Microchip, a Decision for Peace of Mind

If you’ve ever lost a dog or a cat, you know the sick feeling that comes. The quickest way for your lost pet to find his/her way home is to have a tag on their collar with your phone number, e-mail address, home address or some other form of direct contact with you. But dogs and cats slip out of collars, and then what can be done? Consider microchipping your pet.

What is a microchip? It’s a small piece of wire and silicone, barely longer than a grain of rice, that is implanted beneath the skin of a dog or cat. Each microchip stores a unique number and letter sequence that, once you’ve registered your contact information, will belong to you and your pet. When a pet is scanned for a microchip, the code is found and the corresponding name, address and telephone number is easily found with a quick phone call.

The process of implanting a microchip is very quick and simple, so a microchip can be implanted when a cat or dog comes for their annual visit. Even small cats and dogs aren’t be bothered by the presence of a microchip.

Years ago, there were competing companies whose microchips utilized different frequencies and required that their own scanners be used to read the chips. While there are still competitive brands, there are universal scanners. This is good news! More and more shelters, veterinary clinics, dog pounds, rescue groups, etc. are scanning recovered pets, and if your pet has a microchip, your contact information can be found!

At the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic, we use HomeAgain® microchips. We double-check each microchip before its use to be sure that it is functional and accurate. Our scanners read multiple brands, and HomeAgain® chips are detected by a variety of scanners. The stories we’ve heard about how our owners’ pets have found their way home are simply amazing.

Nobody wants to think of losing their pet, but it’s a good idea to take all the precautions possible ahead of time to make sure that if that bad day comes, you’ll have the best opportunity to be reunited.