A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed underneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. Microchip implantation takes only a few minutes and is very safe. The pet does not have to be sedated to have done. Each microchip is unique and carries vital information about your pet—including your name, address, and contact information. When a microchip is implanted, the pet owner is given a registration form to complete. Registering the number on the microchip includes your pet in a national pet recovery database. Veterinary hospitals/clinics, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If a lost pet is picked up by animal control or found by a good Samaritan and presented to a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost pet has been identified. The pet owner can then be contacted and reunited with his or her pet!
Young puppies and kittens can receive microchips, but even if your pet is already an adult, you should consider microchipping. Even indoor pets can get outside accidentally and get lost, so if you’re relying on other forms of identification, you could be placing your pet at risk. Microchipping is a safe, effective way to help ensure your pet’s return if the unthinkable happens. There are a lot of different microchip companies out there but the one we use is Home Again http://microchip.homeagain.com/ This company will allow you to register not only chips from their company but any of the other microchip can be registered here too. With your pet registered through Home Again, you get extra perks if you renew your chip number every year. Some of the many perks are, a pet ID card with the microchip info that you can keep in your wallet, lost pet posters that get faxed to veterinary hospitals/clinics, animal shelters, and animal control offices when your pet is lost. Do not worry if you do not register your pet yearly for whatever reason, the info will always remain in the database but you will not have access to the perks with out annual registration.
Ask us about microchipping your pet today!