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Microchipping: The History And Advantages Of Having Your Pet Tagged.

May 16th, 2019 |      0 comments

Who would’ve thought that in this time and age, something as small as a grain of rice has the potential to store information and save lives? Welcome to the digital age. 

Microchipping is a controversial topic especially if it involves implanting the device into humans. Not so, if we’re talking about surgically placing these tiny transmitters into our beloved pets. 

But is it really a new concept?

The act of tagging animals has been done for decades as a means to track migratory patterns. If you’ve watched the Discovery Channel, you’d see radio collars on select animals. This is basically the concept by which the microchips were made. A radio collar is bulky and subjected to too many external forces leading to damage and others. Implanted, it would be naturally protected by a layer of skin. So steps were taken to miniaturize the radio collar into the microchip we know now.

Its commercial appeal was only realized twenty years ago when the number of pets getting lost or ending up in shelter homes became too alarming.

A lost pet can be traumatic to both the animal and the owner itself. It could get killed by getting run over, experience traumatic events, end up in a shelter or worse, get euthanized if unclaimed.

Animal shelters and animal control officers nowadays scan animals they find for microchips to hasten the process of returning the animal to its rightful owner.

How To Get Your Pet Microchipped


Microchips can be implanted by a veterinarian equipped with the knowledge, skills and equipment to do so. This can be done in a vet clinic or at the shelter. This is a pretty standard operation requiring no anesthetic and very little time.

The microchip is installed at the back of the neck or in between the shoulder blades. The thin layers of connective tissue hold the chip in place. And that’s how you get a chip on your pet’s shoulder.

You will need to fill out a form afterwards to properly enrol your pet into the database of microchipped animals for easy identification.

dog tag

Advantages of Having a Microchipped Pet


As mentioned above, having a microchipped pet makes it easy to locate your baby when he or she accidentally slips out and gets lost. Since you and your pet’s information will be in a database, finding you (even if you’ve moved to another home) will be easy.

It also ensures that your pet’s stay in a relocation home will be minimal at the very least, lessening the trauma it will experience. It goes without saying that the risk of your pet getting euthanized is significantly lowered.

A chip can also be used to store info about your pet’s vaccination, birthdate, operations are done and other health information needed to give it a great quality of life.

Microchips can be installed into a great variety of pets from cats, dogs, horses, birds and others. 

It is advised that you get your pet microchipped as young as possible although it can be introduced at any stage in life. Damaged microchips should be replaced immediately to get the full benefits of having one in your pet.

At Integrity Animal Care, we provide Microchipping services. We hate seeing owners and pets getting separated just because of a door accidentally left open. Our long tenure in the veterinary service has given us the chance to see owners and pets reunited through the microchip implanted in their body.

So, you should make sure you get your pet a chip on its shoulder. Give us a call today or check out our page on Microchipping.
 

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