A pet owner is touting the benefits of microchip implants after his dog, which had been lost for more than 70 days, was found.
Microchip implanting is now required by law for every purchased or adopted dog. Owners who fail to have their pets microchipped face a fine of NT$3,000 to NT$15,000.
The owner, whose name was not revealed, said on Tuesday last week that he lost Gina, a shiba inu, in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) on Aug. 15.
Having been abused by her previous owner, Gina was a very shy and timid dog, the owner said.
He looked around and called animal shelters every day, the owner said, adding that he even consulted a pet psychic, visited temples famed for answering prayers and offered a large reward to find Gina.
None of those efforts paid off — but the microchip that was implanted when he adopted Gina did.
About one week ago before Gina was found, passersby on Taipei’s Huanghe S Road had spotted the dog and wanted to feed her, but she was too scared to approach people, the owner said.
Fortunately, a passerby notified the Animal Protection Office, which contacted him after scanning Gina’s microchip, he said.
The Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) requires owners to bring personal identification documents and their dogs to government-approved pet registration offices, such as veterinary clinics, for microchip implantation and information registration.
The information is uploaded to the Pet Registration Information System, where owners can look for lost pets by keying in the microchip number and the owner’s document number, as well as the physical characteristics of the dog, the time and location when it got lost, and update the current status to “lost.”
Pet owners should also update their information if they change address or telephone numbers to keep communication channels open.
Cat owners are encouraged, but not required to have their pets microchipped.
Gina, although not injured, lost weight, which dropped from 10.5kg to 5.6kg, as she had hardly eaten anything during the days she was lost, the owner said.
The owner urged all pet owners that “pets must be implanted with microchips, and relevant information must be updated all the time.”
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