Get Your Dog Chipped - 187 Cases Already This Year

---

as Council reveals Dog chipping figures

Dog control officers have chipped or registered a total of 187 dogs since January, new figures reveal.  This includes 69 Staffordshire bull terriers – often used as ‘status’ dogs or in cases of anti social behaviour for fighting or intimidating.

‘Staffies’ dumped on the street because they are falling out of fashion were a real problem in the borough last year. Ensuring they are chipped will help deter owners from abandoning them.

The council launched its compulsory microchipping scheme in January. It is now a condition of all council tenancy and leasehold agreements that dog owners chip their dogs and have their details held on a borough-wide database. This will mean that stray dogs can be easily traced. The scheme is the first of its kind and has the backing of the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs Home.

The dog control unit is holding “chipping sessions” on the council’s estates to make the service easily accessible to all dog owners. The procedure will be free of charge to all council tenants and leaseholders during 2009. Non-tenants and leaseholders can get their dog chipped for £10. You can find the nearest to you below:

 

The latest figures include dogs chipped at the sessions, and dogs that were already chipped becoming registered. It is important that residents bring pets that have already been chipped along to chipping sessions so they can be entered into the database.

The majority of the animals chipped were staffies, but other popular breeds include labradors, jack russells and American bulldogs. There were also nine rottweillers.

The council has been in the forefront of dealing with stray and dangerous dogs - increasingly being recognised as a widespread problem. Recently the government announced gang members will be banned from owning dogs if they are used for violence and intimidation.

Mark Callis, head of the award-winning dog control unit, said:

“These figures show that we are getting to grips with this problem. Most dog owners are responsible, but those that are not will find it much more difficult to use a dog to intimidate, or to dump it on the street, if the animal is microchipped and its owner’s details held on our database.

“We will continue our microchipping sessions until June, and would urge people to come along and make use of this free service.”

Find out more about micro-chipping, the dates and locations of chipping sessions and the work of the dog control unit at www.wandsworth.gov.uk/dogs, or call (020) 8871 7606.