Cat or Dog Missing?

Published on April 23, 2014 by in Blog

0

Has your dog or cat gone missing? Are they wearing a collar with tags? Are they microchipped?

Each day I read about cats and dogs that have gone missing. In some cases the cat was an “outdoor” cat who never returned home. Other times, the cat got out of the house because of various reasons. Dogs may have slipped harnesses or collars, dug under or jumped a fence, bolted out of an open door, or car window.

Regardless, there are things you can do to aid in identification of your pet should he or she go missing. Dogs and cats can be outfitted with breakaway collars. If they should escape the collar prevents them from getting hung up on a branch or other impediment they might encounter. Sadly though, this is not enough since if they are wearing tags, the tags will still be attached to the collar.

There is also the advantage of microchipping. Chips can be inserted at your veterinarian’s office or at free clinics held several times a year. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the combination of tags and chips lead to a higher success rate towards you and your pet being reunited.

There are specific microchip companies. Some like Home Again charge an annual fee. Others have a one-time nominal charge. It is important that you complete the paperwork for your pet’s microchip and keep it up to date. When we adopted our Lab Lila last year, we transferred her information from her previous owner to us. Lila is registered with Home Again and we had to follow several steps including faxing our info to them to insure our identify before the chip could be activated with our address.

Each microchip contains a registration number and the phone number of the registry for the particular brand of chip. When your pet is found and taken to an animal shelter or vet, a handheld scanner reads the radio frequency of the chip and displays this information. The animal shelter or vet clinic that finds your pet can contact the registry to get your name and phone number. According to the Humane Society, the chips bond to the pet’s subcutaneous tissue within 24 hours.

If you have adopted a cat or dog from a shelter or rescue, chances are your pet is already chipped since this is often included in the adoption fee.

Why take the chance on losing your precious family member? Spend a few dollars for a breakaway collar, identification tag and most importantly, microchip!

Leave a Reply