Thousands of pets go missing every year, and many don’t make it back home. Even collars and identification tags may not be enough to protect your pet: collars can break off and tags can become damaged and unreadable. Microchips, however, are safe, simple forms of identification, and they’re permanent, so you don’t have to worry about them becoming lost or damaged.

A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed underneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. Microchip implantation takes only a few minutes and is very safe. Your pet’s microchip carries identification information about your pet, including your name, address, and contact information.

When your pet is microchipped, you will receive registration documents. When you register the number on the microchip, your pet will be added to a national pet recovery database. Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with scanners that can read the microchip and display your contact information. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost pet has been identified. Pet owners are then notified that their pet has been found!

Young puppies and kittens can receive microchips safely, and even if your pet is already an adult, you should still consider microchipping. Even indoor pets can accidentally make it outside and become lost, so if you’re relying on other forms of identification, you could be placing your pet at risk.

Best Friends Animal Hospital believes microchipping is the safest, most effective method of pet recovery available, as it helps reunite more than 15,000 lost pets to their owners every month. To learn more about the benefits of pet microchips or to schedule an appointment to have your pet microchipped, please contact your Best Friends Animal Hospital veterinarian today!