ON the first anniversary of the new microchipping law, a charity estimates that as many as 30,000 dog owners could be breaking the law.
A study by the Dogs Trust found that 96 per cent of dogs in the region are legally fitted with a microchip registering the owners' details, but several thousand are not.
The charity is urging owners to chip their dog and keep the details up to date to ensure they can be reunited should they become lost.
In 2015-16, 6,400 stray and abandoned dogs found in local authority kennels in the North-East could not be reunited with their owners because they didn’t have up-to-date microchip details.
The law states that all dogs over the age of eight weeks must be microchipped and must wear a collar and tag with the owners' name and address.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here