Lost Dog
Microchipping your pet can prevent you from never seeing your pet again should they become lost. Losing a pet is one of the most terrifying parts of a pet owner’s life; from the moment you realize that you do not know where your beloved pet is to those agonizing hours, days or even more afterwards, while you wait for your pet to be found. For some, the wait never ends. The lost pets are found, but have no identification on them and are then unable to be returned home. In some cases, the ones that are found with no identification are found by an animal pound and eventually euthanized when they are not adopted out in time. Fortunately, there is something available to prevent such tragedies: the microchip.
Microchipping Your Pet
A microchip is a tiny piece of technology about the size of a grain of rice that contains an ID number that is unique to your pet. It is placed under the pet’s skin with an injector, similar to when your pet receives a vaccination. You are given information on how to register the small device, which is when you will input your contact information. When a dog or cat is found and brought to an animal shelter, they are scanned for the microchip. Once they have the pet’s unique ID number, they run it through a secure database, which gives them your contact information.
Why Does My Pet Need It?
Your pet may be wearing a collar with an identification tag attached, but circumstances beyond your control could cause the collar to come off. As long as your pet is outfitted with this amazing equipment, however, your contact information is still with your pet. There are stories of dogs and cats being lost for weeks and being found hundreds of miles away from their home; the only reason they were not placed in an animal shelter for adoption (and then potentially euthanized) is because there was a permanent source of identification built right in.
Pets that are found in or around the Madison and north Alabama area that are brought to Whitworth Animal Clinic are scanned for microchips in order to reunite them successfully with their rightful owners. If you are interested in having your dog or cat microchipped and are in Madison or north Alabama, Whitworth Animal Clinic can also provide you with that service.
Following is a link to a heartwarming microchip success story that is not from North Alabama, but shows how necessary it is in case your pet should ever be lost. This story in particular is about a dog that was lost for 5 years, and finally reunited with his owner thanks to this amazing technology: http://www.petrelocation.com/blog/pet-travel-expert/microchip-success-story
