A DOG-OWNER was dumbstruck when he was told that his lost pet belonged to a family one mile down the road.

Mr Darcy, a one-year-old Lhasa Apsos, did a runner from Steve Grocott's home in Saltersgate Road, Darlington, during his “morning constitutional” on Tuesday and was soon picked up by the Darlington Council dog warden.

The warden checked its microchip only to find it was registered with the wrong family a mile away in Lyonette Road.

Mr Grocott said: “After an hour of searching we received a call from the dog warden saying from our description he may have found our dog.

“The warden scanned the chip and the number told him Mr Darcy was registered to another family.

“The warden asked them if they had lost their dog, and the man said 'no, he’s sat right next to me'.”

Mr Grocott said that Mr Darcy had been implanted with the microchip by Darlington Value Vets on Yarm Road.

“Once the chip was checked the warden found the numbers for the two dogs were the same," he said.

“It was the moment we realised the microchip we paid for would not have done what we expected and we could have lost Mr Darcy.”

Microchips carry information about the pet and its owners and new legislation coming into force on April 6 requires that all dogs to have one.

Mr Grocott said he trusted the information would be correct and the fiasco should be a warning to other pet owners having their animals chipped.

He said: “It is the responsibility of the owners to get their pets chipped and you have the expectation that it works.

“Pets are like family members. If they are lost or stolen this is the only chance of getting them back.”

Darlington Value Vets could not be reached for comment, but an employee apologised for the bungle in an email seen by The Northern Echo.

The email read: “I apologise for the stress on you and your wife today but can reassure you that Darcy’s chip is now allocated solely to him with your details.”