Recruitment for a second dog warden is underway in Laois

A RECRUITMENT process is underway to employ a second dog warden in Laois, while the existing dog pound in Ballacolla will increase its opening hours to six days a week, excluding bank holiday weekends.

That was the reply given to cllr Tommy Mulligan when he sought an out of hours facility for stray dogs.

Describing the employment of an additional dog warden and the extended opening hours of the dog pound as “great news,” cllr Mulligan said: “I was contacted a few weeks ago by a fella who had picked up a German Shepard over a weekend. He had none to contact. He ended up posting about it on social media and two days later the owner contacted him. I had a conversation with a the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) inspector about stray dogs and he said that it was a regular occurrence for dogs to stray at weekends and that there were no out of hours services to deal with them.” Also welcoming the news cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said: “We’re moving in the right direction with the improved service and maybe down the line, we can provide an out of hours service."

The information was provided to councillors from the Portlaoise Municipal District Council at their June meeting. They were also informed that the dog warden service in the county is provided by the ISPCA under an agreement with the council.