CHIHUAHUAS, Labradors, westies and collies were among the dozens of dogs to be microchipped for free at Coate Water Park today.

The charity Blue Cross pitched up two tents and had ten volunteers on hand to make sure any pooch yet to be microchipped would now comply with the new law introduced in April.

The event was run under an amnesty, which meant no-one bringing a dog with outdated information, or unchipped, would be prosecuted and receive a £500 fine.

Among the canines to be chipped was 11-year-old rescue dog Mouse, a black collie cross patterdale, who was brought along by her owner Fiona Symes who lives in Wroughton.

“I have already got my dog Micky microchipped and read about the event in the Advertiser,” she said.

“We have just been too busy to get Mouse chipped, as we had lambing season, but she’s all done now and I’m ecstatic.”

The Blue Cross volunteers also had an influx of dogs soon after they had set up at 10am and gave treats to all the pooches they encountered, as well as goodie bags to the owners, some of whom also gave a donation.

Lucy Carter, rehoming and advice manager for the Swindon Blue Cross branch, told the Adver why they decided to hold the free event.

The 23-year-old said: “We want to do our bit to help the people of Swindon now the law has changed and microchipping is required.

“It can also be quite expensive but it takes two seconds and so many people are surprised that it is such a simple process. It’s just like a normal injection and like a scratch and the animals recover almost immediately.

“We had 30 dogs in the morning and we are expecting well over 50 over the course of the day. But it has been nice and steady.”

The charity also recently held a similar microchipping event with the council at Lydiard Park which saw 164 dogs get chipped. Their next event will be at Pinehurst Fun Day on July 9.

Lucy added: “Quite a few people are unaware the law had changed and how important it is. Some are already chipped but we have also been checking and making sure the details are correct. We are self-funding it and people are really positive and very grateful.

“It’s so important to have when dogs go missing. We have so many stray dogs come into our centre, some who have homes and all we want to do is reunite people with their dogs. If they are microchipped we can instantly find out who they belong to.

“It helps with thefts as well, which unfortunately is on the rise, and with microchipping we can prove who the owner is.

“We have also been promoting animal welfare, talking to people about neutering and people are asking about adopting cats so we have been directing them towards the website.”

For more information call the Blue Cross on 01993 825501 ext 4098 or visit them inside Pets at Home in St Margrets Retail Park, Stratton.