What is Microchipping, and why is it a good idea for your pet?
According to the non-profit organization, The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada, an astounding 1-in-3 pets gets lost at some point in their lives!
Getting your dog or cat microchipped tremendously increases the odds of being reunited with your pet should this happen.
A microchip or radio-frequency identification (RFID) implant is a tiny transponder that is a form of permanent identification for your pet. It is a great backup to an ID tag on a collar because it cannot fall off or become unreadable.
The rice-sized microchip is inserted into the loose skin between the shoulder blades or ‘withers’. The procedure is as simple as a routine injection. The only information it contains is a 9, 10, or 15 digit ID number. This number is unique to every pet.
If a pet should become separated from its owner, it can be taken to any veterinarian clinic or animal shelter to be scanned. The radiofrequency of the scanner activates the chip, and the number becomes available.
It’s essential to have registered your pet’s microchip number with a national microchip registration database… it’s equally important to make sure that the owner information is updated regularly should you move or your phone number changes.
If your pet is microchipped, but the number is never registered with any database, the whole microchip procedure goes to waste.
There are numerous databases to choose from… several are listed here:
· Found Animals — This one is free!
· Home Again
· AKC Reunite
· AVID
· Petlink
· 24 Pet Watch
· Homeward Bound Pet
· Pet key
Even though the first one on the list is free, many of the other databases charge.
A lot of pet owners register their pets with several different databases. This is a good idea because microchips can have 3 different radio frequencies. Since there is no standardization yet, some scanners don’t recognize all microchips because of the different frequencies.
The pet industry is now trying to institute microchips using all the same frequency for the U.S. and abroad. This will prevent a pet from being implanted with a 2nd microchip should it have to be taken overseas.
The statistics from The Animal Foundation state that of the 1-in-3 pets that get lost at some point in their lives, a whopping 90% are never returned to their owners because they cannot be properly identified. This is heartbreakingly sad… especially since microchipping your pet is such an easy solution to the problem.
