Imagine the stress and worry when your beloved dog or cat runs away and gets lost. Naturally, you want to maximize their chances of safely returning home. This is where microchipping provides peace of mind.

Microchipping is a safe, long-lasting method of identifying your pet should they ever get lost. This is a very small device, more or less the size and shape of a grain of rice. It’s inserted under the skin at the back of the neck of your dog or cat. In cases where a lost dog or cat is found without an ID collar tag, a veterinarian or veterinary technician can easily id them.

They’ll use a handheld scanner to check the presence of a microchip. If it is found, the chip emits an ID number via a low-frequency radio wave that is captured by the scanner. The veterinary hospital or shelter then contacts the chip manufacturer, obtains the owner’s details, and reaches out to them. Yay!

Even the most careful pet owners face the risk of their four-legged pets getting lost. Things that are beyond our control, a broken leash, an open gate, a noise that panics your cat or dog, or a pet escaping through a gap, anything can happen.

We recommend both a collar and ID tag. We also are very much in favour of using microchips for pet identification. While ID tags are quite effective, they are not fail-safe. Pets with up-to-date tag information generally avoid long stays in shelters and are reunited with owners almost immediately.

However, as mentioned, collars and ID tags are not foolproof because they can be removed or fall off. A microchip increases substantially the likelihood of your pet being correctly identified and returned to you. Unfortunately, pets without microchips in shelters might be rehomed or face even more dire outcomes.

We recommend that you schedule a microchipping appointment for your pet. You will not only insure their safety but also your peace of mind. If the unfortunate day comes when your pet goes missing, if they are microchipped it’ll allow for a swift retrieval.

We are also here to provide advice and support for a comprehensive plan to quickly find and recover your pet. Please contact us for more information on microchipping and our other additional pet services.

Microchip identification significantly increases the likelihood of lost pets being reunited with their owners. Studies have shown varied results in terms of recovery rates for lost pets with microchips. One study found that 9 to 23% of lost dogs were found due to an ID tag or microchip. Another study showed that 73% of stray dogs and cats with microchips in shelters had their owners successfully located. In these shelters, the return-to-owner rates were much higher for microchipped dogs (52.2%) when compared to all stray dogs (21.9%).

Find out more here on Lost Pets Research https://lostpetresearch.com/ or on The Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative: https://indoorpet.osu.edu/

However, it’s important to note that microchips are not without their limitations. For instance, different microchip frequencies and scanner compatibilities can sometimes lead to challenges in detecting and reading the microchips. This is highlighted by a case where a shelter’s scanners failed to detect a microchipped pet, leading to tragic consequences. Despite these challenges, microchipping remains a highly effective tool for pet recovery when combined with other forms of identification like collars and tags.

Read more about microchips on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s website: https://www.avma.org