A new programme on UK TV is called ‘Lost Dogs Live’ which is about getting the watching public involved in tracing lost dogs. One of the startling pieces of information to come out of the programme was that in the UK there are 15 registered microchip companies. Besides the importance of microchipping your dog, it is also vitally important that up-to-date information is registered with the microchip company about the address at which your dog/cat lives.
It is commonplace to assume that once you register with a veterinary clinic and they record your pet’s microchip, if the animal goes missing they will be able to trace if it turns up elsewhere, especially if it is suspected stolen.
Not the case!
The only place to update your pet’s microchip is with the company which supplied the chip – and with 15 DEFRA registered companies to choose from, how do you know who to contact?
In the UK you can find out which company by using the Checkachip.com website. It’s important you do this, especially if you have adopted a dog from abroad. For example, my Podenca Rosely’s chip is registered with Petlog but blind Podenco Bocelli’s chip is registered with Petrac.
In France there is I-CAD, When I adopted my galgos and podenco through L’Europe des Levriers, their passport came with a form to complete and send off to a national veterinary database which recorded the new address at which the dogs lived. Read more about I-CAD on this weblink. Change of ownership information on this weblink.
Another company with which to trace your pet’s microchip is Europetnet.com.
Whilst living in France, my Swedish Valhund went missing from our home. On seeing my ‘Missing’ posters, the gendarmes immediately said ‘Volet’, Stolen, as she had a coat like a Husky which unscrupulous people used for trimming garments! When a ‘disused’ warehouse in Niort (79) was raided, over 1,000 animal pelts were found. Niot was the main city for the Chamois leather industry.
And finally, something else to come out of the programme is that not every vet checks your pet’s microchip on every visit you make to them. So make sure you request the vet to check the chip – if nothing else, they can find the chip if it has moved, which sometimes they do!
So wherever you live, if you don’t want the heartbreak of not being able to trace a missing pet by their microchip, ensure you register yourself as their current keeper and your address.