From the 6th April 2016 new laws come into effect that make it compulsory for all dogs over the age of 8 weeks to be microchipped. Dog owners will need to ensure their dogs are microchipped, register the details of a new owner before they sell or give a dog away, and keep their details updated on one of the authorised databases.

The result of these new rules should ensure more dogs find their way back to their owners should they become lost or stolen. It will hopefully also make puppy farms much more accountable with a clear trail of evidence of where puppies are coming from. Failure to comply with the new law could result in a notice requiring their dog to be microchipped, and failure of this could result in prosecution and a £500 fine.

Updating microchip details is easy
Several years ago, a stray cat was brought into our clinic having been hit by a car. The cat had suffered several serious but not life-threatening injuries. We started treating its various injuries and were very glad to discover that it had a microchip. We promptly rang the owners to let them know we had their cat and were surprised to discover that it had been missing for over a year. It had always been a fairly friendly cat and, given its well fed condition, it seemed likely that it had found itself an alternative home. What was even more remarkable however was that the original owners had kept the cat’s pet insurance going! I wasn’t sure whether this was through remarkable optimism or forgetfulness, but it did mean that the reunion of a not so loyal cat wasn’t accompanied with a hefty medical bill. The cat recovered well and subsequently went to live with a family member in the countryside where it was hopefully more likely to stay put!

A relatively minor cost
Updating microchip details when you move or change phone numbers is easy, although it is often neglected. The microchip itself only contains a microchip number – it doesn’t store any personal details. When a microchip is implanted, your details are registered with one of the microchip databases so should Fido turn up at our vet clinic, we would scan the chip, log onto the database and enter his microchip number. Up come the details you registered – normally an address, several phone numbers and maybe an email address. Several times over the years we have had to play detective when details are no longer correct. We recently managed to find an owner when all details were incorrect including the old work email address. We managed to trace the owner by ringing the company the owner used to work for and get an up to date phone number.

Microchipping is not expensive – some charities offer free vouchers and most vet clinics will charge less than £15. Given the relative costs of owning, feeding and looking after a dog, it is a relatively minor cost to potentially reunite you with your best four-legged friend. All of my pets are microchipped – the two dogs, Bob the cat and even Henry the tortoise!