Micro-chipping your pup is the best means to protect them from getting stolen or lost. There’s nothing more stressful than the prospect of either of these two scenarios happening to a dog parent. Therefore it is best to be proactive. Ben Franklin taught us that prevention is always better than cure.
Each year, around 10 million pets—cats and dogs, that is—are reported as either lost or stolen — this information according to the American Humane Society. A big bulk of these pets does not get to reunite with their humans.
There are many possible reasons why this is so, but one of the primary culprits is the difficulty of contacting dog owners.
Allowing someone else to connect you to your dog is why micro-chipping your dog is essential. Here is how this process works.
Placing microchips under a dog’s outermost layer of skin is standard practice. These computer-generated chips can be as small as a rice grain. A Vet administers these chips employing a needle. It works pretty much like vaccination; hence there is no need for anesthesia.
A dog microchip coded with the dog owner’s details, including name, registration number, and contact information allow for future tracking. Recording these details in the chip manufacturer’s online registry service is a potential insurance policy against the next event.
In case of a missing dog equipped with a microchip, the details on this minuscule device are simple as reading the chip with a handheld scanner. These scanners are now standard practice in the offices of Vets and animal shelters.
As soon as your lost dog a vet or shelter can locate your contact information is quick. It is crucial to remember, however, that opting for a typical brand chip is the best way to go because scanners have yet to become universal.
With a commonly used chip, you increase the chances of scanning the code in many locations.
Here are some of micro-chipping’s benefits:
- Some dog owners choose to use collars with their pet’s name tag and their contact information. Although there is nothing with this, it is quite outdated. The risk for these tags to fall off or break, or for the information print to wear off eventually, is present. Meanwhile, microchips are permanent.
- Your registration details encoded in a microchip are not vague. They confirm your legal ownership of a specific dog. They can defend your dog from thieves.
- Having your dog micro-chipped increases the likelihood that you and your pet will rejoin you even if they ever get lost. Studies have shown that dogs sans microchips are at least 2.5% less likely to be returned to their humans, compared to chipped canines. That’s a rather significant number.
- Manufacturers of these chips are continually looking into ways to improve their devices. They like to focus on enhanced functionality. Introduction of innovations regularly is the manufactures goal. For instance, some chips cab open a dog door as your pet approaches. These innovations are a welcome technological advance in neighborhoods where critters run wild and are prone to use dog doors.
- These chips can last your dog a lifetime. Microchips are lovely; this goes without saying that you must have it checked at least once a year for possible malfunctions.
May is Microchip your Pet Month. May is a good month to find Microchip services and vendors at discounted prices.