A striking cream lurcher found in Finchampstead on Boxing Day has now been reunited with her owner thanks to the detective work of the Public Protection Partnership’s (PPP) Animal Warden service. The PPP delivers Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing across Wokingham Borough, Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire Councils.
The person who found the stray dog in Finchampstead took her to their local vet who contacted the out-of-hours Dog Warden who collected the dog and took her to their holding kennels. Tinker was then scanned by a vet but they were unable to retrieve any owner details from her microchip.
As soon as Mandy Dorman, the PPP Animal Warden, received the microchip number she started the investigation on trying to track down the owner. Mandy contacted the microchip database for a ‘backtrack’ to when the chip was implanted three years ago and was given the contact details of the person who used to own Tinker. She spoke to this person but he did not have any new owner details so the dog was moved a rehoming centre.
Mandy said: “The following day I received a call from a lady called Laura who said that we might have her dog, a lurcher called Tinker. The previous owner had found her details and contacted her. Laura emailed me her proof of ownership and I established that Tinker, the striking cream lurcher, had been stolen from the family garden in Sandbach, Cheshire last October. Laura then drove down to all the way to Berkshire to collect Tinker who was so happy to see her and the family!”
Cllr Iain McCracken, Chairman of the Joint Public Protection Committee, said “We are delighted the Public Protection Partnership has managed to return another stolen dog back to its rightful owner. We would also like to remind everyone who has a dog how important it is to register your dog’s microchip. You can easily register the microchip with your vet or by contacting the relevant microchip database company online or by phone. Please telephone the Public Protection Partnership on 01635 519171 if you would like to find out more about microchipping your dog or if you would like to report a stray animal."
