Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Microchipping plea made by vets to help reunite missing pets
An adorable puppy which suffered two broken legs is back on its feet after being treated at the Barton Veterinary Surgery.
The plight of little Rosie, believed to be a Yorkie cross, is an example of the dozens of waifs and strays brought into and receiving care at the surgery in New Dover Road.
Rosie’s ordeal was highlighted by staff following criticism of the out-of-hours Vets Now service - which runs from the surgery at evenings and weekends - after a missing cat was put down without its owners’ knowledge.
Beloved pet Tom disappeared from his home for several days before being found by students and brought into the surgery, where on-call vets decided he was too poorly to save.
But his owners, Ema Rush and daughter Isabelle, thought he was still alive and were horrified to be told his body was already in the freezer when they arrived to collect him.
Barton Veterinary Surgery works closely with Vets Now and says it is confident the decision to put Tom down would have not been taken lightly and was based on his very poor health.
Surgery clinical director Vanessa Nicola says the practice gives care to all kinds of strays brought into the centre on an almost daily basis and goes to great lengths to try and find owners.
She said: “The decision to put down an animal is never taken lightly. When Rosie was brought in, her owners could not afford surgery, but Vets Now refused to put her down because she was just a puppy.
“Instead, we funded the operations together and now Rosie has been found a new home.
“We also have an elderly stray cat in our care who is in poor health.
“But we are giving him support and trying to find his owner, which is very difficult when an animal is not microchipped.
“Often cats come in which have been hit by cars and need care with treatment like pain relief, which we give while trying to trace owners at our own time and expense.
“Some owners are even unhappy that we have treated the animal, even though it may have needed it.
“We are often put in very difficult situations and have to make tough decisions.
“But we will keep a stray animal at our own cost while we try to find owners using things like our Facebook page, or rehome it.
“We also work closely with the Canterbury Cats Society and the Lord Whisky Animal Sanctuary.
“The biggest issue is the lack of microchipping. It makes it so much easier to trace owners if an animal is chipped. It only costs £10.”
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