COCO the labrador is out of the doghouse and enjoying a happy homecoming!

She has now been reunited with her family after being stranded in France for a fortnight when her identification microchip failed to scan.

Anxious owners Jane and Richard Birtwistle, of Church Street, Walshaw, were finally able to bring their beloved pet home at the weekend after earlier facing the prospect of being separated from Coco for up to six months.

Now, the couple have enlisted the help of Bury North MP David Chaytor to ensure that other dog owners do not face a similar plight. Coco was able to come home when the Spanish manufacturers of the microchip verified the dog's details. Coco had to undergo surgery to have the damaged chip removed and a new one fitted.

The couple's troubles began last month when, accompanied by their nine-month-old son Joshua, they travelled to France to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

They regularly go across the Channel as they put the finishing touches to their new home in Le Touquet, near Calais.

Prior to travelling, Jane, a French teacher at St Monica's High School in Prestwich, took two-year-old Coco to their vet for a health check, making sure the microchip was working. Under the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Pet Travel Scheme, all animals must be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and blood tested before being issued with their own pet passport.

But as the couple were set to board Eurotunnel bound for home, Coco's microchip failed to scan and the animal was refused entry back to the UK.

Faced with the agonising choice of bringing Coco into the UK but keeping her in quarantine for up six months, the heartbroken owners decided to leave their pet in the care of French kennels while the microchip was sent to the Spanish makers for tests.

Last week, the good news came through that the chip had been successfully scanned and Coco's details verified.

And pending the proper paperwork being in place, Jane and Richard travelled out to France last Friday before taking Coco out of the kennels en route for home.

Jane said: "We travel to France a lot and our hearts are going to be in our mouths each time in case the same thing happens again.

"It's been such a traumatic experience being separated from Coco.

"As soon as she realised she was getting out and coming home, she went wild. She has become very clingy and is forever close by our sides now."

Despite the fact that the Coco has safely returned home, it isn't the end of the matter.

Jane concluded: "We want the law to be amended so that if a microchip fails, then DNA testing can take place.

"That would be a reliable way of proving a dog is yours. We've already got the support of David Chaytor."