To protect the pet, the pet owners do their best to keep them from escaping or wandering off. Many owners put a collar or a tag with identifying information about their pet, but what if there is more they can do. Dogs and cats can sometimes escape from even their most careful owners and in many cases, they don’t know how to get back home. In some cases, the animal control or neighbors may pick the animal up not knowing that it is your pet, and take it to a shelter.
Pets cannot tell someone their name or where they live. So in this kind of problem, a pet microchip can be a big help in finding the pet and bringing it back home again.
It Is Easy To Install
These are not battery-powered. Owners must not attempt to install the microchip on its own. Pet microchips are very small in size. About the size of a grain of rice, the vet can safely inject the microchip into your pet, where it will bond with the tissue and then the chip won’t migrate.
When the vet injects the microchip, they don’t use an anesthetic. Sometimes, they will inject the microchip at the time they are doing another procedure, like neutering.
To Register Your Microchip
The vet only installs the pet microchip, but it is not helpful until the owner registers it. The microchip has a special code and it does not store the owners identifying information. The owner must register it on one registry at least. There are several registries and the owner can register it on multiple registries.
Some registries require one-time fees and others require a fee every year. There are many non-profit services called the Found Animals Microchip Registry that helps the owners to register their pet’s microchip for free. No matter which registry a pet owner uses, they keep the information updated with the recent address and the contact information.
Someone Must Scan It
The microchip is not powered by a battery. A veterinarian or a shelter must have the universal scanning device they will use to scan for the microchip. Because there are many manufacturers, there is a chance that the scanner may not pick up the microchip, Hence the universal scanners can pick up multiple manufacturers’ microchips easily.
Microchip Is not GPS
A vet or a shelter with a scanner can scan the microchip in the pet to check the registry. As there is no way to track a pet via the microchip as it is not GPS, it is only effective if someone finds the pet and scans the microchip.
Microchip As A Backup
A collar and tag are an effective way to identify the pet. Pets who have a collar and tag can reach home faster than pets who only have a microchip. But a registered microchip is of more value if the collar or tag has fallen off. Dogs and cats with microchips are easily traceable and can reach home faster than pets without a microchip. It acts as an extra safeguard if the dog is missing.
