Medway kept platinum RSPCA awards for a 13th year. Claiming a seized stray costs £82 plus £35 a day in kennels, and unclaimed dogs go to rescue after 7 days.

Medway Council has kept its top RSPCA rating for stray dog work for a thirteenth year in a row, and the fees its owners pay have not changed with it.

The council’s Animal, Noise and Nuisance team retained RSPCA PawPrints platinum awards in two categories, stray dog services and animal licensing. The council announced it on Friday 18 September (Medway Council).

Platinum is not an annual prize. The RSPCA gives it to an organisation that has held the gold award in one category for five or more consecutive years (PawPrints categories). The scheme runs in England and Wales only and was set up in 2008.

Cllr Alex Paterson, portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, said: “Retaining a platinum award in stray dog services for thirteen years is a staggering achievement, and it is fantastic to see the RSPCA continue to recognise both the efforts of our officers, and that Medway takes animal welfare seriously.”

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 it costs to get your dog back

The award covers the service. The charges sit on the council’s own stray dogs page, and they are worth knowing before you need them (Medway Council, stray dogs):

  • £82 minimum release and administration fee
  • £35 for each day or part day the dog spends in kennels
  • £34 delivery fee if you cannot collect the dog from the agreed location
  • £20 extra if a warden collected the dog on a Saturday or Sunday
  • any vet fees the dog ran up, on top

The council does not take instalments. It will only hand the dog over once the full amount is paid, a power councils hold under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Seven days, then rescue

Wardens collect stray dogs across Medway from Monday to Sunday, 9am to 4pm. If the owner cannot be identified or contacted, the dog goes into kennels. If nobody claims it within seven days, the council starts looking for a rescue space.

It cannot hand the dog straight to a member of the public. The council says rehoming needs behavioural assessments, home checks and preventative healthcare that it does not have the resources to carry out, and it cannot offer rescue backup if a new owner later cannot cope.

If you find a stray and want to keep it, you have to say so when you report it. Agreement depends on the council being satisfied you can meet the dog’s needs under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. You then take on a legal duty to care for the dog for at least 28 days, at your own cost, so an owner can come forward. If the owner asks for it back, you may have to hand it over. After 28 days you still do not automatically own it.

What it means for you

If your dog goes missing, ring 01634 333 333 or email animal.wardens@medway.gov.uk, and the council checks its record of seized strays. Out of hours and at weekends the number is 01634 304 400. The council also posts found dogs daily on its Medway Stray Dogs Facebook page.

Two things cut the bill before it starts. A collar and tag is not optional. By law your dog must wear one in a public place, carrying your name and address including the postcode, even if it is microchipped. The fine for getting that wrong runs to £5,000. Keeping your microchip details current is the other one, because it is the first thing a warden checks.

If you find a dog rather than lose one, report it on the same daytime number. The council also runs a stray dog fund for the animals nobody claims, which pays for vet treatment, food and equipment (stray dog fund).

Medway’s dog management Public Space Protection Order, which covers matters such as fouling and dogs on leads, was agreed at full Council on 23 January 2025. There is more local information, from bin collection days to council tax bands, across the site.

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