With the law requiring all dogs to be micro-chipped coming into force this week, a micro-chipping service offered by Cornwall Council in partnership with Dog’s Trust has resulted in more than 3,000 pets being microchipped free of charge.

Normally it costs dog owners around £20 to micro-chip their pet but over the past two years officers from the council’s dog welfare and enforcement service have worked with Dog’s Trust to run a number of events offering dog owners the opportunity to have their pets micro-chipped for free.

As well as complying with the new law, a micro-chip makes it quicker and easier to identify the details of the owner of the dog – enabling them to be reunited with their pet more quickly and easily. This is particularly important if a stray dog is injured in an accident and needs urgent veterinary treatment.

The council maintains a database of all microchips that it supplies as well as sending microchip details to a central micro-chipping database.

Last year the council also introduced a new scheme in which details of stray dogs found by its dog wardens are highlighted on the council’s website and on the Public Protection Facebook page.

This has made it easier for the owners of lost dogs to check if their pet has been picked up by the Council.

These two initiatives have helped to reduce the number of stray dogs being picked up by Council, with around 1,068 found by dog wardens in 2015, compared with 1,276 in 2014. Of the 1,068 dogs picked up by the Council’s dog wardens last year , 968 (90% ) were reunited with their owners –significantly higher than the national average of 50% .

“The council has worked hard to help dog owners to get ready for the introduction of this new legislation“ said Geoff Brown, the council’s cabinet member for communities. “The success of the partnership between the council and Dog’s Trust means that more than 3,000 dogs have been micro-chipped free of charge”.

As well as being micro-chipped all dogs are also legally required to have a collar and tag and Geoff Brown is urging owners to make sure that their contact details are clearly shown on the ID tag.

“If your dog has a collar and ID tag with your contact details it is more likely that the dog will be returned without being collected as a stray “ he said. “This will enable the dog to be returned more quickly and without having to pay the costs of it being kept in kennels”.

Dog owners can still have their pets micro-chipped at Council offices or at organised events at the cost of £20 per dog. Having a pet micro-chipped at their own home will cost £20 per dog plus an additional £35.

Owners also need to remember to update their microchip details if they move house or change phone number's etc.

For more information and advice, or to arrange getting your dog micro-chipped, visit the Council’s website or contact the Dog Welfare and Enforcement team by email publicprotection@cornwall.gov.uk or by calling 0300 1234 212.