Howdy neighbors! I’ve been noticing a recent uptick in families becoming separated from their loved furry companions in our community. Especially now that it’s getting cold out, it’s important to make sure your pets are microchipped!
Here’s an easy read from the Richmond SPCA that goes more in-depth about microchipping.
A common misconception about microchips is that they serve as a “GPS tracker.” Microchips are actually just a permanent method of identification for your pet; it’s about the size of a grain of rice, and is inserted into your pet’s shoulder-blades, usually by your veterinarian. While the truth might sound a bit disheartening, that doesn’t mean microchips should be ignored! They still play an important role in the safety of our animal friends! Make sure your veterinarian explains how the microchip works if in case it ever has to be put to use!
Shouldn’t a collar with an ID tag be enough? Unfortunately, sometimes when animals decide to explore the neighborhood without their owner’s permission, they might accidentally slip out of their collars, losing their only method of identification. With a microchip, if somebody finds the animal and takes them to a veterinarian, the vet can scan the microchip and find out who the owners are.
If your pet already has a microchip, please be sure to also confirm that the company who created the microchip also has your current address and phone number. Many times, people will change numbers and addresses but forget to notify the microchip company!
In other news…I stepped in some lovely person’s dog droppings this morning. Please be sure to pick up after your furry family members!
Thanks for reading!
5 comments
We’re glad you found the Richmond SPCA’s blog to be a good resource. Microchips help reunite many lost pets, but the chip is only as useful as the contact information stored in the database. Thanks for reminding people to make those updates!
Can you scan the chip and tell us which company to contact?
Brian Lovely Hi, yes I believe so. If your pet gets lost and is taken to an animal shelter or veterinarian, they’ll see if the pet has a microchip, then use a scanner to read its unique ID code on the chip. The chip will have the company’s info on it, so whoever scans it will know who to contact!
Thank you for reading and commenting! Happy to answer any questions
Several resources for chips. Home Again is one of them. Nominal yearly fee. Tagged, but if collar is lost the scan will have the info to take the scanner to their site with your info. Good return rate on lost pets.