Help the SPCA – have your pet microchipped or use an ID tag

According to Maggie Mudd, manager at Boksburg SPCA, there is nothing more frustrating for the SPCA staff than to receive a stray cat or dog that is wearing a collar without identification, reports the Boksburg Advertiser.

“We simply cannot understand the logic behind ensuring that a pet is wearing a collar but with no ID disc attached – what purpose does it serve?” said Mudd

“If every stray animal that entered into the SPCA wore some form of identification, we would have no stray animals in our care, as we could immediately contact the owner and advise them that their pet had been brought in to us. What a super thing that would be!”

She said the SPCA sells identification discs for R25 each.

“Another form of identification is microchipping, and the SPCA will carry this out for a fee of R250.”

She said it can be done quickly (as quick as giving an injection or vaccination) and can help to prove ownership should an animal be stolen.

“All animals entering into the SPCA are scanned for a microchip, and if one is found, it is a simple matter of phoning the manufacturing company and giving them the chip number that will result in them giving the contact details of the person registered with the animal.

“This is an important aspect of microchips – breeders, for example, may register a pup in their own name and it is then the responsibility of the new owner to make sure that those details are transferred into their own contact details.

“This is also the case when an animal is perhaps passed from one ownership to another – it is vital that the contact details are changed. The manufacturing company can only be as good as the details that they have on record.

“So please, be part of making this December an easier time for the incredibly busy staff of the SPCA and put some form of identification on all pets so that if they come into our custody, we can make the animals and the owners festive time a happy one.”