The council's stray dog service has won an RSPCA Platinum Award for a 15th year running. Only 41 of the 115 dogs it picked up in 2025 had a microchip.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s stray dog service has won an RSPCA award for the fifteenth year in a row. This year it is a Platinum Award in the 2026 RSPCA PawPrints Awards, the council announced on 29 September.
Platinum goes to organisations that have held the RSPCA’s Gold standard for more than five years. The council’s dog wardens took Gold every year from 2012 to 2022, and moved up to Platinum in 2023, the year the RSPCA introduced it.
The same release carries the less cheerful number. Most of the dogs the wardens picked up last year never went home.
The 2025 figures
The council gives these figures for 2025, across the whole borough:
- 115 stray dogs collected
- 41 of them microchipped
- 39 reunited with their owners
The rest, the majority, were rehomed through partner organisations because their owners could not be found.
That is about one dog in three. The council’s release does not say how many of the 39 were found through a chip and how many through a collar tag.
The pattern is not new. In 2022, the council said only about 18% of strays were returned to their owners straight away. In 2021 the figure was 28%. Those older figures measure immediate returns only, so they are not directly comparable with 2025’s total.
What the council and the RSPCA said
Councillor Stuart Bingham, the cabinet member for neighbourhood pride and community safety, thanked the team. “Fifteen years of achieving the RSPCA’s top standard for our work with stray dogs is a wonderful achievement,” he said.
Lee Gingell, the RSPCA’s public affairs manager for local government, said local public services “have an important role in protecting animals and supporting the people who care for them”.
What happens if your dog goes missing
The council’s stray and abandoned dogs page sets out what happens and what it costs:
| If your dog is | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Found while the warden is on duty, and you can be reached | The warden brings the dog back to you | £40 |
| Taken to the kennels | Held at Acorn Kennels until claimed, or for seven days | £95 for the first day, then £12 a day |
The warden is on duty from 8am to 5pm every day, including bank holidays, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. A dog that keeps straying is taken to the kennels.
The kennels are Acorn Kennels on Heath Road, Whitchurch, in Shropshire, about 19 miles south of Chester. You need proof of address to collect a dog, and the council asks you to phone the kennels first. Payment goes to the kennels, not the council. Photos of the dogs being held are on the council’s stray dog photographs page.
To report a stray, the council’s numbers are:
- 0300 123 7038, option 1, Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
- 0300 123 7035 at other times, including weekends and bank holidays
What it means for you
If you own a dog, check the chip details are current. A microchip and a collar tag with your name and address are both legal requirements, and a phone number on the tag helps. A chip only works if the database has your current address and number. In 2022 the council said it was seeing a trend of dogs that were chipped but whose keepers had never registered or updated their details.
If you lose a dog, phone the council quickly. A dog the warden can hand back on the day costs £40. A week in kennels costs £167, at £95 for the first day and £12 for each of the six days after. The kennels hold an unclaimed dog for seven days.
If you are booking kennels for a holiday, the council says to use a licensed one. It inspects licensed boarding businesses. It warns that an unlicensed business may not have been checked for safety and security, and that your pet insurance may not be valid if you use one. Check the licence is current rather than relying on an old one or a recommendation.
Sources
- RSPCA awards Council’s stray dogs service platinum standard, Cheshire West and Chester Council, 29 September 2026 (the award, the 2025 figures and both quotes)
- Stray and abandoned dogs, Cheshire West and Chester Council (warden hours, fees, kennels and phone numbers)
- The council’s 2023, 2022 and 2021 award releases (the earlier return rates and the start of the Gold run)
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