A VETERINARY nurse forced to put down a stray dog because she could not find her owner has urged everyone to get their pets microchipped.

Jo-Anne Parsons, 41, of Spring Lodge Vets, in Powers Hall End, Witham had to put the springer spaniel to sleep after she was picked up fromthe side of a road.

She Parsons said: “We get stray dogs brought in all the time but she was strange. No-one ever claimed her. She was quite well looked after.

“She had two prolapsed eyes so they would have needed to be removed and she had other issues as well.

“She had a bad head injury and no-one ever got to say goodbye to her. It was really very stressful. She could have been hit by a car or had a blow to the head, but we will never know.

“She was very very distressed with her injuries. We were going to put her to sleep on the Sunday, but we wanted someone to come for her.

“If she had a microchip, we could have found her owners. We will never know what happened to her. We will never know her story.”

Spring Lodge Vets get one or two stray cats and dogs brought in each week without microchips, making it almost impossible to find their owners.

As of April 1 next year, it will be a legal requirement that all dogs must be microchipped with their owners’ details.

Ms Parsons added: “It only costs between £20 and £25 to get animals microchipped. Some charities even do it for free, so there’s no excuse not to get it done.”