A new pet policy by a Salford social housing provider will make it compulsory for residents to microchip their pooches, after a grandmother was viciously attacked by two dogs in Ordsall on Sunday.
Salix homes, which manage more than 10,000 homes across Salford, has united with the Manchester Dogs Home to offer a free micro-chipping service, after a serious dog attack saw Elva Thornton, 71, attacked by two strays which also mauled her Yorkshire Terrier to death.
The scheme will also crackdown on abandoned, lost and stray dogs but will also be key to identifying owners of dogs which have caused attacks or nuisances such as the use of dogs for fighting or causing intimidation.
Fitzwarren Court in Pendleton is the first housing block to see the scheme launched with residents given the opportunity to register their animals for the procedure by Manchester Dogs Home car which sees a chip inserted under the skin at the back of the neck.
Joe Willis, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “We are proud to be leading the way with our new pet policy and micro-chipping initiative and hope that other housing providers will follow our lead and join us in promoting animal welfare and clamping down on animal-related anti-social behaviour.
“Under new government legislation every dog will have to be micro-chipped by 2016 anyway, but we wanted to get the ball rolling early in Salford where stray dogs are becoming an increasing problem.
“We hope that our scheme will help reduce incidents by encouraging people to become more responsible dog owners and it will also ensure that the authorities will be able to trace the dog owners and deal with them accordingly.”
Each year Manchester Dogs Home takes in a staggering 5,000 stray dogs, with only a third being reunited with their owners. The rest are left in the care of the animal charity until they can be rehomed.
Lisa Graham, from the home, said: “Micro-chipping helps us to reunite more than 35% of the lost dogs that arrive in our care with their owners quickly and often on the same day the dog arrives.
“We are hoping that this scheme will help to encourage dog owners to be more responsible not only with their dogs but also towards the people around them.”
Tenants who do not have their dogs registered or micro-chipped will be considered to be in breach of their tenancy agreement and action will be taken. The policy applies to all tenants with existing pets however new pets are prohibited in all high rise and low rise blocks.
If you are a Salix Homes tenant and want to find out further information, click here.
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