Croydon dog warden wins top animal charity awards

A dog warden from Croydon has been recognised with a prestigious RSPCA award for the third year in a row and recognition for her work during the pandemic.
Responsible for rescuing and caring for lost dogs across Croydon, Tara Boswell has received the stray dog PawPrint gold award.
Introduced by the RSCPA, the programme sets high standards for animal welfare, with recipients needing to meet criteria way above the minimum legal requirement for a local authority.
Tara has worked for Croydon Council for 12 years and helps on average over 150 dogs each year.
Tara finds rescue spaces, foster and forever homes for the stray dogs Croydon collects, and has developed a network of contacts including kennels and a vet, which means stray and sick animals receive the best possible care.
Working with a number of charities, Tara find places for any that are unclaimed, and provides access to further support including free neutering vouchers, helping to reduce the number of stray dogs in the borough.
This year, Tara is also one of only four in the country to receive the highest possible recognition from the RSPCA, a special recognition accolade for her work helping rescue dogs during the pandemic. Tara remained visible and was there to help concerned members of the public during the peak of the pandemic, when there were worries surrounding services being unable to operate as lockdown tightened. Tara also provided animal behavioural advice via Zoom, remained contactable to answer queries and carried on finding rescue places for stray dogs.
Tara said: “It’s a real honour to receive this very special award and also great news that our work with stray dogs is again considered to be of the highest standard. Dogs are everything to me and I’m very proud that Croydon continued to support the work I do and ease the concerns of worried owners during a very challenging 18 months.”
Rachel Williams, senior parliamentary adviser for the RSPCA, added: “Croydon Council has shown exceptional commitment to animal welfare over the last year – and we’re so pleased to recognise the hard work Tara does for not only the stray dog provision, and a special recognition accolade for keeping the dog warden service running so smoothly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In total, the RSPCA has recognised 29 local authorities across England with a gold stray dog award – highlighting how the service delivered in Croydon is one of the best in the country, including provision of an out-of-hours service that meets the requirements of the local community and regular proactive work to encourage responsible pet ownership.”

“We are all proud that the RSPCA has recognised again that Tara consistently shows unfailing commitment to her work and the animals she cares for, and has continued to do so throughout this difficult year.
“Tara consistently goes above and beyond, offering the best care as she tries to reunite animals with their families or find new homes for them and we couldn’t be more proud of her here at the council. Well done Tara, very well deserved.”
Councillor Muhammad Ali, cabinet member for sustainable Croydon

2022-06-16T13:37:25+01:00 October 18th, 2021|Recent news|