What happens if...?!

We had a slightly traumatic experience yesterday, although Mum says I'm exaggerating.  Each one of us got poked in the back and had something called a microchip put under our skin.  Mum said it was necessary for all of my fursibs but especially me since I leave the house on a regular basis.  

Some interesting things about lost pets...

•  The American Humane Association estimates over 10 million dogs and cats are lost or stolen in the U.S. every year.
• One in three pets will become lost at some point during their life.
• A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, including 53 animal shelters across the U.S., confirmed the high rate of return of microchipped dogs and cats to their families, and the importance of microchip registration. From the study:
• Only about 22 percent of lost dogs that entered the animal shelters were reunited with their families. However, the return-to-owner rate for microchipped dogs was over 52 percent (a 238 percent increase).
• Less than 2 percent of lost cats that entered the animal shelters were reunited with their families. The return-to-owner rate for microchipped cats was dramatically higher at over 38 percent (more than 2,000 percent better). 
• Only 58 percent of the microchipped animals’ microchips had been registered in a database with their pet parent’s contact information.

Now, Mum is really careful about making sure that we are always safe but sometimes, things happen that are out of her control. So yesterday, we all got chipped AND registered.  Microchipping your furkids might be the only thing that could help bring them home in an emergency.  Once you do that step, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO UPDATE THE INFORMATION ON THE ACCOUNT anytime you move, get a new phone number, new vet, or anything along those lines.

Microchipping doesn't have to be expensive and can be as little as $5 per pet.  There are chip registries that are FREE.

So please, if you love your furkids as much as our mum loves us, chip 'em!  This isn't about the emergencies you can imagine or control but the ones that you can't.  Bring your kids home and keep them safe.

Resources - Links:

Chips (if you do it yourself, PLEASE talk to your vet or someone who knows what they are doing before inserting a microchip!).  If you aren't comfortable and know what you're doing, find a clinic or get your pet chipped by your vet (usually about $10-15).

Free Pet Chip Registry