Tag Archives: pet microchip

Cats, Dogs, From the news

Traveling to Europe With Your Pet? You’ll Need to Get a Pet Microchip

Microchip Pets For SafetyAre you going with your 4-legged friend to Europe? New european laws are about to require that all cats and dogs traveling to Europe, or within its boundaries, will need to be microchipped. The law should be in effect after July 2011, even if you have your animal tattooed and the papers to match. This will be Europe’s new standard for identifying all pets traveling by air.

How Does a Pet Microchip Work?

A pet microchip is a device no bigger than a grain of rice. Vets implant these chips into not only cats and dogs, but into all kinds of pets – even reptiles and birds can get microchipped.

The chip uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and radio waves as a medium to transmit unique information about your pet. This includes an identifying number that is accessible from a database that shows the pets name, owners name and contact information. So if your pet were to get lost, he can be scanned for a microchip and be returned easily to you.

In Europe, about one quarter of European pets have been microchipped. In the U.S., however, only five percent have a pet microchip. This works out to roughly 130 million dogs and cats.

Cats, Dogs, From the news

Registering a Pet Could Will Prove You Own It

registering a petRegistering a pet is the most important thing to do after you get your pooch (or kitty) and take them to the vet for checkup. While you’re getting the vaccinations, talk to your vet about implanting a chip with your address and other necessary information about your dog. Don’t forget to register the pet with the authorities and get an ID tag as well.

Registering a Pet Prevents Disaster

If this all sounds like too much effort, consider what happened to dog owner in New York. They had their pooch for seven years. One day, the cute tiny dog was playing in the yard. In an instant, he was gone. They looked for him all over the neighborhood, hung flayers with his picture, and promised a $100 reward for anyone who could bring the dog home. They found nothing.

After a while, they found out that their dog was found and was taken to a shelter. The law in New York says that the shelter only needs to wait five days before giving the stray dog up for adoption. They waited seven days and a new family adopted him.

Now the first owner can do nothing, because there was no identification of any kind on the dog. He was treated as a stray. Can you imagine the heartbreak it caused?

You maybe saying that your dog is at home all day, your dog never runs away, or your cat is indoor cat. Well, so was this dog for seven years, and then in one second they lost him for good. It only takes one vet visit to keep your pet with you. Think about it, as registering a pet could make it much less likely that you’ll suffer a similar situation.