I WAS concerned to read a letter (Journal Mailbox, January 21) from P.Higgins of Lowton.

In the letter there was mention of a dog straying in 1998 and being collected from a kennel in Widnes.

Wigan MBC has never used the Widnes kennels. We checked our records and are satisfied we did not catch this dog. We suspect the dog strayed in to an adjoining borough and their animal wardens seized the dog.

While I appreciate this dog owner may be distressed, it is unfair to level such criticism about Wigan MBC's dog wardens. These are dedicated staff who are strongly committed to caring for dogs. When they find any stray dog they try and identify the owner.

By law every dog should have a collar and tag with the owner's name and address on it. Where there is a collar and tag and it is the first time the animal wardens have found the dog straying, then the animal is returned to its owners.

When the owner is not at home or in any other case, a letter is left stating where the dog is being kennelled. By law stray dogs only need to be kennelled for seven days, after which efforts are made to re-home the animal.

Regrettably, and we mean regrettably, some dogs are destroyed. This is distressing to my staff and they would much prefer owners to collect their dogs.

Clearly P. Higgins is a dog owner who genuinely wants to be reunited with his or her dog, and we hope there is a successful outcome. The lesson and the message from this are:

1. Do not let your dog stray; and

2. Make sure the dog has a collar and tag so if the animal does stray we have someone to contact.

Ashley Crumbley

Assistant Borough Environmental Health & Consumer Protection Officer

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.