It is quite understandable how upsetting it is for a pet owner when their dog or cat goes missing.

So following government legislation, it was decreed that a microchip would be the most effective way to reunite lost pets with their owners. So as a result of the legislation, all owners are now responsible for ensuring that their pets are microchipped and registered on a database where their details must be kept up to date. 

This is the way to reunite pets and their owners should they go astray. All dogs must be microchipped by the time they are 8 weeks old, and registered on a DEFRA compliant database. Failure to do this can result in a fine of up to £500 per dog. 

But what happens when your pet is stolen?

The first problem is that the Police consider a stolen dog to be petty theft on the basis of a false premise that dogs are worth less than £500.  Anyone owning a Kennel Club registered dog will know that to be entirely incorrect. So the Police are really not interested in getting involved.

 The second problem is that should your dog be stolen and in due course your dog turns up in, say, a vet’s surgery this information may turn up on the database where your dog is registered. But when you contact the register for details about your dogs whereabouts and particularly the person now in possession of your dog, they will not give you the information becasue it is covered by data protection!

When you search a pet microchip number, the system automatically checks all compliant pet microchip databases in real-time to identify which pet microchip databases hold the registration details.

You will then be able to contact the database that holds the registration details to identify the registered keeper, change the keepership or update your details. No personal information is shared from one database to another, simply the registration status of the pet microchip.

If the pet is not registered on a compliant database, you can register you pet’s microchip online instantly.