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a chip on their shoulder: petplan pet insurance discusses the benefits of microchipping your pet

Posted by Jules Benson on May 24 2010
VP Veterinary Services of Petplan

It's a staggering statistic, but one in three pets will get lost during their lifetime. Without identification, 90% of them will not return home. In fact, according to The Humane Society of the United States, only about 17% of lost dogs and 2% of lost cats ever find their way back to their original owners.

There are different types of chips available from different manufacturers; your vet will be able to advise you on which chip is best for your pet.

Though there are many identification systems available to pet owners, microchipping and tattooing are the only real forms of permanent identification. The “microchips” used for pet identification are actually a tiny transponder encased in a special type of plastic or surgical glass. The microchip can be implanted at your veterinarian’s office. The standard site for implantation is underneath the skin between the shoulder blades. This procedure does not require anesthesia, but many young pets are chipped while undergoing their spay or neuter procedure.

Most of the microchips are active for at least 25 years. The chips are detected by special scanner that pick up a unique combination of numbers and letters that can be traced back to your pet. In order for this trace process to be successful, make sure that any microchipped pet has been properly registered with the chip manufacturer. And be sure to update the information if your address changes!

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