Each year millions of lost and abandoned animals are taken in by animal welfare organizations across North America, of these animals only 14% of the dogs and 4% of the cats (estimated figures) are ever returned home. The major reason for failing to re-unite a lost pet with its owner is because the pets are unidentifiable. Microchipping offers pet owners the only truly permanent method of identifying your pet and linking the animal back to you, the owner. If you want to improve your pet’s chances of getting home in a lost pet emergency – microchipping is your best option.

A microchip can SAVE the life of your pet. It is your pet’s phone call home. The majority of animal shelters, humane societies and veterinarians scan every lost animal that comes to their facility. Once the pet is scanned, the owner is contacted immediately.

Microchipping is quick and relatively painless. The microchip is approximately the size of a grain of rice. It is inserted under the skin, much like a vaccine, at the base of the neck and between the shoulder blades. It is made out of an inert ingredient so it should not affect the animal (feel free to contact us with any concerns that you may have). The tissue should begin growing around the chip within 24 hours. Once inserted, a scanner will identify a code number which is linked to information about the pet’s owner. It may take several days to register the microchip and your information with the program, but after that there is nothing else to be done except informing the microchip provider of your new address if you should move. Your pet is identified for the rest of his or her life.

At Animal General Hospital each microchipped pet is registered through Pet Point’s 24PetWatch which is a national pet recovery program. The microchip number is registered in Pet Point’s 24 Hour Pet-Watch national registry which can be accessed by our staff. The microchip can be scanned at any veterinary clinic or animal shelter that has a scanner. If your animal were to get lost, he/she can be reunited with you anywhere throughout the USA.