This past week my husband and I rescued 2 small dogs running loose in our neighborhood. One of the dogs had a collar on with no ID tag. The other dog had no collar but was microchipped, but the chip was no help as it was registered with about a dozen seemingly non existent different companies. In other words, cheap chip. Fortunately we located both dogs’ homes so a happy ending was had by all.
I am posting this as a reminder to all dog owners (and cat owners ) to make sure your fur baby (babies) is/are equipped with up to date information (inside and outside) including
a collar and ID tag with current owner information including name, address and phone number, as well as correct chip info.
I love my 2 dogs and it would kill me if one of them escaped with no identification.
Good PSA. I will add to it by saying that I wish everyone who finds an animal without a collar would take it to a vet or animal shelter to have it scanned for a microchip. This is normally done for free and you do not need an appointment, nor do you need to be a client at that vet clinic - not everyone who finds an animal already has an animal/vet. Vets and shelters want to help lost animals get home.
(I don’t understand the chip reading like it’s from multiple places. That’s scary. How is an owner to know? I guess get your animals scanned to verify that their chips are correct.)
Collars can and do fall off or get pulled off. Microchips don’t. Don’t simply assume that the dog or cat who’s turned up on your street or in your yard or at the local store is unwanted. If possible, get it safe, then get it checked for a chip. You may reunite grieving hearts.
Great PSA, Caron! Both my kitties are chipped. I used to have them both wear collars with ID tags too (figured those were still useful since most random folks on the street don’t have chip readers), but their collars fell off and got lost a while ago and I just haven’t gotten around to replacing them. But they’re still chipped.
They’re both indoor kitties, but one has a history of getting out and going walkabout for days or weeks.