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Fireworks and thunder upset pets, but most are now home

Fireworks on New Year’s Eve and thunderstorms led to a number of dogs straying from their homes

By Latrobe City Council - 7th January 2002 - Back to News

Fireworks on New Year’s Eve and thunderstorms led to a number of dogs straying from their homes, but Latrobe City Local Laws Officers reported there had not been any upsurge in abandoned animals over the Christmas New Year break.

Latrobe Senior Local Laws Officer, Ken Bartling, said the figures over the Christmas and New Year break had been encouraging. "Perhaps people are really getting the message that a pet is for life and being more responsible when considering pets as Christmas gifts; and are also making adequate arrangements for their pets when going away," Mr Bartling said.

"Many animals were disturbed by noise and fireworks this New Year’s Eve, and a couple of thunderstorms experienced over the holiday, obviously disturbed and confused some animals. Fortunately most of the pets that went missing were registered, and were reunited with their owners fairly quickly," Mr Bartling added.

Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Brendan Jenkins, said that compliance with pet registration in the municipality was now very high. "There are a number of initiatives we have taken in the last year or so that have significantly increased the level of compliance, and we are now bearing the fruits of those initiatives," Cr Jenkins said.

"The pet registration amnesty together with a crackdown on unregistered cats and dogs following the amnesty, with fines faced by those people with unregistered animals, led to a great deal of additional compliance. A $200 fine can be imposed on cat and dog owners who don’t register their animals," Cr Jenkins said.

"In another initiative, kittens and puppies under six months of age can be registered at no charge to their owners, and there is no registration fee payable until the next annual reregistration. This means that should a pet be found and reported to Council, owners can be contacted quickly and reunited with their pets.

"The best form of protection is to have your pet ‘microchipped’. All impounded animals are scanned for microchips, which have their own unique identification number. When this number is cross referenced with registration records, the owner’s contact details can be quickly accessed, which makes reunification of the pet with its owner a much simpler process," Cr Jenkins said.

"Each year the City facilitates a microchipping day, where pets can receive an implanted microchip at very reasonable cost. Perhaps every pet owner’s New Year resolution should be to ensure their pet is microchipped in 2002," Cr Jenkins suggested.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: latrobecity@gippslander.com

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