TO mark National Microchipping Week, a veterinary surgery in Whittlesford is offering a discount on all microchips over the next month. Davey Associates Vets usually charge about £20 – but from today (Thursday) to July 7 it will be offering a £5 discoun

TO mark National Microchipping Week, a veterinary surgery in Whittlesford is offering a discount on all microchips over the next month.

Davey Associates Vets usually charge about £20 - but from today (Thursday) to July 7 it will be offering a £5 discount.

Vet Tina Davey, who has worked at the surgery since 1983, said: "There are so many benefits to having your pets chipped. We always discuss these benefits with people buying puppies and kittens.

"Animals go missing so easily, but having your pet chipped means that you can be reunited as soon as possible."

Every day hundreds of pets go missing from their homes, leaving owners worried.

Animal homes up and down the country are inundated with stray pets that have no identification or trace of a home.

Tina said: "Animals disappear for a number of reasons and are sometimes unable to find their way home. But chipped animals that are found, if all the information is correct, will be located back to their owners.

"If your pet is fitted with a microchip and gets lost, escapes, or is stolen, you will be contacted as soon as it is found."

The microchip is an electronic tag the size of a grain of rice, which is inserted into an animal's neck by an injection. The chip will remain in the animal throughout its life, and its identity number is kept on file.

The chip is detected by passing a scanner over the animal's body. If a chip is identified, the number will show on the scanner.

Tina said: "The actual chipping process doesn't hurt the animals, and they seem to tolerate the injection without too much trouble.

"I have had my pony, cats, and dog chipped, and I would recommend it to any pet owner.