Dog owners urged to microchip pets

Dog owners in Plymouth are being urged to get their pets microchipped ahead of new legislation being introduced next month.

The new regulations come into force on April 6 and require all dog owners to get their dog microchipped so that specific information about the dog and owner can be stored on a database. This is in addition to the requirement for your dog to wear a collar and tag, showing the owners details.

The Council’s Environmental Protection team collect about 100 stray dogs a year, with about half of those being returned to their owner. Some are microchipped, which allows the officer to identify an owner quickly, but many details are not up to date.

The regulations also prevent a dog from being transferred to a new keeper until it has been microchipped and any new owner of a dog is required to update the information on the database on the transfer of keeper/ownership.

Once the regulations are in place, Council officers will have the powers to issue legal notices to pet owners whose dog is not microchipped.

Councillor Philippa Davey, Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities said: "Our Environmental Protection team pick up many stray dogs throughout the year and microchipping is the best way to ensure that we can reunite them with their owners. Overall, this legislation should lead to an improvement in animal welfare because it places more emphasis on dog owners to take more responsibility for their pets.”

The council is also reminding dog owners whose pets are already microchipped this is a perfect opportunity to make sure their details are up to date.

Councillor Davey continued: “We know that loads of responsible owners will already have their pets chipped but perhaps they have changed telephone numbers or moved and have forgotten to update their details. This is perfect chance to make sure your contact information is up to date so if the worst happens and you do lose your pet we can make sure they are returned to you as quickly as possible.”

You can update your pets microchip details easily if you know the microchip number, which is likely to be on the Pet Passport, pet insurance documents or veterinary records.

If you cannot find the number yourself, contact your usual vet, who may have recorded the number on their client record, the implanter of the MicroChip, if not your usual vet or take your pet to be scanned at the local vet or rescue centre

For more information on stray dogs visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/straydogs