We’ve all heard that you’re supposed to microchip your pets. But why is it important? “My dog is never off-leash,” “I have an indoor-only cat,” or “My dog knows where home is.” While these may be true, the truth is that you can never be 100% sure that an animal won’t run after something that entices them or slip through a cracked door or gate. Microchips save pets all the time, and they help many, many families get their fur babies back if an emergency occurs!
Procedure
Getting a microchip is usually no more painful for your pet than a regular injection. It is implanted under the skin and requires no maintenance other than you regularly updating your information associated with the microchip. The risk of complications with having a microchip is very low, and the potential benefits of a microchip are huge!
“But my pet wears a collar with tags”
“I don’t need a microchip, my dog has our phone number on his tags!”
While it may be much quicker to have your dog returned by a good Samaritan who calls the phone number on your pet’s tags, remember that it’s possible that your pet’s collar can fall off. Many pets can find a way to escape a collar or it could become caught on something and break. There is also the possibility that your tag is worn down and the phone number becomes unreadable. This is something to regularly check for as well! But a microchip is an excellent backup that can be scanned by any veterinarian or shelter and contact you to get you reunited with your buddy!
Statistics
Microchips drastically increase the chance that your pet will be returned to you if they escape.
In shelters, dogs without microchips are returned about 22% of the time, while dogs with microchips were returned 52% of the time. Cats without chips were only returned 1.8% of the time, and chipped cats were reunited over 38% of the time.
These numbers for returned animals may still sound low, but keeping your information updated on your pet’s microchip means they can have even better odds! This means every time you move or change your phone number, update the info!!
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