THERE is something most satisfying about a successful campaign coming to fruition within your pages to introduce compulsory micro chipping for dogs in my letters, plus some correspondence with influential MPs.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has at long last announced that every dog will be required to have a microchip the size of a grain of rice under their skin from which they can be identified on a central database. Owners will be given until 2016 to microchip their dog or face a fine of up to £500.

On animal welfare grounds, the Dogs’ Trust, Blue Cross and Battersea Dogs and Cats home are reported to be offering a micro chipping service free for the next three years. But some dog owners have already entered into a voluntary scheme with their vets and have been micro chipping their pets over the past 10 years. My vet charges £12 per dog and it’s a once in a lifetime procedure that gives important contact details that cannot be easily removed. But we must except that £12 is a considerable amount of money for some owners and I would not want to see people punished for being poor.

Under the proposals, dog attacks would be extended to cover private property. But householders will be protected from prosecution if their dog attacks a burglar or trespasser in their home. Government figures reveal that more than 100,000 dogs are dumped, lost or stolen each year at a cost of £57million to the taxpayer and animal welfare charities. I urge people to give generously to these three wonderful animal welfare charities, who may be the only friendly experience your pet has if the worse should happen.

It’s ludicrous that in a nation of dog-lovers, thousands of dogs are roaming the streets or stuck in kennels because the owner cannot be tracked down.

MIKE FRY, Moorland Crescent, Upton, Poole