Losing your dog or being informed that your dog has been injured can be very upsetting experiences for dog owners. What’s worse is that many dogs that go missing, are stolen, or injured either aren’t microchipped or have out of date information on their ID/chip, making it difficult for authorities to reunite dogs with their owners.
In 1992, it was made a legal requirement that any dog in a public place must wear a collar or identity tag with the name, address, and postcode of their owner. This information can be engraved or hand written so long as it is legible. In 2016, it became compulsory for every dog in England to have a microchip which is up to date. A dog must be microchipped by the time it is 8 weeks old.
Microchips must be fitted by a trained professional and places such as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross centres and Dogs Trust can microchip your dog for free. You can also take your dog to a local vet or council to be chipped however they may charge a fee.
Having contact details on your dog’s collar allows members of the public or authorities to help return your dog without having to go a dog pound. If your dog manages to get loose without its collar or identity tag, their microchip can be scanned to find their owner.
Hugo & Hudson tip: check that your dog’s microchip details are up to date! Many pet owners move house, change phone numbers or ownership of their dogs, and forget to update the important microchip information. Legally, you are required to keep these details up to date and failure to do this could result in the dog owner being fined up to £500. Contact the database your dog is registered with to update any of your details.
For more information about microchipping, speak to your vet or contact one of the many microchip databases in England:
