This initiative by Wadars animal rescue charity aims to ensure that when pet owners move home, they remember to update the details on their pet’s microchip, so dramatically increasing the chances of being reunited if the pet then goes missing.

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people in the UK move home every month, with 51% of UK adults owning a pet. Statistics released by the Petlog microchipping database show that between January 2023 and June 2024, nearly 5,000 dogs and over 20,000 cats were reported missing in the UK. While 74% of those dogs were reunited with their owners thanks to being microchipped, owners of almost 40% of the cats could not be traced either because the animal was not chipped, or the owner’s details were out of date. 

It is a legal requirement for pet owners to microchip their dogs and cats and to keep those details up to date, sadly a high percentage of people forget to do that when details change for any reason, including when they move home.

Moving home can be a very stressful time for the people involved, and there are so many things that they need to remember to do, among other things, updating their details with various people such as utility companies. We provide everyone who is buying or renting a new home through us with a box of helpful goodies, and so when Wadars asked us to include the flyer reminding pet owners to update their pet’s chip details, we were very glad to be able to help.