AN 11-year high in the number of stray dogs being picked up by councils across the country has been echoed in the district, according to a kennel owner.
More than 120,000 stray dogs were picked up by UK councils in the past year, according to the Dogs Trust charity, with nearly 8,000 being put down because they were unable to find a home.
Hilary Lockyer runs Hillside Kennels in Waltham Abbey, which takes in strays for the district council.
She said: “The strays have gone up tremendously in the past year.
“Unfortunately, most of them are Staffordshire bull terriers. We had a stray come in from (the district council) three weeks ago and she had puppies two days later, so someone had obviously chucked her out because she was pregnant.
“We also have a lot of lurchers. Duncan, who has been here a while, is a greyhound-lurcher type dog, but not as pointed. He just needs someone to be with.”
She said the suggestion in the Dogs Trust report that microchipping should be made compulsory was a good idea, but would be hard to enforce.
“It’s only as good as the people who do it,” she added. “They should bring back licensing for the owner. There should be some sort of test to get a licence before owning a dog.”
Despite facing such a busy year, staff at the kennels have managed to re-home most of the strays they have been given - usually 10 or 15 a month.
One of the centre’s most well-known success stories was ET, branded Britain’s ugliest dog by national media, who is still living at the home he found with a family elsewhere in Essex.
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