Many pet owners still ask the question: Why is microchipping so vital for pets? Not only is losing a pet heartbreaking for the whole family, it can lead to real tragedy for the lost pet. We start with the statistics: at least 8 million pet cats and dogs get lost each year and that statistic only covers the animals that end up in shelters. Worse still, only about 20 percent of lost dogs and 2 percent of lost cats ever find it back home to their families. And about half of the animals in shelters are euthanized each year because of limited resources and a shortage of families who can either find or adopt these pets. Microchipping and keeping your pet’s tags updated can significantly increase your pet’s chances of getting home again if he or she ever gets lost!

We offer microchipping services to add this extra layer of identification security to help lost cats and dogs. If you adopt a new pet, call for a wellness appointment as soon as possible and we can discuss microchipping with you. During the procedure, we inject a small transponder (about the shape and size of a rice grain) under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades. It is made of hypoallergenic inert materials, so irritation is very rare. Since the needle is on the large side, we do recommend doing the microchip injection while the pet is under sedation or anesthesia to minimize discomfort. After a couple of days, the microchip bonds with your pet’s tissues so it stays in about the same location where it was injected. The microchip cannot be removed like tags on a collar, so it provides an extra level of protection for your pet.

If your pet ever gets lost, the information that is embedded inside the microchip can help your pet make it home provided that the information on the chip is current. When a lost pet comes into a shelter or a veterinary clinic like ours, the staff will wave a microchip scanner wand across the pet’s back. The scanner reads the code on the microchip and it will bring your pet’s registry information up on the computer. Someone will call the registry to obtain your contact information so that your pet can be returned. Again, this only helps if the registry information is current, so if you ever move or go away for an extended period of time, be sure to update your contact information with the registry that made the microchip.

Microchipping is perfect in the event that your pet’s tags become illegible from wear or go missing. Nevertheless, we recommend keeping your pet’s tags updated with your current phone number. Giving your pet these two modes of identification can bring a happy ending to a potentially tragic lost pet situation.

For more information, please call us at 304-885-0888.