Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s dog warden Laura Yeates has been awarded gold for the fourth year running in recognition of her tireless work with stray animals.

The RSPCA Gold Stray Dog Footprint Award acknowledges the quality of the service provided by Laura, working with the council’s Environmental Health team and the Community Safety Patrol Officers, in the treatment and welfare of stray dogs, its out-of-hours service and the initiatives and partnership working done to promote responsible ownership.  

Laura routinely deals with strays in public areas and works with a number of re-homing charities to find places for unclaimed dogs. The Environmental Health team supports the service by dealing with dog welfare issues, noise complaints relating to dog barking and dog fouling complaints.  

Laura will attend the RSPCA’s 2018 PawPrints Awards, which this year celebrates its 10th birthday, at a special reception in London.

“It is a real honour to receive this accolade from the RSPCA again,” she said. “My work as the council’s dog warden is very satisfying and keeps me busy dealing with strays in the borough and talking to owners about how to care properly for their pets.”

Dog owners are expected to keep their pets under proper control, are legally required to ensure the animals are microchipped and wear a collar and ID, so they can be reunited if they escape.

Any dog that is dealt with as a stray will incur a release fee, kennelling charge and possibly, an out-of-hours’ fee. Dog owners are also reminded that all dogs over eight weeks old must be microchipped and registered or they risk prosecution and a £500 fine.  

Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services and the Environment Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “Congratulations once again to Laura and the team for winning this prestigious award in recognition of the high standards of the council’s animal welfare service.

“I would appeal to all dog owners in the borough to ensure that their pets are kept safe, are tagged and microchipped, which means you can be reunited as quickly as possible if they go astray.”

For more information or to request a booklet, please call 01256 844844, email customer.service@basingstoke.gov.uk  or to view the booklet online visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/animalresponsibilities