NOT micro-chipping your pet can mean not being able to be reunited with your companion if it wanders off.
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Animal Welfare League Far South Coast (AWL FSC) branch president Deborah Cox said if a micro-chipped pet happens to stray from home there is a way of making contact so the dog or cat can be returned to its owner - providing contact details have been kept up to date.
“ID dog tags are good but are not foolproof as they can become detached, as can collars,” she said.
“I have met people who insist their pets never leave home so they don’t need to worry about a microchip or ID.
“My response is that all it takes is for someone to leave a gate open and with no way of contacting the owner, their pet may well end up in the council pound.”
If your pet has been impounded, there is not a large window to collect it as council rangers only have to hold pets without chips for seven days, so there is a chance owners won’t see their runaway companions again, Ms Cox said.
“If they are lucky enough to contact the local pounds in the area and locate the pet, there are significant fines for not having your cat or dog micro-chipped,” she said.
“It is not a huge outlay and lasts a lifetime, much cheaper than the fine.”
While she still sees non micro-chipped pets, Ms Cox thinks people are generally becoming more responsible about micro-chipping.
“When I first started visiting the Companion Animal Facility - the pound as it was called then - 14 years ago it was very unlikely to find pets being re-united with owners through chips,” she said.
“[AWL FSC welfare officer Wendy Cook] tells us that now they are re-uniting much more often.”
She said sometimes in the case of ownership disputes - which can happen - the proof can be found in the chip.
“Also some pets can be taken large distances - either from being stolen then later ‘dumped’, or by well meaning people who see a ‘stray’, pick it up and take it to the next available vet or council on their travels - and without a chip contact owners usually do not think to try out of area,” she said.