ELLESMERE PORT dog owners can receive free health MOTS for their pets this month, thanks to a vet charity's tour of the town.

PDSA is bringing its PetWise Tour as part of its mission to help every pet live a happy, healthy life.

The PetWise Tour is supported by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, and will travel across the UK providing free health checks and offering expert pet care advice.

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

  • Tuesday, March 19 – Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port, CH65 9FA
  • Wednesday, March 20 – Riveracre Valley Country Park, Ellesmere Port, CH 66 1SS
  • Thursday, March 21 – Little Sutton Community Centre, Chester Road, Ellesmere Port, CH66 1QQ

PDSA Vet Nurse Becca Schofield will deliver PDSA’s specially developed ‘PetWise’ MOT for dogs, which assesses the five elements pets need to be healthy and happy, known as the welfare needs.

These are diet, environment, companionship, behaviour and health. A simple traffic light system gives each pet a score, and owners receive a personalised action plan on how to improve their pet’s wellbeing.

Additional services including nail clipping and ear cleaning are available free of charge and microchipping (which is now a legal requirement for all dogs) is available for a small fee.

Cats Protection neutering vouchers are also available.

Becca 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 well-being of pets in Ellesmere Port.”

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

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 ID tag, despite it being a legal requirement.