VN’s plea following theft of family dog

An RVN is urging practice staff to ensure microchips are being checked when animals are presented, following the theft of her dog.

Annica Hurdman’s English bull terrier Peppa was stolen from her mum’s garden in Cardiff on 22 December 2019.

Missing

Mrs Hurdman, of Vets4Pets Somercotes in Derbyshire, said: “We were visiting family in Wales for Christmas. The children and seven dogs, including Peppa, were playing in the garden. We were checking on them every 10 minutes and soon discovered Peppa was missing.

“We initially thought she had escaped; however, when we checked CCTV, it picked people up, which is unusual as the garden is in a very secluded spot – you have to know it’s there, so it is possible she was stolen.”

DogLost

Mrs Hurdman has been working with DogLost – the UK’s largest lost and found dog service in the UK – and extensive searches have been carried out to find the dog, which is microchipped, to no avail.

Mrs Hurdman is now calling on colleagues to ensure they are checking microchips when animals are brought into practice. She said: “Please make sure you are scanning dogs when they are brought to practice – especially newly registered dogs – even if you know the owner well.”

DogLost area coordinator Jill Trick backed up Mrs Hurdman’s call. She said: “It’s vital vets are checking for microchips. Please check every new dog that comes through the practice. It goes such a long way to know we have the vet profession’s support and it can help us reunite lost dogs with their owners quicker.”