and three hour round trip

Donald Bennett said his 14-year-old dog, Maisie, was picked up on Saturday lunchtime on ‘private land’ near Broadway by the warden.

HOME: Maisie is back with her owner after she went missing near Broadway (Image: Supplied by owner)

However, a spokesperson for Wychavon District Council, which manages the dog wardens, says Maisie was found walking along a road and had no collar or identity tag – and that efforts were made to contact the owner.

The 50-year-old owner of Chipping Norton faced a three-hour round trip to pick her up from Malvern Police Station on Monday. He said: “It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Maisie, who he bred himself as a gun dog, is microchipped. He said he and his family spent all Saturday and Sunday trying to find her after she vanished. 

“Our friends put it on Facebook and we were told she had been picked up.

“So we phoned the vets and the dog warden. The dog warden for Wychavon said we have her but we can’t tell you where she is as it’s out of hours on a Sunday. Maisie went missing on Saturday. This morning the council was interested in £143, not my dog’s welfare. 

“I’ve had to drive one and a half hours from Chipping Norton to Malvern Police Station to pay the dog warden’s wages.”

The former working dog has always found her way home in the past, he said. He said Masie suffered from bad joints and was prescribed tablets and also painkillers. “She has not had any medication over the weekend,” he said. 

He added: “I have been very worried all weekend. What about my dog’s welfare for two whole days? They have charged me £143 and driven the dog one hour and a half away from my house.”

A spokesperson for Wychavon District Council said: “A dog was found by a member of the public along Broadway Road, Evesham on Saturday (May 13).

“The dog, who was not wearing a collar and a tag, was taken to a third party to scan for a microchip.

“Dog owners are legally required to ensure that their dog wears a collar with an identity tag detailing the owner’s name, address and telephone number. Microchips are useful to someone with a scanner that detects them. The member person who found the dog waited a couple of hours for a person with a microchip scanner to become available.

“The address details provided on the microchip provided an address in Oxfordshire and two phone numbers. Two attempts were made to contact the owner using both numbers provided; one number was unable to connect, and a voice message was left on the other. As the owner was unable to be contacted, the dog was handed to the dog warden to care for and taken to the nearest Kennels in Malvern.

“Once the owner returned the dog warden’s calls on Monday, they were advised that they could collect their dog during out of hours, as is policy. The owner would not provide the warden with details of the dog’s medical or dietary needs on this phone call.

“The owner of the dog was reunited with the dog and received a fine under Wychavon’s published fees under the legislation for reuniting stray dogs.”