It’s every pet owner’s worst nightmare. You return home, expecting to be welcomed by the usual jingling collar and doggy kisses, or by the familiar purring as your cat winds around your ankles. You turn the knob and open the door, but you are only greeted by silence.
Even the most responsible pet owners can’t guarantee that their pets won’t escape or get lost. Leashes break, screens rip, guests or repair workers leave doors or gates open…It only takes a moment for a pet to get loose and not be able to find his or her way back home.
Pet microchipping is a permanent solution, and the single best chance you have of being reunited with your pet in the event that he or she is lost. If you haven’t had your pet microchipped yet, we invite you to explore the reasons why you should!
How Pet Microchipping Works
A microchip is a tiny computer chip, about the size of a grain of rice, that is placed underneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. When a lost dog or cat is found without an ID tag, a shelter or veterinary hospital employee will scan the pet using a handheld microchip scanner.
Can My Pet’s Location Be Tracked?
Absolutely not.
A microchip is not a GPS device and is unable to provide real-time tracking of your pet’s whereabouts. A pet microchip is a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), meaning that, unlike a GPS, it has no internal power source. Here’s how it works:
- When the scanner is held over a pet’s body in the area where the chip is located, the scanner will simply identify the company that made the chip and provide the chip’s unique identification number.
- The shelter or veterinary employee must then contact the company and provide them with the ID number.
- The microchip company will contact you and let you know where you can go to pick up your pet.
- Your contact information isn’t released directly to the veterinary office or animal shelter unless you grant permission.
We can’t stress enough how important it is to register your pet’s microchip and update the information any time you move or change your phone number. Without your current contact info, the microchip company has no way to get in touch with you and reunite you with your pet.
The Statistics Don’t Lie
Every year, roughly 8 million animals enter into shelters, many of whom were lost from loving homes. Sadly, millions of these animals will be euthanized in that same year. According to statistics:
- Only 22% of lost dogs without microchips are returned from shelters, while 52% with microchips make their way home again
- 33% of lost cats with microchips are returned home from shelters, but only 2% of cats without microchips are ever recovered
If you have any questions about pet microchipping, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Pets in Stitches. We are proud to offer microchipping for a mere $50 at our location during surgery or our Walk-In Wellness Clinic hours from 3pm – 4pm every Tuesday & Wednesday!
