One in three pets will become lost at some point in their life.
A microchip could make the difference between being reunited with your lost pet, or losing them to a system that returns only 22% of lost dogs to their families while 52% of microchipped pets made their way back home.
In today’s busy lives we can never tell what can happen in a blink of an eye. Is your pet covered if they should slip out the door and run? Will they make it back home if a gate is left open by mistake and they wander away? How will animal control or a local citizen unite you with your lost pet? Microchipping can help insure your pet is reunited with your family. Most vet office’s can assist in scanning an animal for a microchip. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you could easily locate your pet if they get lost. Animals can trek far distances in search of their families and change appearances based on outdoor conditions. These pets are entering a system already overwhelmed with surrendered, abused or neglected animals and a lost pet can easily go unnoticed. The American Humane society estimates nearly ten million pets are lost or stolen each year. Why become part of the statistics? A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, including 53 animal shelters across the U.S., confirmed the high rate of return of microchipped dogs and cats to their families, and the importance of microchip registration.
What is microchipping? Microchipping is a way to register your companion pet into a database to be accessed should that animal be lost. A microchip the size of a grain of rice is inserted under the animal’s skin by a special injector. This procedure can be done during vaccinations or routine check-up at your veterinarian office. The microchip is encoded with a number that is registered to the owner/rescue of that animal with specific contact information. A handheld scanner is used to search for a microchip which can be read by most veterinarians, animal control officials, etc. Microchips can migrate around an animals body which is why the entire body should be scanned. External tags placed on collars can be lost, removed or altered. Don’t be left without a way to reconnect with your pet should you be tragically separated. Microchipping provides an extra layer of comfort and hope. Talk to your veterinarian about microchipping today and remember to confirm the number has been added to a National database.
Wagging Hearts microchips every rescue with each adoption insuring that the lives we save always have someone looking out for them in all the days of their lives. Join us in microchipping to help keep our animals safe by insuring they always make it back home.