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Animal boarding establishments/dog sitting

Who needs to apply?

Anyone wanting to carry on the business of providing accommodation for other people's dogs and cats, even if the premises is a private dwelling, must get a licence from the council.

An applicant must not be disqualified from any of the following at the time of the application:

keeping an animal boarding establishment
keeping a pet shop under the Pet Animals Act 1951
keeping animals under the Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act 1954
owning, keeping, being involved in the keeping or being entitled to control or influence the keeping of animals, dealing in animals or transporting or being involved in the transportation of animals under the Animals Welfare Act 2006
owning, keeping, dealing in or transporting animals under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
in Scotland an applicant must also not be disqualified from working with, using, driving or riding animals, providing services to animals that would involve taking possession of them, taking possession of an animal to carry out any of the activities listed or taking charge of animals for any other purpose.

How to apply

The following criteria will be considered when the application is being evaluated:

that the animals will be kept in suitable accommodation at all times. Suitable accommodation takes into account the construction and size of the accommodation
the number of animals to be housed in it, facilities for exercising the animals, cleanliness and temperature, lighting and ventilation provisions
that suitable food, drink and bedding materials will be provided and that the animals are exercised and visited regularly
that steps are taken to prevent and control the spread of disease among the animals and that isolation facilities are in place
that adequate protection is provided to the animals in the case of fire and other emergencies
that a register is kept. The register should contain a description of all animals received, their arrival and departure date and the name and address of the owner. The register should be available to be inspected at any time by an AVDC officer, veterinary surgeon or practitioner.

Apply
Please use the links below to apply or renew your licence.

Fees
Please see the link below.

What happens if you fail to comply
If you do not have a licence or do not comply with any of the conditions, you may be prosecuted, fined up to £5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to three months.

Full title of regulation
Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963

Is there an appeal process?
Please contact AVDC in the first instance.

An applicant may appeal to their local Magistrates' court (or to their local Sheriff in Scotland) if their application is refused or if they do not agree with a condition attached to their licence.

Downloads:
File name	Summary	File size / Download time
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available FREE of charge. You can download it directly from Adobe's website by clicking the link to the right. Once on Adobe's website, follow the instructions on screen to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Employee Registration form	Form for registering employees	19KB 56Kbps Modem: Less than 1 Minute Broadband : Less than 1 Minute
Conditions for cattery boarding licence	Conditions for which the animal boarding licence is granted for catteries	35KB 56Kbps Modem: Less than 1 Minute Broadband : Less than 1 Minute
Conditions for kennel boarding licence	Conditions for which the animal boarding licence is granted for kennels	31KB 56Kbps Modem: Less than 1 Minute Broadband : Less than 1 Minute
Guidance notes for home boarding and dog creches (day boarding)		14KB 56Kbps Modem: Less than 1 Minute Broadband : Less than 1 Minute