by Bonnie Martin

Created on: December 29, 2009

Not only should all adopted pets have a microchip, but all pets should have a microchip.  Cats, dogs small animals and yes, even horses.  I work in the field of animal control, and every day I have the heartbreaking task of taking a sweet lovable pet to the shelterwith hopes it will be reunited with its owner.  A large percentage of these animals never go home, they either get adopted by a new family, or in some less fortunate circumstances, get euthanized.

Each and every animal we pick up gets checked for a chip immediately with scanners we carry in our vehicles.  If the scanner picks up a chip, we call the chip company to get the information for the pet's home.  Most times this information is all we need to reunite that pet with its owner without ever having to take him to the shelter at all; sometimes their home turns out to be right next door!  Most companies are staffed twenty-four hours a day, and as a backup check we even re-scan the animal when it enters the shelter, there is no room for error when we are trying to get a lost pet home.

Another, less known, benefit to the microchip is proving ownership.  We all know what our pet looks like, and can pick him right out in a crowd, but it is not so easy for other people to identify your pet.  To them a black Lab is a black Lab, one orange Tabby looks just like the next, it can be hard to tell.  I was once called to a home with a young Husky in the yard.  The dog was found by the family and for seven days they put up posters and tried to find the owner.  When that failed they decided to keep the dog, they got him vaccinated and neutered and made him their pet.  Another woman was walking down the road and saw the Husky in the yard of this family and realized it was the dog she had lost only two weeks before.  Police and Animal Control were both called because of the fight that ensued.  They eventually went to civil court over the custody of the dog, and the new owners won the right to keep him, but this whole incident could have been avoided with a microchip.  If the Husky had a chip in the first place the family would have returned the dog right away and everyone would have been happy.  If your pet has a microchip you can prove that this is your pet, even in a court of law. 

A microchip can also save you money.  for the simple 40 or 50 dollars that chip costs you at your veterinarian, you can save hundreds in shelter and veterinarian fees if the dog is impounded or injured.  Along with the cash savings there is also peace of mind; you know that if your pet is lost, his chances of coming home have increased many times by implanting the microchip. 

Our pets are members of our family, but we must remember, they are silent members.  They are not able to tell people where they belong, or who loves them, we must make sure they can show where they live; with a microchip. 

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