MORE than 100 animals have been reclaimed from the Ballarat RSPCA shelter after an influx of runaways over the New Year period.
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130 animals were taken into the Ballarat RSPCA since Christmas Eve with only a hand full left awaiting to be reclaimed.
RSPCA Ballarat acting supervisor Rose Boulton said the New Year period was one of the busiest times of the year for the shelter with firework celebrations playing a major role in the number of stray animals bought into the shelter.
Only 25 animals remain at the shelter, with 49 dogs and six cats reclaimed in the first few days of the new year.
"It was a really busy couple of days after New Year's," she said.
"Most dogs were reclaimed by owners because they had microchips, so we were able to call those owners.
"It's really good to get the animals back to their owners and it's great to see the microchip has played a big role in that."
Ms Boulton said as long as microchip details were up to date, it was easy to locate an animal's owner and reunite them.
"It becomes difficult when details are not kept up to date," she said.
"By law we keep the strays for eight days for owners to come in and collect.
"We're trying to contact the remaining owners, but those that are left, if they are healthy and friendly they can be adopted."
Ms Boultan said with more fireworks expected for Australia Day it was important to prepare.
"Make sure you have identification on your dog, if they go missing they can easily be identified," she said.
She also suggested creating a secure indoor hideout in a garage or laundry for animals likely to get stressed by loud noises.