Is Your Doggie Chipped? 

 

This April is a big month for dog owners - from 06 April it's the law to have your pet microchipped!

What is microchipping?

Microchipping is a permanent way of safeguarding a pet should they go missing and be found straying. It also proves identity should a pet be stolen. The small implanted microchip carries all the data required to reunite pet and owner.

What does the new legislation mean?

- From 6th April 2016 all dogs will be required to have a microchip by law.

- From that date you will need to have your dog microchipped and registered on one of the authorised commercial databases available.

- You will have to register the details of any new owner before you sell or give any dog away.

- You will need to keep your contact details up to date on the microchip databases.

- After 6th April 2016, owners of dogs found by the police or local authorities not to have a microchip will face a fine of up to £500.

 

Cats & Microchipping

Cats do not have to be microchipped by law under these new rules but having a cat micro chipped can be invaluable. A cat can travel some distance in a short space of time.

Several cats a week go missing in Swindon, not all are reunited with their owners because they have no form of identification.

How do you microchip a dog or cat and does it hurt?

The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and it is ‘injected’ into the loose skin fold or ‘scruff’ of a dog or cat’s neck. It is no more painful that their booster vaccination. The pet is then scanned to check that the microchip is in place and functioning correctly and all owner details are registered with an authorised database.

How does a microchip work?

A microchip is not a GPS system; it does not track a pet. It stores your pet's details on a nationwide database along with the microchip's unique 15 digit code.

 

Rescue homes, vets and local authorities all have microchip scanners meaning that any cats or dogs found can be scanned and returned to their owners.

It is vital that you keep your details up to date. For security reasons changes to details can only be made by post. Contact Pet Log via the link below for details on how to do this.
 

How and where can you get your dog or cat microchipped?
 

All vets can microchip a dog for a small fee, with some offering a free service while the new law is coming in to force.

 

See the link below for local Swindon vets.