How to Choose A Microchip for a Pet
Losing your pet is terrifying. Trying to visit every nearby animal shelter every 3 or 4 days to see if your pet is there can be impossible. Identification tags on collars can help, but tags can fall off or be removed. A microchip is permanent identification. Even if your pet is found hundreds of miles away, a microchip will help get him back home. A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice. Each one broadcasts a unique identification number over a radio frequency. Scanners waved over the skin read the numbers. Whoever finds the pet telephones the microchip manufacturer. The microchip company then contacts you to let you know where your pet is.
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Instructions
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Contact local animal shelters. Find out whether the shelter has a microchip scanner and, most importantly, whether the shelter scans all incoming pets. Ask what microchips the scanner reads. In the United States, scanners read the majority of microchips, but Banfield recently began inserting microchips that require a different scanner. If you're on vacation, contact the local shelter and check which microchips they can read.
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Speak with your veterinarian. Ask if he sells the brand of microchip the shelter scans. If he does, ask how much it costs to insert the chip, and whether the microchip company charges for registration. You must register the microchip number with the company after insertion. This will allow a shelter to call the company and find you if your dog is in their facility. Some companies charge a one-time registration fee of $12, some charge annual fees and others charge nothing at all.
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Telephone local humane societies and rescue groups and ask if they are holding microchip clinics in the near future. Usually their price for microchip insertion is much lower than what the veterinarian charges. Ask which microchip they use and what the registration fee is. It can be up to $50 lower than at the vet, so it pays to do a little work to find when a clinic will be held in your area
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Expect the microchip insertion to take just a few seconds. The microchip is inserted under the skin, in between the shoulder blades. The procedure is painless to most dogs and cats. If your pet is aggressive at the veterinarian's office, muzzle him before you leave the house. There might be a little bit of blood after insertion, but some pressure will stop the bleeding. Your dog or cat will be able to resume regular activity immediately after the procedure.
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Register your microchip as soon as you get home. Most companies offer online registration, as well as toll free numbers. As a precaution, mail in the paperwork. The microchip is useless if the registration is not completed. Give the microchip information to your veterinarian so it can become part of your pet’s file.
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Tips & Warnings
If you travel to Canada, consider having two chips inserted: the one used in Canada and one of the common microchips used in the United States.
If you lose your pet, contact the microchip company right away.
Ask the person who inserts the microchip about his experience in doing the procedure.
