Pet Microchipping

Did you know, around 1 in 3 pets will become lost during their lifetime? Being unintentionally separated from our pets is surprisingly common, and while this is a devastating event for any loving owner, it doesn’t have to be permanent. If your pet is then found, you can dramatically increase the likelihood of her being returned to you by opting into an affordable and effective method of identification known as microchipping.

How does pet microchipping work?

Pet microchipping is a very simple and straightforward process. The microchip used is about the size of a grain of rice and contains one piece of information alongside details of the provider – a reference number. This reference number correlates to a database entry, on a secure system, that contains the personal information that you gave to your microchip provider when you registered your pet for the service. This usually includes your name, address, and contact number.

When your lost pet is recovered and scanned for a microchip, the proximity of the RFID scanner will trigger the microchip to emit a signal containing the reference number that can be read on the scanner. This enables the professional performing the scan to contact the microchip provider with the reference number so that they or the finder (depending on which service you have opted for) will be able to contact you and let you know that your pet has been recovered.

The chip itself is placed under the skin, usually between your pet’s shoulder blades. It is done via a short injection that is not dissimilar to vaccination and should have no lasting consequences for your furbaby.

How safe are my personal details?

This is understandable concern of many pet owners. Identity theft is a very real and frightening prospect. Fortunately, pet microchipping providers value their client information and invest significantly in cybersecurity to ensure that your information can only be obtained after having passed stringent security checks.

Should you need to change your personal information, such as if you move home or change your cell phone number, you will be able to contact your microchip provider who will then update the database with the new information. There is absolutely no need to do anything at all to the microchip itself.

What makes microchipping better than other methods of identification?

In the past, the only real method of attaching your identification to your pet was with a collar and a tag with your contact details. However, this method was neither overly reliable nor safe in respect of your personal details.

Some of the key advantages of choosing microchipping are:

- Microchipping is tamper-proof, unlike a collar and tag which can be removed or changed.

- Microchips cannot fall off accidentally.

- Your personal information is completely safe.

- Microchipping provides a form of ownership proof should there ever be a dispute over the rightful owner of your pet.

- Microchipping is completely safe and can last your pet a lifetime.

And if there was any doubt… Microchipping has been proven to be much more effective than a collar and tag. A 2017 study of 7,700 stray animals at shelters showed that dogs without microchips were returned to their owners 21.9% of the time, while microchipped pets made it home 52.2% of the time. In comparison, just 1.8% of cats without microchips were returned to their owners, while 38.5% of those with chips were successfully returned home.

Ready to schedule an appointment to get your pet registered and microchipped? Contact us today and let our team arrange this for you.