KILDARE GENERAL, 7 May 2002: by Trish Whelan. There are only two dog wardens for all of Kildare, which has a dog population of over 16,000.
According to Kildare County Council information officer Charlie Talbot, the present service is run by the SIPCO and is supposed to be a self funding service. "But it does not have enough funds to cover all the things that make up the dog warden service," he says, explaining that much of the wardens' time is spent either collecting stray dogs or checking on licences.
"A dog warden needs to be trained in his job. If you were facing down a half Alsatian you would need a lot of training to know what to do," he warns. "The fact that the warden collects stray dogs helps protect sheep. Strays cause problems but the resources are not there to patrol."
©2002knn
