A BANGOR man who reunited a dog with its owners after it had been missing for 15 months has spoken out about the importance of 'microchipping'.

10-year-old Pomeranian Kiara was believed to have been stolen from the house of Juan and Antoinette Mino in West London in August 2017.

Bangor resident Peter Whitby, 26, was on his way to work at Co-op on Monday morning when he spotted two dogs, one of which was Kiara, in his front garden.

"One was a Jack Russell/Chihuahua cross which had a tin on its face and the other was a Pomeranian which had just walked into my house," he said.

"At first, the pair of them were scared but after some time, me and my wife Robyn brought them in and took them upstairs to give them a good clean."

Peter says that after publishing a Facebook post, which attracted "thousands of shares", Tess Jones suggested that they should scan the dogs to see if they were microchipped.

"Fortunately, one of the dogs was microchipped and as a result, we were able to get a number for its owners," Peter said.

"We dialled the number and the person who answered started crying once we told them we'd found their dog. They were so happy, they took the six hour drive up to Wales immediately after that."

Peter has also managed to trace the owner of the Jack Russell despite it not having a microchip and has returned it to its "local owner".

"I think it just goes to show how important microchipping your pets can be." he said.

The microchipping of dogs became compulsory in Wales, Scotland and England on April 6 2016.

According to the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), failure to microchip and record relevant details with a database in relation to a dog before transferring to a new keeper could result in a fine of up to £500.