DOG owners in Helensburgh are being urged to get their dog to wear identification when out in a public place.

It comes after more than half of the dogs attending a recent event in the Duchess Wood were found not to be sporting any identification.

As well as being microchipped, dogs in a public place are required to wear identification giving details of their owner and their address.

This was found not to be the case on 17 out of 31 dogs in attendance at the Dogs Trust’s ‘Top Dogs Day Out’, held in the Duchess Wood.

Jennifer Terris, Dogs Trust’s campaign manager for Scotland, said: “The legislation pre-dates microchipping, but because microchipping is now the law, people are unaware of the need for ID to be worn.

“Every dog out in a public place must wear a tag with their owner’s name and address on it.

“We have found it to be the case at a lot of our events that dogs have not been wearing ID. We actually give ID tags away, and did so at the event in Helensburgh in March.

“People will get in contact with our team if they feel there are specific issues they want addressed, but the Duchess Wood event was staged as it is a popular walking area.”