It’s National Check the Chip Day, and for good reason! More than 10 million pets are stolen each year. Scarier still, one in three pets will become lost at some point during their life. That means lots of dogs and cats end up in shelters or worse, once they are separated from their human families.
Prevent Lost and Missing Pets
Enter the microchip. A majority of pet owners are aware of microchips and their use. They recognize their importance in regards to keeping their pets safe if ever lost.
And when it comes to reuniting lost pets with their owners, there is no better tool. In other words, even if you have never lost a pet, microchipping is still a good idea.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) also recognize the importance of microchipping. The two associations teamed up to co-sponsor Check The Chip Day, yearly on August 15.
The day is recognized nationwide by shelters and veterinarians alike. It is an opportunity to educate pet owners about the importance of a microchip, and a reminder to keep that information up to date once registered.
The AAHA offers the Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool online. It allows pet owners to locate the correct manufacturer of their pet’s chip if they have the microchip number. If not, it is easy to request at your veterinarian’s office with their chip scanner.
Once they know who the manufacturer is, a pet owner can check if the information is up to date. If not, they can easily update it through the manufacturer’s website. The Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool lives at www.petmicrochiplookup.org.
Dog Tags
While dog takes are not a permanent identifier like microchips, the collars are still useful. If your dog goes missing, the collar indicates that they are pets. If they have no collar, they could be mistaken for wild animals.
With that in mind, do a collar and tag check for your pets. There is no better time than today to ensure your pet will be safe, in case they get lost.
Quick Check The Chip Day Facts
Microchipped dogs are reunited with their families more than twice as often as those that are not. A stray dog with a microchip will be successfully reunited with its owner 74% of the time.
Cats with microchips are reunited 20 times more often than a cat without one. A total of 63.5% of microchipped stray cats will have a successful reunion with their families.
Incorrect information attached to a microchip is why 35.4% of animals never return to their original owners. The failure to respond to phone calls and emails is responsible for 24.3% of failed reunions. And 9.8% of pets will never make it home because their microchip is not registered.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to the safety of our pets, it’s our responsibility to keep their information updated. They can’t do it for themselves and they certainly can’t communicate their needs.
Also, don’t mark your calendar for the upcoming pet holiday on August 21: International Homeless Animals’ Day and August 22, National Take Your Cat To the Vet Day, and National Dog Day on August 26!
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