If Your Pet Went Missing, Would They Have a Way of Getting Home?

Each year, thousands of lost animals are brought into shelters across Australia without identification, making it impossible for shelter staff to contact owners and difficult for owners to find their pets. Those that are microchipped don’t always have correct contact details registered on their chip, which means shelter andNational Pet Registerstaff are unable to let owners know of their pet’s whereabouts.

Both National Pet Register andThe Lost Dogs’ Homebelieve the key to reducing the number of lost pets in Australia is to educate owners on the importance of identification. To encourage pet owners to check their pets are identifiable and have up-to-date contact information on the relevant microchip register, National Pet Register is proud to launch a national day of awareness on December 12 – 12|12 Pet ID Day: Identify | Update | Reunite.

“A pet that is microchipped and wearing a collar ID tag that contains current contact information will nearly always be reunited with its owner,” National Pet Register Manager Kate Hoelter said.

“We selected December 12 as our national day of awareness to coincide with one of the busiest times of the year – the Christmas and summer holidays. People often travel with their pets to unfamiliar locations during this time, or leave them behind. Both instances can be stressful for pets and they may attempt to escape.”

“Summer also brings more thunderstorms and New Year’s Eve fireworks and celebrations cause many animals great distress.”

To help promote 12|12 Pet ID Day, National Pet Register will be holding a Microchipping Event on December 10 at The Lost Dogs’ Home giving pet owners the opportunity to have their pet microchipped for only $25. Bookings are essential and can be made by visitinghttp://www.petregister.com.au/eventsor by contacting 1300 734 738.

All pet owners are welcome to attend the December 10 event for more information about pet identification, help with updating their pets contact details and to get a National Pet Register free ID tag. There will also be sausage sizzles, refreshments and some great merchandise available for purchase.

Then on the actual day, December 12, National Pet Register’s branded Winnebago ‘Reggie’ will be set up by the banks of the Yarra at Queensbridge Square in Melbourne, between 8am – 3pm. Staff and volunteers will be giving out free pet collar ID tags and demonstrating with our canine models how microchips work. We will also be set up with several laptops on the day, allowing pet owners to update their details on National Pet Register. The National Pet Register team will be promoting the importance of pet identification and answering all questions!

We hope all pet owners will give their pets the best Christmas gift possible this Christmas, the gift of identification!