Rossendale Council’s Dog Warden service is provided by Animal Wardens.

The service aims to deal with problems caused by irresponsible dog ownership:-

• Stray dogs
• Dog fouling

Dangerous dogs, dogs suspected as having been stolen, dogs involved in road traffic accidents, dogs relating to persons being detained, dogs left by someone who has died and dogs involved in the scene of a crime are all dealt with by Lancashire Constabulary. 

Stray dogs

From 7am to 1am, 7 days a week, all reports of stray dogs are handled by Animal Wardens who can be contacted on 0845 2417253.  If you find a straying dog, the law says you must either:

• return the dog to its owner if it is safe and you are able to do so and the dog can be identified by an ID tag, or
• contact the Dog Warden service who will arrange collection of the dog. 
• Animal Wardens will respond to reports of stray dogs within 4 hours of a report being received.

From 9am to 10pm stray dogs can be taken directly to Aspen Valley Kennels, Lower Aspen Lane, Oswaldtwistle, Accrington, BB5 4NY if it is safe and you are able to do so. The Kennels must be contacted in advance on 01254 233702 to check that they have the space available

It is the responsibility of all dog owners to keep their dogs under control at all times and not allow them to stray.  Any dogs found to be straying may be taken to Aspen Valley Kennels and owners will have to pay a fee for the return of the dog.  If the dog is collected from the kennels the fee will be £48 for the first day and £8 for each day thereafter.  A minimum of one day’s fees will be payable for the return of a dog.  The fee includes a Government prescribed fee, and the cost of providing dog warden and kennelling services.

Animal Wardens will also return a dog directly to its owner at home, if they are able to match a found dog with a lost dog.  There is a higher charge for this door to door service of £61.50.  Owners can choose whether to have the dog delivered to their home or collect the dog from the kennels.

Dogs taken to the kennels will only be reclaimable from the stray dog kennels by prior agreement and between 10am - 5pm weekdays and 10am - 4pm weekends and bank holidays. 

If you are an owner with a missing dog, you can see if your dog has been taken to Aspen Valley Kennels by visiting http://www.rescuecentral.webs.com.