The Lost Dogs’ Home is urging pet owners to make sure their furry friends’ microchips are up to date during Christmas as the summer sees an increase of missing pets.
The shelter warned December and January were traditionally the busiest time of the year with holiday plans, parties and time spent away from our pets, which all increased the risk of our pets escaping properties.
Spokesperson Suzana Taleyski said now it was the time to make sure the pet was microchipped and even just as important to make sure the microchip was updated to the current address and phone number.
‘’We are encouraging all pet owners to start the holiday season by making sure your pet’s microchip details are up to date. Christmas is a time for family, good friends, good times and all those things involve our pets,’’ Ms Talevski said.
‘’We know how much Australians value the bond they have with their pets so let’s all get together and make sure all our family members are home for Christmas this year.’’
She recalled one time a dog called Wolfgang spent one night at the shelter’s North Melbourne station after getting spooked by fireworks and running away.
He soon reunited with his owner Marilyn thanks to the microchip.
Ms Talevski said the same situation also happened in the Cranbourne shelter, but thankfully hundreds of dogs had been reunited with their owners every year.
The Home’s admissions department has seen a 31 per cent increase in animals arriving with a microchip compared to the previous year, from 7044 to 9278.
“It’s pleasing that the message is starting to get through but there are still too many without one. It is extremely difficult to reunite a pet with its family without one, Ms Talevski said.
‘’We are however pleased that we have also seen a 72 per cent increase in the last five years.’’
Tips for updating your microchip:
• Take your pet to a vet clinic to be scanned and confirm microchip number
• Most are registered to Central Animal records, websites like ‘petaddress.com’ let you search the microchip number to find out what database its on
• If a pet is only registered to a specific state’s database (i.e. NSW) subscribe them to a national database like Central Animal Records as well (small fee to do this)
