HUNDREDS of dogs will never see their owners again because of out-of-date microchip details.
Charity Dogs Trust say more than 11,200 stray dogs were picked up by councils in the West Midlands last year. Just 6,500 of the pups were reunited with their owners.
And the charity have revealed nearly 1,000 four-legged friends could not be reunited because their microchip details were out-of-date. These dogs then faced being destroyed by authorities after serving their mandatory seven day stay in a council pound.
The charity believe these dogs may be much loved family pets who have sadly ended up permanently separated from their families because their owner’s had moved house or changed their phone number, and neglected to contact the microchip database to update their contact details on their dog’s microchip.
Dogs Trust Kenilworth rehoming manager Emma Healey said: “Owners are failing to follow the law when it comes to ensuring the details on the microchip are up-to-date and that they wear a collar and tag.”
And nationally one in four people have revealed they would not know to contact the council dog warden if they found a stray dog.
The charity is now encouraging people to watch a video they have created explaining what to do if they find a stray.
Emma added: “If owners ensure their dogs have up-to-date microchip details, a collar and tag and can come back when called, they can avoid their beloved pet becoming another statistic.
“By encouraging people to share this video and check their own dog’s microchip is up-to-date, we hope that we can increase people’s awareness of the issue and continue to reduce the number of stray dogs across the country. We want to make sure that dogs and their owners can be reunited as quickly as possible – helping to make sure that, ‘A dog is for life’.”
Visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/straydogsurvey to find out more.
