National “Check the Chip Day” is almost here! In an effort to remind pet owners to have their pets microchipped and to keep their microchip registration information up-to-date, the AVMA and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) joined together to create “Check the Chip Day” (August 15, 2015). As a pet owner, it is important to ensure that your pets are microchipped and that their microchips are working properly. According to HomeAgain, 1 out of every 3 pets goes missing once in its lifetime. And without identification, 90% will not return home.
How Does Microchipping Work?
Microchips are tiny! They are about the size of a grain of rice (12mm). When a pet is microchipped, a veterinarian or veterinary technician injects the microchip between a pet’s shoulder blades. This process only takes a few seconds and plants the microchip just below the surface of your pet’s skin. Microchips do not currently have GPS locating capabilities.
Microchips do not have or need a battery to function. Instead, special microchip scanners are used to emit low radio frequency waves to the microchip and provide the power necessary to read the unique ID code programmed into each microchip. Each owner/pet is registered to the unique code on every microchip provided. These records are kept in databases maintained by microchip manufacturers like HomeAgain.
Animal shelters and veterinarians carry these scanners to identify pets brought into their facilities. When a stray pet arrives at an animal shelter, it is checked for an ID tag and scanned for a microchip. When a microchip is found, animal shelter staff will obtain the owner information registered on the microchip and contact the owner.
Microchips are an effective way to help ensure that your pet is returned home should he ever be lost. Microchip registrations last a life-time and can be transferred from owner to owner and updated with ease.
If you find a stray dog or cat, be sure to visit your local veterinarian or animal shelter to have her scanned for a microchip. This may allow you to easily reunite a lost pet with its owner!
Should I Microchip?
Many pet owners believe that because their pet lives mostly indoors that he does not need to be microchipped. Even if a pet lives exclusively indoors or on your property, a guest or handyman could easily leave a door or gate open and allow your pet to escape. When it comes to your pet, identification is the first step to ensuring his safety, and TCAP makes it easy to do with low cost microchips during our walk-in vaccine hours. If your pet has not been microchipped already, it is important to consider.