According to the American Humane Association, only about 17% of lost dogs and 2% of lost cats actually find their owners after being lost. In fact, more than 20 million pets are euthanized year after year because animal rescue units cannot find the original owners. But you need not fear because there is now an effective way of tracking down lost pets.
The option of microchipping has been considered the most effective way of tracking down lost pets. The procedure is done by most veterinarians today with a hypodermic needle. This hypodermic needle contains a small microchip that contains your pet’s permanent identification number. This identification number is entered into a data bank – national or local depending on the brand – and lists the pet’s name, owner’s name, address, and phone number.
A veterinarian as well as most animal shelters can do the procedure. Animal shelters provide the service for much less than a vet. It can be done in about thirty seconds and does not hurt pets. A microchip ID is a very, very small chip. In fact, it’s just about the size of a grain of rice.
Three companies that produce these microchip IDs are HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service, 24PetWatch and AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices) Microchip ID. Each of the sponsors has their own national database for pet information.
A handheld electronic scanner can scan the microchip to retrieve the information. Small handheld scanners are held close to the implant site while scanning and they have a reading range of about 3 inches. Larger, more powerful scanners can be used for various commercial and research applications and they read ranges vary from 6 to 20 inches depending upon specifications.
When a lost pet is found by an animal control officer or is taken to an animal shelter or humane society, the professionals there will scan the animal using a handheld scanner, which will let them know if a microchip has been implanted. If there is indeed an implanted chip, the scanner will read the number and the shelter staff member can call the appropriate registry for the identity of the owner.
If you are living or traveling throughout Europe and other countries except China (it requires a 9-digit chip), a 15-digit microchip made according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards 11784 and 11785 is required when importing an animal, as a proof that the animal and the vaccination record belong together.
There are still some drawbacks despite the fact that microchips to track your pet are completely safe. Some owners are against microchips because there was an issue reported that these microchips cause Fibro Sarcomas in the animals that have been implanted with these devices.
But this doesn’t really hamper dog and cat owners to have their pets microchipped. These electronic IDs offer a number of physical advantages over external tags. They are considered remarkably more reliable. The process is even quick and painless, similar to receiving a vaccination. The chip is permanent and can never be lost. The pet’s identification number is unique in the world and the database can have the pet’s pertinent history.
From the moment you adopted your pet, your pet’s health and safety is in your hands. Whether to have our pets microchipped or not, the decision is yours.