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.
Lost pets can easily be found with a microchip. Every chip is encased in a smooth, strong biocompatible glass, and is small enough to fit into a hypodermic needle. The microchip is encoded with an identification number and this unique number can identify them throughout their life.
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.
HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service, 24PetWatch and AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices) Microchip ID are the three companies that produce these microchip IDs. The companies that produce these microchips have their own national database that stores all the 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.
Animal shelters and animal control officers have been educated and informed about microchip identification and how it functions. Shelters use industry-wide, cross-compatible scanners that read all chips operating at a certain frequency and once a microchip is located in an animal, the appropriate steps are then taken.
If you are traveling to a country in Europe and many other countries in the world, a microchip is considered mandatory as the immigration officers use it to compare the pet they are scanning to the veterinary documents you have presented. A microchip that meets ISO 11784 should be used, which is a 15-digit chip. However, China requires the 9-digit chip.
Though long-term research has been conducted and has shown that using microchips to track your pet is completely safe, there are still some owners who are against it. One issue reported that these microchips are the cause of Fibro Sarcomas in the animals that have been implanted.
However, a lot of pet owners are not bothered by this issue because of the advantages that microchipping offers. Injecting a microchip is just like any other injection or vaccination. Anesthesia is not even required or recommended. The AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association, 2007) goes on to state that “The chip is made out of an inert, biocompatible substance, which means it won’t cause an allergic reaction in your furry friend, and it won’t degenerate over time”. When properly implanted, a small layer of connective tissue forms around the microchip thus actually preventing movement or migration of the chip.
Providing your pet with a microchip can help ensure a happy reunion if the unthinkable happens: your beloved pet gets lost. But still the decision of microchipping you pet lies in your hands.
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