If you have adopted a puppy or kitten over the festive season, time may be running out to get it microchipped to avoid falling foul of the law.
Dogs must be microchipped and registered by the time they are eight weeks old, and cats by 20 weeks old, although it is something that your vet, the local council or rescue centre will discuss with you during the process of adopting.
This process means that a vet who scans your pet’s microchip will see your name, address, email address and contact number so you can be contacted immediately if there are any issues. We also offer lightweight scanners to check the microchips of any pets you find.
This is vital to ensure that if a pet is lost or kidnapped, they can be found and reunited with their owners. One of the first steps a rescue shelter or dog warden will take is to check if there is a microchip before scanning it and seeing if it is registered with an applicable database.
If there is a microchip at all, that proves that an animal in a rescue centre is not a stray but has previously had a caregiver, irrespective of circumstances.
Next, the data is validated with one of the dozen approved pet databases to ensure that this data is up-to-date and that none of the contact details have changed. Any change of circumstances must be updated.
Unlike collars or tags, they cannot be removed, fall off or be taken off, and will last for a pet’s entire life.
Once the details are confirmed, a rescue centre, animal shelter or vet can make the call to let you know that your lost pet has been found, and make arrangements to ensure that both of you are reunited as soon as possible.
This simple step, which can take just a few minutes, can help save your pet’s life and ensure you are more likely to find them if they go missing.
