It comes after the vehicle had been spotted on several occasions parked at Annan Tesco and Xtra Special car park.
And now the man in question – Chris – has decided to tell his story.
He says himself and his dogs have been checked by both the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and police officers.
The 72-year-old lives in the van – alongside ten grown up dogs and five puppies (who are in a connected trailer) – after he was evicted from his property last year.
Chris’ message for people who have concerns about the dogs being in the van is to come and chat with him.
Yesterday he said: “I can accept people being concerned but there’s no need to be.
“There’s lots of people who have come along when I’ve been parked at Tesco to check in with me and gave the dogs treats.
“The SSPCA have checked the dogs over on many occasions and there’s been no problems. If I think any of the dogs do have a problem, I go straight to a vets in Dumfries.
“I don’t make an appointment, I just take them to there and they look after them. There’s no concerns.
“The police have also checked in on myself too asking why I’m in the van but everything is okay.
“I live in the van at the moment because unfortunately where I was living in Cummertrees, the people who owned the property put it up for sale and we had to leave. That was in July-August last year and I’ve been sleeping in the van ever since.
“Usually I park up for the night at Annan’s Tesco. On the odd occasion I travel to see friends and stay with them for a day or two.
“The staff at Tesco have been brilliant. One of the staff members actually gave me a roast dinner at Christmas. When people are good to you, it makes you feel good.
“When people do things behind your back, like phone the police and the SSPCA, it’s not nice.
“If they’ve got concerns come and see me and I’ll show them where the dogs are.”
Chris says on a usual day, he feeds his dogs early in the morning and then takes them for a walk, in groups of three-to-five.
He added: “We also go out in the afternoon too. Now it’s lighter at night we go walks then too. I feed them and give them water. They get everything they need.”
In the summer, Chris is going to travel up north and come back down on the coast. He says he’ll take his time and expects that the journey will take him about three-to-four months.
The SSPCA confirmed it had received several reports over the past few months about Chris.
Meanwhile, at a previous Annan Community Council meeting, the police had said they had checked on a man in a van with a number of dogs.
