HAVE YOU HAD YOUR PET MICROCHIPPED?
Losing your pet is not something you expect to happen. According to the American Humane Association, only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats without identification are returned to their owners after they become separated from their families. These numbers can be dramatically increased if your pet has more than one form of identification.
If you have received this email, you've already taken the first step and had your pet microchipped! But the microchip is worthless if it is not registered. The registration maintains your contact information in a national database. If your pet is lost, the microchip can be scanned by animal control officers, shelters, and veterinary hospitals. The chip number is then matched with the information in the database. If your registration and contact information is not up to date, it will not show up in connection with the chip number.
The staff at South Forsyth Animal Hospital recommends using HomeAgain pet registry (homeagain.com). You can register any microchip brand at this site. You will pay an initial registration fee, and then must update the fee and your contact information annually, or whenever you move or change phone numbers.
HomeAgain memberships offer additional benefits such as proactive pet recovery, free access to ASPCA Poison Control, rapid lost pet alerts, lost pet medical insurance, and more.
So if you just had your pet microchipped - have you registered it? If your pet was microchipped previously, have you updated your registration?
If you know others thinking of microchipping or would just like more information, we've provided some below in this newsletter! And as always, feel free to reach out to us if you have questions!