Microchipping FAQs
Millions of pets are lost or stolen every year, and most of them are never returned to their home. If your furry family member goes missing, there's only one proven way to increase the odds that you'll get your pet back: microchipping. At Forsyth Veterinary Hospital in Winston-Salem, we recommend that all of our pet patients be microchipped. Many pet parents are unfamiliar with the procedure and have a lot of questions. Here are some of the ones we commonly hear:
What Is Microchipping?
The microchipping procedure implants a tiny device under your pet's skin. If he or she is ever lost and then found, shelter workers can read the information on the microchip, find your contact information, and reunite you with your beloved pet.
What Do Microchips Look Like?
Imagine a tiny grain of rice made of glass. That's it, in a nutshell. Inside this grain, there's a computer chip that holds an identification number.
How Does the Veterinarian Implant a Microchip?
During your pet's regular wellness visit, our veterinarian will implant the microchip. It's done using a syringe that's slightly larger than the ones we use to vaccinate your dog or cat. Your pet may have some slight soreness directly after the implantation, but within a couple of hours, the microchip will go completely unnoticed.
How Do Microchips Work?
Each microchip has a unique serial number connected to it. Once your pet has been implanted with one, you'll go on the website affiliated with that brand of microchip and fill out your contact information, connecting it to the correct serial number. If your pet is ever found by police or shelter workers, they can use a chip reader to find the serial number on the microchip. Once they have that, your contact information will be found and you can be notified.
Do Microchips Really Work?
Absolutely! One study showed that, out of almost 8,000 shelter animals, dogs without microchips returned to their owners about 22 percent of the time, while well over half of all microchipped dogs were returned home. The numbers for cats are even more convincing. Without a microchip, it's virtually impossible to retrieve your pet; only 1.8 percent of the cats without microchips were returned home. Those with microchips were reunited with their owners almost 40 percent of the time. Most of the microchipped animals that weren't returned were because their owners forgot to update the information on the website database, which is why it's crucial for you to keep your information up to date.
Contact Our Winston-Salem Veterinary Office
Microchips increase the chances of getting your lost or stolen pet back again. Give us a call to make an appointment and we'll make a microchipping appointment. Contact Forsyth Veterinary Hospital at 336-765-1225 today.