CELEBRITY COUPLE PUT VOICES BEHIND

NATIONAL MICROCHIPPING MONTH

Animal loving celebrity couple Joanna Page and James Thornton are helping to promote National Microchipping Month this June by lending their voices to a fun and informative video clip starring Paige the lamb and Jimmy the sheepdog.

National Microchipping Month takes place every year to highlight the benefits of microchipping animals, and the need to keep contact details associated with every animal’s chip up to date. Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page, along with husband, Emmerdale star James Thornton have put their voices to a video to support the campaign.

Joanna said: “It’s so exciting and a great campaign. It has made me think that I had better check that our dog Daisy’s contact details are up to date. James and I never normally work together so I was a little nervous but it was lots of fun.

Sadly, almost half of all stray dogs are not reunited with their owners, but when an animal is microchipped their chances of getting home are greatly improved. A recent survey by Dogs Trust found that of all stray dogs which had been reunited by local authorities in the previous twelve months, 35% of these were directly as a result of their microchip. It is hoped that with more microchipped dogs in the country with the correct contact information kept on their records, the fewer lost dogs there will be in need of re-homing.

As well as promoting the need to microchip, Petlog will also be asking owners of microchipped pets to make sure that their contact details are correct. Throughout the month of June only, Petlog will be allowing customers to check and amend theircontact details online completely for free.

There can be many reasons why a pet is not reunited with its owner and ends up in a rescue centre, but one of the most frustrating reasons is because the details linked to its microchip are out of date. Most people remember straight away to let their bank and other financial institutions know when they move home or change phone numbers, but making sure that they contact their pet’s microchip database should be just as high on the list.

Normally, every time a person changes their details on a microchip database they are faced with a charge for doing so, as this is the main method of funding all UK databases. Petlog hopes that by removing this charge for National Microchipping Month, pet owners will be encouraged to go online and check and amend their contact details, resulting in a comprehensive and accurate database which helps owners, vets and of course the pets themselves.

For more information, visit www.nationalmicrochippingmonth.org.uk.

© 2011 Jennifer Prowse Media Services Ltd - Web Design by WDL