Microchipping: A Valuable Connection to Your Pet

Pet microchipping in Littleton and elsewhere has been around for quite a while. Given how creative dogs and cats can be with getting out and wandering, the procedure is highly recommended by veterinarians and animal control agencies nationwide. That said, there are some odd ideas out there about microchipping that simply aren’t true.

Microchipping Has Nothing to do With Spies

Microchipping has nothing to do with government control of your pet nor does it require invasive surgery and pain for an animal. Technically, the microchip is a small form of a RFID tag. It carries an ID number which appears when a RFID scanner is held close to the chip’s location in the animal. Otherwise, the chip does nothing, and it definitely does not send signals to tracking satellites in space. The insertion process is quick – the microchip is usually placed between the dog or cat’s shoulder blades in the lose skin that the animal’s parents use to pick it up when it is young.

Microchips Don't Move and Work Better Than Collars

Microchips don’t move around in your animal’s body. The chip stays put where it was inserted and the animal’s immune system ignores it. The materials used to make the microchip are harmless and pose no threat to your animal physically or chemically.

Collars and tags are not always enough to identify your pet. Collars wear due to the elements and eventually fall off, especially if the animal gets snagged on something and pulls the collar off. Sometimes, pets are able to wriggle out of collars altogether. With a microchip, the ID is always present and doesn’t get lost, no matter what the dog or cat does.

It's a Low-Cost Prevention Tool from a Vet

Microchipping is extremely affordable. If your dog or cat was adopted, the procedure may have also been included as part of the adoption fee to prevent the animal from being lost again (which is usually how the adoption centers get animals in the first place). Cats are particularly prone to being lost without a collar, and a microchip is often the key factor in reuniting a lost cat with its owner.

Your Participation Matters

In addition to the factual corrections above, it’s also important to remember that a microchip is only as good as its registration. That means as your pet’s owner, you need to make sure your contact information is up to date with the microchip’s records and registration. Otherwise, it provides a useless number to an animal control agent or veterinarian.

If you're in the Littleton area and you want more information about microchipping, or you want to get a microchip for your pet, Belleview West Animal Hospital can help. Our staff support microchipping, as they know it solves lost pet cases and saves animal lives. Give us a call or send us an email to find out more.