Jazz takes one for the team

Animal services officers Betty Hall and Peter Hrstich ensuring Fluke will always be identified.

She should be the poster girl for microchipping. That's Jazz, the pig dog, who was re-united with her rightful owner five years after going 'missing in action” simply because she was microchipped.

A tiny transponder, the size of grain of rice, carrying a crucial 15 digit ID inserted in the scruff of Jazz's neck, one telephone call – that's all it took and a long standing mystery was solved. Man, Michael Sykes and dog Jazz happily re-united.

On the strength of that story, Western Bay of Plenty District Council's animal services officer Melissa Murton has issued a wide open invitation to 2000 people in the Western BOP district. They're the owners of dogs which haven't been microchipped despite a 10-year-old amendment to the 1996 Dog Control Act which makes it a legal requirement.

'Microchipping is a plus-plus, a win-win for everyone involved,” says Melissa. 'It's by far the easiest and best way of ensuring your dog is always identifiable.”

And generally if a dog can be identified, it can be returned.

To make her point, Melissa says Jazz could have had a tragically different outcome had she not be microchipped. Jazz had been on the loose and bothering chooks. Her future was uncertain, until she was scanned.

Unfortunately, some dog owners have misconceptions about microchipping. For example, it's harmful to the dog, a foreign body is being put into the dog's body and it's Big Brother at play.

Animal Service also comes in for suspicion. 'Some dog owners fear us, they think they have done something bad and that their dog will be put down,” says Melissa. She wants to clear up those misconceptions right now.

First, inserting the microchip is non-invasive, relatively painless and cheap as chips, just $20. It's a small consideration for having your lost dog identified and safely returned home.

'If they don't have a collar, don't have a tag, no identification where do we start? If they are microchipped and it's linked to up to up-to-date data on the National Dog Database, there's every chance the dog will be returned.” The dog, for one, will be grateful.

There are other owners under the misapprehension the microchip means the dog can be tracked. 'Unfortunately, it's not a GPS,” says Melissa. Microchips tell us who are they, not where they are. And they have a wee laugh behinds the scenes.

A lot of owners don't read up on their legal responsibilities. 'They just think let's get a dog and register it…or not as the case maybe.” But it doesn't end there. 'Unless they have an interaction with us, they don't seem to know or understand these things.” But the animal services officers are happy to work through the issues for the benefit of everyone. And the dog, of course.

'We love dogs. That's why we work with them,” says Melissa. 'And we do our utmost to get dogs home to their owners.” She says they have the answers, the explanations and the will to help for owners if they want to get in touch.

There are 8300 dogs registered in the Western Bay of Plenty District. 'Our mission is to get them all microchipped. [That's] 2000 to go,” says Melissa. And you can help Animal Services to help you and your dog.

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