If you have a dog, does it have a microchip? If not, you have three years to get one. In 2016, it will become compulsory for all dogs owned in the UK to be microchipped.
The Statistics and the Cost
Each year around 100,000 dogs are lost or dumped. This costs charities and local authorities a staggering £57 million. Rescue organisations also run up enormous vet bills treating medical conditions caused by neglect before dogs can be rehomed.
When dogs are found with microchips, they can be quickly reunited with responsible owners, and irresponsible ones can be brought to account.
Dog Organisations and Charities Welcome the Move
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Chief Executive, Claire Horton said, “It’s so worrying for owners when a dog strays from home, yet a tiny microchip the size of a grain of rice means charities like Battersea can often reunite pets with their owners within hours. Having no chip in a dog can mean any reunion can take days to happen, if it happens at all.”
Currently some animal charities, such as the Dogs Trust, Blue Cross and Battersea Dogs and Cats home, offer a free microchipping service to owners and the Kennel Club has pledged to donate microchip scanners to local authorities over the next two years.
Making it Worthwhile
Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive of the Dogs Trust charity, said the scheme would make “a huge difference “, “With a register, kept up to date, people will be able to get their dogs back far more easily.”
Although it is the responsibility of the dog owner to ensure the information on their pet is up to date, this data will have to be managed in some sort of database which is where Data Quality Software comes in.
Like any other database it is important that the data collected is accurate, duplicate free and presents a single customer view (pet owner), so that pets can be reunited with their owners as soon as possible.
