Dog found after 12 months, travels 150 kilometres
A border collie reported missing from Adelaide 12 months ago has been found in the Riverland and returned to a very happy owner.
Appy the dog was picked up roaming the streets of Morgan by a Mid-Murray Council officer who scanned him and fortunately for Appy and his owner, he had a microchip.
Mid-Murray Council Mayor, Dave Burgess said it was good news for Appy that his owner had registered and microchipped him - this is exactly why owners need to register and microchip their pets.
Dog and Cat Management Board Chairperson, David Parkin said microchipping (and desexing) is also mandatory for all dogs and cats before they reach 12 weeks of age and that’s been the law since July 2018.
Council located Appy’s owner through Dogs and Cats Online, the South Australian state-wide register for recording microchip, desexing and breeder information.
Dogs and Cats Online amalgamated South Australia’s 68 separate council dog and cat registers. It is accessible by councils and pet owners from a single website at www.dogsandcatsonline.com.au
“Dogs and Cats online has encouraged cross-council collaboration, and makes it easy to find owners because you only need to search the one register,” Mayor Burgess said.
“With the old system it would have been extremely difficult to find Appy’s owner, as he travelled 150 kilometres from his home council across several different council boundaries.
“Dogs and Cats Online has made registration, renewal and updating pet details easy for owners with 24 hour convenience.”
Mr Parkin said the Dog and Cat Management Board introduced the mandatory microchip and desexing as well as mandatory breeder registration laws in 2018 which are administered by local councils.
“These laws help more lost dogs and cats returned to their owners, promote responsible pet ownership and improve council services for dog and cat owners,” Mr Parkin said.
“It’s great to see the benefits of those laws like Appy being reunited, and the uptake of registrations in Dogs and Cats Online this year has been fantastic.
“In the first 24 hours of opening the register we’d received 26,000 dog and cat renewals, with 95 percent of the owners completing renewals online themselves.”
Dog and cat registrations must be paid by 31 August. If you’ve not yet renewed, you can do so now at www.dogsandcatsonline.com.au.
