Mysuru: Some kennels in Mysuru are abetting illegal dog trade as breeding expensive varieties fetch them good returns, said Canine Club of Mysore President B.P. Manjunath. He revealed that the reluctance of many dog owners to install microchips is hampering the efforts to retrieve the pets. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Manjunath said that there are over 134 kennels in Mysuru that are affiliated to Canine Club of India (CCI). “I will write to the CCI to blacklist kennels that buy stolen dogs and cancel their licences. I will mention in detail about the dog theft cases in Mysuru and appeal to the CCI to take disciplinary action,” he said. 

Once the kennels are derecognised as they have Police cases against them, they cannot participate in any official dog shows. 

He said that as there was a spurt in dog theft cases, he recently conducted a meeting of kennels where owners and breeders were told not to accept or buy stolen dogs.  “The moment a seller approaches them with stolen dogs, they must go to the Police or contact Canine Club of Mysore for further action,” he said. 

What is a microchip? 

A microchip is a permanent method of electronic identification. The chip itself is very small, about the size of a grain of rice. The chip is inserted under a dog’s skin. 

Dogs can be checked for a microchip using a hand-held electronic device that will recognise the unique information held inside the chip.  If a pet is stolen or lost, vets and animal shelters can scan the pet for a microchip and contact owner via the database. But with microchip, one cannot track the lost dog. 

Track your dog with a smartphone

GPS trackers wound around a pet’s neck can help pinpoint the exact location of the pet if he runs away or stolen. The trackers sync up with Smartphones via Bluetooth. 

Many trackers are small, light and comfortable enough for the pet to wear all the time. They can be adjusted to fit any neck size. The trackers have removable batteries and generally the units are fully waterproof.