Rural Diaries – country life, the countryside and rural issues

Posted by Sally on August 13th, 2009 in Pets

We all know the answer to the question should I microchip my pet is yes but if you’re anything like me you always say to you’ll do it next time we’re passing the vet and then promptly forget.

Yesterday I got home to be told by Mum not to open the round pen as we had a little visitor.

Off I went to investigate and found a cute little face staring up at me, looking rather lost in such a large pen, asking if I was his mum come to rescue him.

It was a very well cared for little dog who appears to have wandered off and landed on our doorstep.

Mum had found the little chap sitting beside the steps of one of our caravans, which suggested he was probably staying in one of the holiday parks nearby.

At this time of year there are tourists gallore just a few miles away so we had no idea where to start the hunt for it’s owners, as the collar had a tag but the phone number didn’t work (maybe a changed area dialling code?).

We called the animal warden and the police … nobody had called the police to ask about the dog but the animal warden said she’d be out in an hour to scan him for a microchip.

Of course as soon as a pet is found to be missing the owners tend not to call the police or animal warden and do the obvious thing, which is wandering around the streets, tin of pet food in hand, shouting “here Tiddles, Tiddles, Tiddles” … which of course looks hilarious to everyone except the hysterical pet owner.

When the animal warden turned up she scanned the dog for a microchip … nothing … scanned a second time … BEEP … what a lovely sound that is.

This was great news, as long as the owners hadn’t moved and forgotten to update their details the dog would be reunited with it’s owners (perhaps not until after their now ruined holiday though).

The down side to such stories is where there is no way to identify the owner and the pet is taken to kennels, if they are unlucky it will be the “keep them for so long then euthanase them” type of place … remember pets can travel right out of your area before they are found so calling the local police may not get you reunited with your beloved pet and they may be put to sleep.

You don’t have to be a neglectful owner to lose a pet, dogs will find an interesting smell and simply follow their nose or get a fright and run.

I once lost a cat when I was putting the rubbish out and accidently dropped the bin lid, the noise startled her and she ran … I was not a happy camper until she returned half starved almost a month later. What is amazing is the entire village had been looking for her every day … we even had a night patrol … yet when she was found she was only 3 doors away hiding under the shed.

Your local vet can quickly and virtually painlessly insert a microchip and in some areas local councils run schemes to microchip pets.

The RSPCA has a question and answer page about microchipping a dog but the same answers apply to any pet microchipped.

Once your pet is microchipped they will be registered on the Petlog database, which is managed by the Kennel Club. Petlog provides a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week service and the database can be searched by vets, animal wardens and police so you have a greater chance of being reunited with your pet quickly.

The Kennel Clubs website allows you to update your pets records if you move home or change your phone number and you can inform them of a deceased pet. However if you take ownership of a pet which already has a microchip then you need to call them to change the records.

If you have lost a pet which is microchipped please call Petlog on and report your pet missing.

Petlog is also a member of the European Pet Network and can trace your pet back to it’s country of origin and then back to you if you travel to Europe with your pet.

Please remember that by law your dog must wear a collar in public places with the name and address of the owner written or engraved on the collar or a tag attached to the collar (this does not apply to certain catagories of working dogs). Please remember to update tags if your details change.

This is one of those times where good intentions simply aren’t good enough, lost and frightened pets can run into traffic or starve to death. If you love your pet and would be devastated at losing them please make an appointment right now to have them microchipped.