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Belfast dog warden: getting your dog back

If Belfast council's dog warden service picks up your dog, you pay its fees before you can take them home. Here's what it charges, from its own website (October 2026), and what to do if your dog goes missing in Belfast.

What Belfast charges

£20*after one night in kennels

£20 a day reclaim fee, plus a dog licence fee if your dog isn't licensed

The page gives only a £20 daily rate. Your dog won't be released without proof of a current dog licence.

For a microchipped dog with correct details, collected in working hours and picked up the next day in office hours. Vet treatment is extra. * The council's page leaves some room for doubt: see the note.

Belfast council's stray dog page · no year given

How it compares

  • The 2nd cheapest of the 4 councils in Northern Ireland whose fees give a one-night total.
  • The middle cost in Northern Ireland: £25.
  • Across the UK: £100, from 186 councils. 13 charge £200 or more.

Every UK council's fees

If your dog is missing in Belfast

  1. Call Belfast council's dog warden or stray dog service now (its number is on its stray dog page), and the neighbouring councils too: dogs travel. Give a description, a photo and the microchip number.
  2. Ask whether a dog like yours has been picked up. The council keeps a stray for five days.
  3. Tell your microchip database your dog is missing. Not sure which one? Our microchip number checker shows you.
  4. Ring vets and rescues nearby, post in local groups, and put up posters: the free lost dog poster maker takes a minute.
  5. When you collect, bring proof your dog is yours (microchip paperwork, vet records, photos) and a way to pay.

The full steps are in our lost dog checklist and our guide to getting your dog back from the dog warden.

Questions

How much does Belfast charge to get a dog back from the dog warden?+

About £20 for a microchipped dog kept one night and collected the next day in office hours, worked out from the council's own fee list (October 2026): £20 a day reclaim fee, plus a dog licence fee if your dog isn't licensed. The page gives only a £20 daily rate. Your dog won't be released without proof of a current dog licence. Vet treatment is extra.

How long does Belfast keep a stray dog?+

In Northern Ireland, councils keep a stray dog for five days, after which it may be rehomed, sold or put to sleep, so call as soon as your dog goes missing.

I've found a dog in Belfast. What do I do?+

Check its tag and, if you can, have it scanned for a microchip at a vet. If you can't reach the owner, report it to the council's dog warden service.

Other councils in Northern Ireland