Microchipping Your Pet

If your pet ever gets lost or runs away, your best bet for her safe and quick return is proper identification. Microchips are one of the best ways to do that. Below, a Lansdowne veterinarian answers your questions about this great form of pet ID.

A microchip is a tiny computer chip, usually about the size of a grain of rice. The chip contains your pet’s identification information, implanted electronically, that can be read by special scanners at animal shelters and veterinarian’s offices. This way, if your pet is found and delivered to a vet’s office or shelter, the information can be read to have your pet returned to you.

For one, your pet is constantly carrying around her ID, so you never have to worry about her losing it. Plus, if your address, phone number, or any other information changes, it’s not hard to have your pet’s chip updated. Simply call the microchip company, and they can update the information electronically, without ever removing the chip!

Nothing is wrong with classic ID tags hanging on your pet’s collar, but microchips do have some advantages that tags can’t boast. First, they’re more permanent because pets can’t rip or chew them away like ID tags. Secondly, your personal information is far more secure on a microchip than it is on an ID tag, displayed publically for the world to see.

The microchipping procedure involves your pet getting an injection with a needle, just like a shot, usually between the shoulder blades. The chip is implanted under the first few layers of skin, and the process won’t hurt your pet in the least. At most, they’ll feel a slight pinching sensation at the point of insertion.

Call your Lansdowne vet’s office if you’d like to get your pet set up with a microchip. He or she can fill you in on more details of the procedure and help you set up an appointment to have it performed. It’s the best and most secure way to ensure your pet is properly identified at all times!