With more than 3,000 pets euthanized last year in Collier County, pet identification methods like microchiping, can mean the difference between a happy reunion or a sad ending should your lost pet end up in a shelter.
Dogs and cats aren't the only ones that benefit from microchiping. Horses, birds and exotic animals can also be implanted with one.
How it works is a tiny computer chip is programmed with an unique identification number and then encapsulated within a biocompatible material. The whole thing is small enough to fit inside a hypodermic like needle which is used to inject the chip under the skin of your pet. The procedure is no more painful than a vaccination and can be done while you wait.
To read the implanted chip, a hand held scanner is used which displays the encoded identification number and maker of the chip. From this information you can call the manufacture's registry for the name and phone number of the owner.
Microchiping provides a permanent, positive identification which cannot be lost, altered, or intentionally removed.
"It is a good theft identification, if your animal is ever stolen." says Jodie Morelock, Director of the Collier County Domestic Animal Services. But she warns that it's not a replacement for a county license tag, only a supplement For three years the county shelter has been scanning all incoming animals and has reunited owners with their pets because of this new technology. The Humane Society of Collier County also scans incoming animals and since March of 1996 has made it a policy to microchip all pets adopted from them.
John Janelli, Senior product manager for Schering Plough's HomeAgain system, points out the potential for microchips to protect animals in areas commonly hit by natural disasters. In an article from Animal Sheltering, Janelli said "In states like Florida, where hurricanes have the ability to separate thousands of pets from their owners, the microchip can be incredibly useful."
The usefulness of this high-tech identification method are obvious but only if the community you live in is actively scanning. Many shelters throughout the country don't, partly because of concerns over the reliability of the new "universal" scanners, which are able to read all three U.S. microchip companies - Avid, InfoPET, and HomeAgain. Before this new scanner was introduced, each company manufactured its own, which only read their chip.
To determine if the universal scanner could reliably identify implanted microchips from multiple manufactures, the American Humane Association recently conducted it's own investigation. It found that the two universal scanners presently being used were 96 - 98% successful.
The AHA's study also suggests that universal scanners may offer animal care and control facilities a technology whereby the number of lost animals returned to their owners could be increased. Currently only 16% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter shelters are reclaimed by their owners.
The Cost: $25 - $55 The Humane Society of Collier County implants Avid chips for $25.
To register the microchip number into a nationwide data base: $9 - $25 one time fee, depending on what company you use.
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