Wigan dog owners urged to give their furry friends a free health check

Vet Nurse Louise Chapman checks a dogs microchip

The PDSA (Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals) is bringing its PetWise Tour to Wigan and Atherton later this month, offering free health “MOTs” for pet pooches.

The visit is part of the charity’s mission to help every pet live a happy, healthy life, and is supported by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery,

The tour will use two custom-designed PetWise vans, kindly donated to the charity by benefactors Julie and Robert Breckman.

The vehicles are named after Robert and his late wife Julie, whose love of animals and support of PDSA has helped the charity to continue its vital work, improving the lives of thousands of pets.

They will travel across the UK, providing free health checks and offering expert pet care advice.

PDSA vet nurse Kylie Jones said: “We know people love their pets and want the best for them, which is why PDSA is here to help.

“Thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery we can offer free, friendly advice and support, helping owners to make small changes that often make big differences to the wellbeing of pets in Atherton and Wigan.”

PDSA is on a mission to improve the life of all pets through preventive care, emergency treatment and education.

Last year over 5,000 PetWise MOTs were completed, resulting in improvements to local dogs’ health and welfare.

For example, a nine per cent increase in neutered dogs was seen following PDSA’s first visit, which has important health benefits as well as preventing unwanted litters.

However, there is still room for improvement, as nearly two in five dogs (37 per cent) who visited showed signs of behavioural problems.

Many owners are also unclear on their responsibilities as a pet owner, with two in five dogs seen during last year’s tour (41 per cent) were not wearing an identification tag, despite its being a legal requirement.

A PDSA vet nurse will be on board one of the charity’s PetWise vans at the following locations from 10am to 5pm:

Tuesday September 24 – Dorset Road Community Centre, Atherton. M46 9GJ;

Wednesday September 25 – Central Park, Wigan. WN5 9XL;

Thursday September 26 – Platt Bridge Community Zone, Wigan. WN2 5EG;

More information is available on PDSA’s website at www.pdsa.org.uk/petwise-on-tour