Microchipping

Something as quick as getting a vaccine could make all the difference someday. Having your pet microchipped means an increased chance that you will get them back if they are ever lost or stolen. Microchips are tiny, permanent identification chips inserted under a pet's skin. It is not a GPS tracker, but the ID chip can be scanned if your pet is lost and taken to a shelter or vet. This is the easiest and quickest way to be reunited with your pet if they are ever lost.

Microchips cost just $20 and include free registration through 24PetWatch.

Microchipping is generally available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted on the monthly calendar (click for details).

IN THE NEWS: 24PetWatch Microchip Helps Reunite Jojo with Michigan Family
(Courtesy of petango.com)

MENANDS, NY-One lost dog and his family have a 24PetWatch microchip to thank for bringing them back together this summer! Late in June, a staff member of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, New York found a small white dog tied to a pole in the Society's parking lot. Scanning for microchips is a regular part of the animal welfare organization's intake process so the stray Lhasa Apso mix was scanned in the hopes of identifying a pet owner. Lucky for "Jojo", a 24PetWatch microchip triggered a beep and the Society was able to contact his original owner, Nancy Alcala, all the way in Michigan!

However, Jojo didn't make the journey from Michigan alone. Last year, Alcala was forced by financial difficulty to move to an apartment with a "no pet" policy. She gave Jojo to what she thought was going to be a good home. From there, Jojo bounced around a bit and no one quite knows how he came to New York State and the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. Lucky for Jojo, he had a 24PetWatch microchip registered to his original family.

Proper pet identification is extremely important when it comes to finding a lost pet. Pets can get lost or run away for a variety of reasons, especially while traveling during the holidays, during crowded events with strange guests, or when frightened by loud, sudden noises. The best pet identification includes a registered microchip, ID tag, and collar. Even if your pet loses its collar, the microchip acts as permanent identification and the contact information registered to it can only be changed with permission from the pet owner, protecting against theft as well.

That's why most Petango partner shelters and rescues provide 24PetWatch microchips to all their adoptable pets! Plus, when you adopt a pet from a Petango partner organization, your information is registered to the 24PetWatch Lost Pet Recovery database at the point of adoption, ensuring your new pet is protected before you even take the trip home. Registration and keeping your contact information up to date are the keys to successful microchip protection, ensuring shelters and veterinarians can contact the right person when a microchip is found.

"Jojo is a perfect example of the importance of the microchip. If he were not chipped, this story might not have the same happy ending that it does," said Brad Shear, Executive Director of Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. "We have a virtual lost and found board on our website where people can post a listing for lost pets and people finding pets can post found reports, and all strays are posted on the website. But hundreds of animals come to the shelter with no ID. The most loving thing you can do for your pet is to get it chipped so you can get it back home," Shear stated.

Jojo's family drove from Michigan to Mohawk Hudson Humane Society the day after he was found for a happy reunion. Thanks to Chloe Hunt and the Animal House, Jojo was freshly washed and groomed for the big reunion.

Should You Microchip Your Dog

(Courtesy of cesarsway.com)

By Cesar Millan

I just heard a story in the news about a family who had lost their dog. They did everything to find him—putting up posters, checking shelters—nothing. Then, after two years, they get a phone call. Their dog was found. The person who found the dog took him to be scanned for a microchip and it showed who his family was and they were reunited.

The chip’s only as big as a grain of rice. It’s usually implanted in the scruff of your dog’s neck and doesn’t cause any pain for your pet. And it only costs around $25 to $50, depending on your vet.

I think it’s so much safer than other forms of identification. If your dog gets lost, he might lose his collar and tags; if your dog is stolen, the thief might remove his collar and tags. With a microchip, you can help people who find your dog find you and if someone else says it’s their dog, you can prove the dog is yours.

They make some neat stuff that works with your dog’s microchip, too. Like a pet door that recognizes your dog’s chip and lets him into the house (but not the raccoon that comes by later). The microchip won’t track your dog though. Your dog has to be taken somewhere to be scanned.

To me, the decision whether to microchip your dog or not is an easy one. You should microchip your dog as soon as possible, and you’ll rest easier knowing that if anything happens to your dog, you’ll have a better chance of recovering him.

Many communities are proposing making microchipping all dogs mandatory. Just last month, Northern Ireland began requiring all of its dogs to be microchipped. Besides, finding your dog, there are two good reasons to make microchips mandatory—although it saddens me that there are still these problems at all.

The first reason is that many dogs aren’t really lost—they’re abandoned. People get a dog and decide they don’t want the dog anymore and then they take the dog somewhere and just leave it. And if they remember to take off the collar and tags, no one would know. If that dog had been microchipped, it could be traced back to the owner.

Everyone knows how strongly I feel about the exploding stray problem. Microchipping dogs wouldn’t solve the problems completely. But if everyone spayed and neutered their dogs and microchipped them, it would make a huge dent in the stray population. Microchips would reunite lost and runaway dogs with their families, and for the owners who abandon their dogs, they might think twice about dumping their dog in the country or on the streets if they knew there were consequences like fines or jail.

The second reason deals with a subject that always makes my blood boil. The people who buy dogs to use as weapons. They train these poor dogs using incredibly cruel techniques to turn them into vicious killing machines. If the dog was microchipped, just like a gun with a serial number, it could be traced back to the owner, who would then have to answer for any offense that the dog may have committed.

Whether the microchip is ultimately used to reunite a family and a missing pet or to deter criminals from victimizing dogs or using them to victimize others, it’s hard to disagree that mandatory microchipping would be a useful thing. It would reduce strays, euthanasia rates, and shelter crowding—all problems that are only getting worse.

I know some might say that it’s not the government’s place to mandate the microchipping, but you know, every car has to have a vehicle identification number and a license plate and every gun has to be registered to its owner. And for a dog lover, a dog is vastly more valuable than a car, and in the wrong hands, a dog can be more dangerous than a gun.

Please have your dog microchipped. You’ll never regret doing it, but if your dog gets lost, you’ll always regret that you didn’t.

Stay calm and assertive,
Cesar


Read more: http://www.cesarsway.com/news-and-events/cesars-blog/Should-You-Microchip-Your-Dog#ixzz2Vlz2MMry