A handful of firecrackers, crack of thunder or ever-so-slightly leaving the back gate open in the yard … None of these would seem life changing on the surface, or even be something we’d give more than a passing thought, but man’s best friend can be easily spooked or inclined to explore beyond their friendly confines, often without us knowing until they are long gone. What’s a responsible pet parent to do to help ensure a beloved pet is protected if they run away or wander off?
While most pet parents ensure their pets are outfitted with a collar and tags, it is important to know microchipped dogs have a substantially higher rate of reunion to their owners, according a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Fifty-two percent of microchipped dogs who entered animal shelters were returned to their owner, compared to 22 percent of non-microchipped ones. For microchipped cats, the reunion ratio is even higher at nearly 39 percent of the time, compared to less than two percent for non-microchipped cats.
In addition to the standby identification tag on a collar, microchips provide a second line of defense to help get our furry friends back home when they wander off. Slightly larger than a grain of rice, a microchip is encoded with a unique identification number, nine, 10 or 15 digits, that only when scanned, links to your contact information with the database specific to that brand of microchip. If you were to move or change any other contact information originally provided to the database, it is important to remember to update it since this is the information that would be provided when the microchip is scanned.
Microchips are designed to last 25 years, essentially the lifespan of any pet, and can be implanted in puppies over 1 pound or 4 weeks of age. Kittens can be implanted as young as 5 weeks old, but the health and stability of your kitten determines when she can be chipped. We use a hypodermic needle to seamlessly insert the microchip under the skin between your pet’s shoulder blades. Once inserted, the chip has a minute chance of moving and will not cause cancer, contrary to recent reports. Overall, the process is similar to a vaccination and does not require anesthesia.