A microchip is a wonderful device that is about the size of a long grain rice, and I can’t express how much I love this product. It rests just under an animal’s skin and its a way for them to be identified for life. As most pet owners know, tags fall off or wear down to where they cannot be read and collars often fall off too.
When a vet or animal shelter gives an animal a microchip they are able to be identified for life, and as long as the owners keep the information up to date the animals are able to make it back home. Sadly though this device is only able to go so far with its technology.
Each microchip has its individual ID number, my dog’s is a 15 digit number. If she was ever to get out and get lost all what someone would need to do is scan her and contact my microchipping company with her serial number and they will get my phone number and be able to contact me. If it is a vet or an animal shelter they could even transport her to my house. This has happened before.
Sadly one of the biggest misinformation out there about microchips is that they’re able to be tracked by satellites and give an exact pinpoint via GPS to where the lost animal is at. As much as we who have lost our beloved pets who are microchipped may wish it is true it is not. There are collars that have the ability to do that, but you still risk the usual things that you would with an average collar on a lost dog, and loosing it would be one, or the battery being dead.
Even though microchips cannot be tracked, I still recommend that every pet owner looks into getting it done. It can mean the difference between your pet being home, or stuck in a shelter 60 miles away because they lost their collar.
Remember if you find a stray take it to the nearest vet to get scanned. Many are happy to do it and to help reunite owners. I would also like to note that sometimes a microchip will move to different areas on an animal’s body then where they were injected at. So when scanning an animal it is a good idea to scan their full body. Also it is a good idea to double register your animal. A good website is Found Animals which is also free, and it’s a great alternative for when the original registry cannot be contacted.
~ Chey
