Responsible Pet Ownership in New South Wales 2016

The NSW Pet Registry has finally hit the 21st century! It is only 2016 after all!

 Update Note 10th August 2016 -  If you are local and need help, we are willing to help you - we will be available on Tuesday afternoons from 5 pm to 7 pm to individually help you as much as we can.  This will be available until November 2016.  By appointment only.


Since the Companion Animal Act came into being in 1998, with the compulsory microchipping of dogs and cats, it has been, in my opinion, poor implementation of a great idea.

Where did the faults lie?

Where do I begin...

• Litter microchipping in the breeders name  (if it was about reuniting with owners, then the microchipping should've been in the new owners name).
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• Many pets not "transferred" to new owners at point of sale or give away (triplicate paperwork, with breeders and new owners confused as to who was responsible for the transfer, with often weeks, even months before it is done).
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• Many pets not microchipped at all  (some pet owners claimed it was the cost or that their pet never escaped, therefore didn't need it.  For some pet owners, they didn't want the responsibility or cost of claiming their pet at the pound).
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• Many pets microchip details were not kept up to date when owners moved or changed address (many owners felt the address was automatically updated when they notify council of change of address at the time of the house purchase, or that when a vet scanned the chip, that our databases automatically updated the government one). 
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It's not all the owner's fault - the system made it difficult and painful to update. It required phone calls to Council, who often didn't update it, then requiring further phone calls, or at the last resort a visit.  Whilst I personally had no problems in updating my pet's details, I have had many clients claim that they did have major problems.

Sometimes the paperwork just went missing, and the pet never made it on at all.  Or the pet was bought from interstate, and thus, had a microchip, but not on a NSW database.

I have great hopes for the new NSW Pet Registry, as it puts the control in the pet owner's hand.

The Official Launch of the Pet Registry was on 7th of August 2016 at the Sydney Dog Lover's Show. 
 

So, what do you need to do? 

EVERY pet owner needs to now create a user profile, and then "Claim" their pet's microchip number.

To get started...
Make sure you have a copy of your pet's microchip paperwork, which includes the contact number and your pet's microchip number.

Create a user profile by visiting the pet registry website.  Click here.

Click on Register to create the profile.

Once you have your profile, you can then log in, to "Claim" your pet.

To do so, you will need your pet's microchip number and the phone number you had used as your best contact number (for most pets it will be the mobile phone number).

At the time of writing, make sure the mobile number is in the following format 0000 000 000, with spaces after the first four digits and the next three digits.  (It is a current quirk in the database matching, which they hope to rectify).

For a user guide, Click here.

I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Bellambi.  If there is anything we can help you with, please let us know.  You can make an appointment to see us online at animalclinic.com.au or you can call us during business hours on 42845988.

Don't forget that you can email us any questions too, with the email address on our website.

We are for Happy, Healthy Pets.... Always!