A few times a year, we have stray
dogs or cats brought to us to scan for a microchip. More often than not, the pet hasn’t been
microchipped, or the microchip hasn’t been registered making it useless. However, twice in April we had some good
luck. Two lost dogs were brought to us and both dogs were
microchipped... and the registration information on both microchips was
up-to-date allowing us to find the owners and get the dogs back home.
Studies show that 1 in 3 pets will
get lost in their lifetime, and without ID, 90% of pets will never return
home. In fact, getting lost is the
number one cause of death in pets.
According to a study by the American Veterinary Medical Association,
dogs are over 52% more likely to be returned home if they are microchipped, and
cats are over 38% more likely to be returned home. These statistics illustrate the importance of
microchipping, and we find that many of the dogs and cats in our practice are
microchipped. This, however, is only the
first step in the process.
The second step to getting a
microchipped pet home is to make sure the registration information is
current. When we microchip a pet, we
register that number with the owner’s address and phone number. Oftentimes, information for one or more alternate
contacts will also be included, increasing the chances of getting the pet
home. In a study we did in hospital a
few years ago, we found that 40% of the microchips in our patients were not
registered, or registered with inaccurate information. In these cases, the microchip is useless
because there is no information for the owner attached to it.
What can you do to make sure your pet can get
home to you if he or she gets lost?
First, microchip your pet. Most
dogs and cats tolerate the process very well.
We can do it at any visit.
Second, make sure your information is registered to the microchip. If you move or change your phone number, make
sure you update your information. If we
can’t find you, we will have a very difficult time getting your dog or cat back
to you. If your pet is microchipped, and
you don’t know if it’s registered to you (or at all), we can help. We can scan your dog or cat and check on the
registration information. We can’t
change this for you, but we can give you the necessary phone numbers to take
care of it. Please talk to any
technician for more information on microchipping and registration.
