Uttlesford warden helps win award for animal care

UTTLESFORD District Council has received a top award from the RSPCA thanks to the sterling efforts of its animal warden Sue Knight.

The RSPCA has awarded the council its Silver Footprint in the Community Animal Welfare Footprints awards.

The award scheme, launched last year, highlights the excellent work being done by local authorities and housing providers in animal welfare.

In particular it recognises organisations that have gone above and beyond their basic service requirements to ensure higher animal welfare standards.

The council's work, led by Sue, was praised by the RSPCA in areas including its re-homing policy, which ensures a dog's physical and behavioural needs are met, and the availability of information for the public about being a responsible dog owner.

Other areas of work which helped meet the award criteria include the council's commitment to ensuring staff are fully trained in dog handling and its success in reuniting lost dogs with their owners.

Sue, who has been the council's animal warden for nine years went to the House of Lords to collect her award.

She said: "I was very pleased to be able to receive this reward on behalf of the council.

"We try to do as much as we can to educate the public on how to look after dogs properly and we have had considerable success in either reuniting strays with their owners or finding them new homes.

"For example, so far this year we have collected 65 stray dogs with 55 of them returned to their owners and the remaining ten given new homes.

"The public plays an important part in making sure the district's dogs are well cared for. By following a few simple rules, such as ensuring your dog has a collar and tag and is microchipped, we can make sure the number of strays in Uttlesford is kept to a minimum."

For more information on responsible dog ownership, contact Sue on 01799 510594.