Having been the victim of dog theft, not once but twice, I can speak from personal experience when I say this is one of the worst crimes imaginable for any devoted dog lover.

The first dog we had stolen was my son’s cherished cross breed rescue dog which we got from Wood Green. I won’t explain the finer details as I couldn’t do so honestly without breaching the many ridiculous politically correct unspoken laws we are expected to live by, even when such comments are pure statements of fact and not of any undue bias or prejudice. Sometimes facts should be permitted regardless of who it offends to mention them. Perhaps if that was the case, issues like this would not be so prevalent, and on such a huge rise in the UK currently.

Suffice to say, seeing my 7 year old son distraught and crying himself to sleep night after night made me feel compelled to do anything in my power to help encourage pet owners, especially dog owners, to get their pets chipped and identifiable in any way they can. In our case, the dog was actually found, but couldn’t be identified properly in time, so the dog wasn’t removed from the ‘site’ immediately when found and thus disappeared never to be seen again.

The photo above is my son quite a few years ago now. The photo was taken the day before the lowlifes visited their misery upon us all by simply reaching over the garden wall and ripping out a piece of all our hearts. In the background you can see another dog, our rescue Springer Spaniel. She was also stolen. The irony is that we rescued her by buying her from similar lowlifes to free her from a life of severe trauma. She had cigarette burns on her from 2 weeks of age, her ears remained crinkled her entire life from the tissue damage. She was so traumatised that she would lay down and wee when any man spoke to her, presumably making her easier to steal.

Thankfully the second dog was recovered and is living out her days, now aged 14, on a peaceful farm where she chases rabbits all day and has a spot by the heater in the evening. I shudder to think what fate was waiting for Max, the one being held by my son in the picture.

Many people still have not chipped their dogs, even now that it has become law to do so lots of people haven’t “got round to it” or “don’t believe in it”. I have to say I wasn’t that keen myself either, until I experienced the pain of seeing my dog in a cage and not being able to produce any proof sufficient to force the dog’s immediate removal. Never again will I own an unchipped dog. No matter what the downsides, it is nothing like as bad as the situation I have personally experienced which I would not wish on my worst enemy.

I am the first to admit that chipping is not entirely free of negatives. There is some pain involved, sometimes at least and of course you don’t know until it’s already happened so it’s best to assume your dog will wince a bit when it is injected as mine did. They also talk about possible (as yet unproven) cancer risks, and other infection risks from the insertion of the device. These risks are extremely low, but they are worth mentioning purely for honesty’s sake.

If and when a better solution comes along, I will be the first to use it. But for now at least the microchip seems the best (and only) way to make sure your dog has your stamp on it at all times, with or without a collar, even if it is completely shaved of its fur to try and disguise the dog from previous photos etc.

One day you might need that chip to save your dog’s life. Aside from that obvious awful scenario, dogs do run off from time to time, dog leads do break, cars do get broken into, windows do get left open….. if at any time your dog goes missing, it needs a quick scan by the dog warden or any vet and you will be reunited in no time at all. It’s worth its weight in gold, so don’t wait until it’s too late.

Please, PLEASE, get your dog chipped if you haven’t already.