Microchipping Your Dog – How does it work?

Lots of dogs are lost every single day and some of them never make it back home because they cannot be identified and returned to their owner. Many dogs are even euthanized just because his or her owner can’t be located.

 

Microchipping is a simple and safe way of identifying your dog. The microchip is basically a computer chip, which is small enough to fit inside a hypodermic needle. The chip is inserted under the skin between your dog’s shoulder blades, where it will stay for the rest of your 4-legged-friend’s life. You can have your dog microchipped at any veterinarian clinic and it is a cheap way to reduce the risk of losing your pet forever.

Getting your pet microchipped is pretty much like any other injection for your dog. Sure, he might feel some discomfort (getting injected with anything is uncomfortable), but most dogs don’t react much to the chip being placed there.

After your dog is microchipped you must fill out a registration form in which you include information such as your dog’s name, your own name, address and telephone number. Later, if you dog runs away it can easily be scanned (this works pretty much like the scanning of the barcode on a can of beans in the supermarket). By scanning your dog, the computer chip’s unique number is revealed and with the information you submitted in the registration form he can be returned to you.  

However, you should not think that having your dog microchipped solves all problems. The person or organization that finds your dog might for instance not know that he actually is microchipped, so you should always make sure that your dog wears a tag that lets people know that he has one “installed”. The tag should also include a phone number, which they can call for further information (this is usually a toll-free number).

Last but not least, microchipping your dog does not guarantee that your pet will not be lost or returned to you. However, it greatly increases your chances of getting your dog back!