The Importance of Microchipping Your Pet

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Why Microchip Your Pet? Every year, thousands of lost and abandoned animals are taken in by animal shelters and rescues. Unfortunately, some of these animals never make it home simply because they can't be identified. There is a solution. It is microchipping! Because collar tags sometimes break or become illegible, and tattooing can also become illegible, microchipping your pet is the only truly permanent method of identifying your pet with the information necessary to return them to you should they become lost. It lasts for the lifetime of our pet.  Providing your cat or dog with both tags and a microchip helps ensure a happy reunion if the unthinkable happens and your companion gets lost.

What is a microchip? A microchip is a tiny transponder about the size of a grain of rice that uses radio frequency waves to transmit a unique ID number associated with your pet. Since

there's no battery and no moving parts, there's nothing to wear out or replace. Microchips are

designed to last your pet's lifetime.

How are pets microchipped? A veterinary professional, rescue group, or animal shelter will

implant the microchip in your pet. The procedure is simple and similar to administering a

vaccine or a routine shot. The microchip comes preloaded in a sterile applicator and is injected

under the loose skin between the shoulder blades. The process takes only a few seconds, and

your pet will not react any more than he would to a vaccination. No anesthetic is required.

How does a microchip work? The microchip itself does not have a battery or any other form of

power supply. It is "passive". The "passive" microchip is activated only when it comes in contact

with a handheld scanner used by a trained animal professional. The handheld scanner reads the radio frequency of the chip and displays your pet's unique ID number on the screen. The ID number is input into the database registry to get your contact information. They contact you, and you can be reunited with your lost pet.

Once you own a microchipped pet, do you also need to register it in a database?

Yes! Simply microchipping your pet isn't enough - you need to register the microchip and your

contact details into a database so your information can be found in the event you are separated

from your pet. Wouldn't you want your pet's home details registered on a reliable, animal

identification database? And remember, you need to keep your contact information up-to-date-

date with the registry you choose!

How does a Microchip Registry Work?

     1. A Pet is registered. A Pet owner registers their Pet in a microchip registry, such as

FreePetChipRegistry™. The owner enters their contact information, the Pet’s microchip

number, and specific details about the Pet into the registry. (Note: Other Pet microchip

registries can be found by searching on the internet, but FreePetChipRegistry is rare in that it

offers free microchip registration for life. Owners should be alert to select a Registry that is

participating in the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool.)

     2. A Pet goes lost

     3. A Pet is found and taken to a vet or shelter.

     4. The Pet is scanned for the microchip number and researched via the AAHA Universal Pet

          Microchip Lookup Tool.

          *AAHA provides an internet-based application that enables veterinarians, humane

          organizations, pet owners, or other persons to search various Pet Recovery Services

          registries and identify those registries on which a particular microchip is registered.

          AAHA is not affiliated or involved with any specific microchip. Registries give AAHA

          permission to search their specific database in real time to assist pet owners in

          being reunited with their pets. AAHA does not maintain a database of microchips of its

          own. The AAHA Universal Microchip Lookup Tool only searches the databases of

          companies that elect to participate in the program.

     5. The Pet’s microchip registry company is contacted by the vet or shelter that is holding the

          lost pet to ascertain the owner’s availability. (Note: Always keep your contact information

          up to date with the Registry, in the event your pet ever goes missing. )

     6. The Registry immediately alerts the owner that the Pet has been found by various means:

          text, email, and phone. If the microchip is also traceable to the clinic/shelter/rescue/ that

          implanted the microchip, they will be contacted to help reunite the Pet with the owner.

     7. Pet Goes Home: Lost Pet and Pet owner are reunited.

Footnote: Information has been provided by FreePetChipRegistry™ - a Pet Recovery Service.

They are affiliated with 911PetChip™ , a leading provider of pet microchips.  They offer FREE

registration for life at www.FreePetChipRegistry.com!