Croydon Council’s dog warden, Tara Boswell, has been named as the winner of a prestigious RSPCA award for the seventh year in succession.
Seventh heaven: Tara Boswell, Croydon’s multi-award-winning dog warden
Local authorities and public sector organisations receive honours from the animal welfare charity as part of their PawPrints Awards.
Boswell has worked for the council for 16 years and on average helps 150 dogs each year.
She 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.
The PawPrints Awards recognise public services that work in close partnership with the RSPCA to improve animal welfare standards, with those judged to have excelled recognised and celebrated as community heroes in a scheme which launched in 2008.
PawPrints works with councils, emergency services, vets and other public-sector individuals, teams and organisations those, like Croydon’s Boswell, who surpass legal standards and raise the bar in animal welfare.
Boswell is one among more than 100 awards announced by the RSPCA this year across three categories: Core Awards, recognising councils and public bodies delivering key frontline services such as stray dog provision, licensing, housing, emergency planning and kennelling; Hero Awards, spotlighting organisations and individuals tackling specific animal welfare challenges; and Special Awards, celebrating individuals, teams, and partnerships whose exceptional work goes above and beyond.
Rescue triumph: Boswell’s action probably saved the life of abandoned Toby the Dobermann
This year, Boswell was recognised with an RSPCA Responsible Ownership Hero award for “resilience, creativity and collaboration in advancing animal welfare”.
Lee Gingell, the RSPCA’s public affairs manager, said: “It’s really important to highlight the incredible efforts so many go to for animals.
“It’s vital to celebrate the fantastic efforts being made to improve the lives of animals wherever possible. This is something we are incredibly proud to honour through these awards.”
Boswell told Inside Croydon: “I’m absolutely delighted that I’ve been recognised in the RSPCA PawPrints awards.
“It’s my seventh year in a row achieving recognition in the Stray Dogs category – and as the only dog warden at the council, running the entire service alone, I’m especially proud of this.
“Working in animal welfare can be incredibly challenging, but every single stray dog I’m able to help makes it worthwhile.
“One dog that has especially stuck in my mind is Toby the Dobermann – he was only eight months old when I found him abandoned and in a bad way, with a broken and swollen leg that was later amputated.
“But now he has a wonderful life with his new family, goes to hydrotherapy and has lots of friends – I still get regular updates on him, which is lovely, and I’m beyond thrilled at the part I was able to play in giving him his happy ever after.
“I love knowing I’ve made a real difference to the lives of dogs that come into our care.
“Seeing a frightened or neglected dog transform into a happy, confident pet in a loving home is incredibly fulfilling and it reminds me why this work is so important. I love being able to raise awareness about responsible pet ownership and show people the positive impact that rescue can have,
“This work does have its challenging side too – it can be very difficult dealing with cases of neglect or cruelty or seeing dogs that aren’t claimed or rehomed as quickly as we’d like. Balancing the emotional side of the work while staying focused on finding the best outcomes for the dogs can be tough, but it makes the successes even more meaningful.
“So to have this work recognised by the RSPCA is an honour, and I’m grateful for the support of everyone who champions rescue and responsible ownership.
“Now I want to continue the fight for better welfare standards and giving stray dogs the second chances they deserve.”
The awards news comes as the RSPCA launches a special “Adoptober” appeal for people to take on abandoned dogs or pooches whose owners have had to let them be put up for adoption when their personal circumstances have changed. The RSPCA says that it is struggling with a record number of dogs in its care – so many, in fact, some are having to be homed in private kennels because their own facilities are full.
And the charity is asking people looking for a devoted pet to seriously consider taking on larger dogs, which are proving more difficult to find homes for. The RSPCA’s own figures show it can take up to seven times longer for some larger dogs to find a new home compared to smaller dogs.
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Congrats to IC for avoiding awful doggie puns, at least so-fur.