An animal shelter is urging dog owners to make sure their pets are microchipped in case they get lost.
It comes as research by the Dogs Trust showed 4,139 stray dogs were picked up by local authorities in the East of England last year.
That is down 5pc from the year before and while 2,385 strays were reunited with their owners, 130 dogs couldn't be because microchip details were out of date.
Many of these risked the threat of being put to sleep by local authorities.
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The charity suspects that these dogs may be much-loved family pets which have sadly ended up permanently separated from their families because their owners had moved house or changed their phone number, neglecting to contact the microchip database to update their contact details.
The research also found that 75pc of people nationally would not know to contact the local dog warden if they encounter a stray dog.
Dogs Trust Snetterton is urging dog owners to urgently update their pet's microchip details, as the charity's annual Stray Dog Survey has revealed that 181 dogs nationally go missing every day.
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Diane McLelland-Taylor, Dogs Trust Snetterton rehoming centre manager, said: 'This year's stray dog survey is a double-edged sword.
'Whilst showing that the number of strays has fallen and nationally there has been the greatest reduction in stray numbers since records began, the findings also demonstrate that owners are failing to follow the law when it comes to ensuring the details on the microchip are up-to-date and that they wear a collar and tag.
'If owners ensure their dogs have up-to-date microchip details, a collar and tag and can come back when called, they can avoid their beloved pet becoming another statistic.
'By encouraging people to share this video and check their own dog's microchip is up-to-date, we hope that we can increase people's awareness of the issue and continue to reduce the number of stray dogs across the country.
'We want to make sure that dogs and their owners can be reunited as quickly as possible – helping to make sure that a dog is for life.'
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