Jose Sanchez
7-1-18
Larchmont Animal Clinic
Check your Chip Day
Microchips, definitely not the first time this subject has been discussed on this blog. So why are we going to talk about microchips again? Am I intentionally trying to annoy you? (maybe) Of course not. The reason we are speaking about microchips today is because, August 15th is known as check your chip day. Not only is this day used to remind pet owners of the importance of microchipping Fido, but this is also a day that highlights keeping your chip updated. We here at the Larchmont Animal Clinic want to bring awareness to check your chip day because it can literally make the difference in returning your lovely pets’ home safely.
For those that have not microchipped their pets and are still on the fence about it, check out our previous blog Chip of the old Block: Microchipping in Hollywood. There we go into detail on how the chipping process is virtually painless, how the chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice, and how a chip is better than any collar (you should still use one) because it will be with them for the rest of their life (just think about how many collars or toys your dog goes through or get lost). If you’re still feeling unsure about microchips let me drop some statistics on you. One in three family pets will get lost but only six out of ten microchips are registered. That’s ridiculous, especially when you consider that microchipped dogs are more than twice as likely to be returned to their owners and microchipped cats are twenty times as likely to be returned. The numbers don’t lie folks, as you can see microchipping your pet greatly increases your pet’s odds of returning home safely. However here is something to consider, if a pet that’s microchipped is not returned home it is usually because the microchip was not kept up to date. This is why there is a literal day dedicated to checking that chip because more often than not your life changes. You may move somewhere else one day or you may want to change your name, whatever the case not updating the chip will prove to be disastrous. The chip itself becomes futile because obviously none of your new information will coincide with it. That is why registration and updating is crucial to your pet’s microchip.
Although we’ve talked extensively about updating the chip, one last thing you should check for with the great detail is that you got everything right the first time on your registration. Unfortunately, human error is a factor and were not all spelling bee champions. Double check, in fact triple check you got everything right the first time because one misplaced letter in your name or address can mean all the difference. Essentially (as if I haven’t told you enough yet), you want to make a habit of checking on your pet’s microchip since life is always moving fast and you may never know what can happen tomorrow. There is always the argument of, “Oh, I don’t need a chip my pet is always home” or “My dog wouldn’t run away”. However, nothing is guaranteed in life so why wouldn’t you want to be prepared? As the old saying goes (and one of my favorite quotes to end a blog) “Knowing is half the battle”.