Every dog owner is legally obliged to ensure that their dog is wearing a collar and identification disc in public areas. The disc should have the owners surname and address on it. Dog owners are also encouraged to have their dog micro chipped. Indeed, the Government is proposing to make the micro chipping of dogs compulsory.
An identification disc on a collar makes it easy to see where a lost dog has come from but a collar can also be easily removed, particularly from a stolen dog.
Losing your dog is very distressing and without reliable identification, it is very difficult to reunite a lost dog with its owner.
Micro chipping is a simple way of permanent identification for your dog and is part of the Healthy Pet Club package!
A tiny microchip (about the size of a grain of rice) is injected by your vet under the loose skin of your dog’s neck, which will give your dog his own personal identification number. It’s quick and very safe and your dog is unlikely to feel anything
Should your dog stray or get lost and get handed in to a veterinary surgery, animal welfare group, the police or local authority, they have special hand held scanners that can detect and “read” the information on the microchips.
Once your dog’s unique number has been found and verified against the national database, you will be reunited without further delay.
However, it is important to stress that legally, all dogs should still wear a collar and tag in public areas even if they have a microchip If a stray dog is found not wearing a tag with this information, owners can be fined quite heavily!