Furrever Friends Rescue and Volunteers, Inc.

No matter how careful you are with your pets, there is always the possibility that your dog or cat may get lost… through a door or gate left open, because of confusion brought on by visitors, or due to an emergency or natural disaster beyond your control.  Sadly, fewer than 2 percent of lost cats and only 15 to 20 percent of lost dogs are returned to their owners; most of those returned had some kind of identification.*

Many pet owners place collars and tags on their pets, but these can get lost, especially with cats.  Also, if the information on the tag is not current, it is no help in reuniting the pet with his or her home.

A better way to identify your dog or cat is to give them a microchip implant.  A microchip is a tiny, physically inert radio frequency identification (RFID) device that gives the pet a unique identification.  Most veterinarians and shelters (as well as some police departments) have universal reader devices that can read the microchip, allowing them to contact the owner via a microchip registry service.  In some municipalities, pet microchips are required by law.

The following video explains the basics of pet microchipping:

Microchips are inserted between the pet’s shoulder blades, and are completely safe and painless.  Most vets and many shelters offer microchipping services, and charge between $40-50 for the insertion procedure.  Microchips do not require batteries, and will last for the life of the pet.

Once your pet has a microchip, you will be given a unique identification number that you will register with a registry service (your vet will provide instructions for doing this).  Most services charge a modest annual fee, and allow you to register your home address, phone numbers and email address so that you can be contacted if a vet or shelter finds your lost pet.  Most services also have 24/7/365 customer support, so a vet or shelter can contact them anytime, day or night.  Additionally, the AAHA Pet Microchip Lookup database provides a universal lookup tool for any pet microchip ID, regardless of service.

Some services allow you to add details about your pet to the registry that will aid further in identification, including photos, and provide an online portal for easy updating of your contact information.  Always make sure that your information in the registry is up-to-date, especially if you move, or change phone numbers or email addresses.

Unlike collars and tags, microchips cannot be lost or casually removed, and unlike tattoos, microchips cannot be obscured over time.  The effectiveness of microchips in helping to return lost pets to their owners, moreover, is supported by research.  There are health concerns about microchipping as well, but out of thousands of pets that have been microchipped, there is only one documented case of an animal dying from cancer as a result of a microchip.  Additionally, much misinformation exists about microchipping, largely based on rumor and conspiracy theories.

Even though microchipping is the preferable way to identify your pet, always be sure that your pet has some form of identification, whether it be a microchip, collar or tattoo.

Finally, it’s important to understand what microchips are not.  They are not GPS devices or radio beacons that will allow you pet to be located remotely.  In order for a tag to be read, someone needs to find your pet and take it to a facility with a tag reader.  Fortunately, most veterinarians, animal hospitals and animal shelters now routinely scan for microchips when a lost animal is brought to them.

More information about pet microchipping is available at Petfinder, Wikipedia, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.  Also, read this remarkable story about a dog whose microchip led him back to his family a year after he was lost in the midst of a fatal car crash.

 

*Source:  National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP)