June is National Microchipping Month and now is the time to microchip your pet if you haven’t already done so. Microchipping your pet is quick, cheap and harmless and can save stress and worry if your cat or dog go missing.

During June, our vet and nurses clinics are offering a special discount for Microchipping Month – 10% off flea and worming treatment costs when you get your dog or cat microchipped. In conjunction with Brent Council we are also offering free microchipping for dogs owned by Brent residents on the following dates:

• 17th June 9am – 11am, Silver Jubilee Park, Townsend Lane. NW9 near to the children’s play area
• 30th June 12pm – 2pm, Parkside, Oxley’s Road. NW6
• 21st July 10am – 12pm, South Kilburn open space, Carlton Vale. NW6

Microchipped pets can be returned

Owners can have the peace of mind  that if their dog or cat goes missing the probability of them being returned safely is higher than if they are not microchipped and identifiable. You can read the stories of Troy the Burmilla cat and Jinks the Staffy who we were able to happily reunite with their owners recently because they were microchipped, and also the story of Callie the cat who was found as a stray and unfortunately we could not reunite her with her owner because she wasn’t chipped. Although there are happy endings reuniting stray cats and dogs that come to us, most stray pets cannot be reunited with their owners because they are not microchipped.

Compulsory microchipping for dogs in 2016

In England, the law changes from 6th April 2016 and ALL dogs will be required to be microchipped and registered on an authorised microchip database by the age of eight weeks and before transfer to a new owner.* Owners will also be required to keep their contact details updated on the microchip database.

We welcome this new legislation as microchipping saves time, worry and stress for pets and owners. Thousands of pets go missing every year and unnecessarily have to be found new homes when a simple visit to the vet is all that is required. The animal welfare benefits of compulsory dog microchipping include:

• Microchipping can be a deterrent to dog theft.
• Puppies that are sold can be traced to their breeders. This will help to combat the serious problem of puppy farming and a range of diseases and hereditary health conditions associated with puppies from farms.
• Owners of mistreated and neglected dogs can be traced and the appropriate action taken.
• Local authorities will be able to quickly and efficiently return stray dogs and reinforce with dog owners their duty of care and responsibilities under the Animal Welfare Act 2006
• In the event of a dog being involved in an accident or emergency, vets are able to quickly contact the owner.

Microchipping FAQs

What is microchipping?

A tiny data chip is implanted into the dog or cat at the back of the neck. The procedure is similar to giving an injection and his harmless.

How does microchipping work?

The chip holds a unique code which links to a national 24-hour, secure database where the owner’s full contact details are registered. When a missing pet is found, the chip is scanned by an animal professional – local authority, animal welfare organisation or vet – who contacts the database to find the owner’s details. The owner is notified and reunited with their pet.

After microchipping does my dog still have to wear a collar?

Yes, your dog will still need to wear a collar and ID tag that states your full name and address.

How much does microchipping cost?

Microchipping is cheap to do. Our vet and nurse clinics provide a low cost microchipping service as well as other care treatments for your pet.

* Compulsory microchipping is in progress for Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland introduced compulsory microchipping in 2012.