Merle F. Marks, DVM
Timberland Animal Clinic
MICROCHIPPING YOUR PET
Modern technology steps up again and again hits a home run. This type
of technology saves lives
and reunites families. I don't think that's an overstatement. Imagine
going to Seattle to visit your
relatives. You of course take Lucky, the unlucky Lab. He spots a silly
cat while you are taking him out for a nightly walk. He pulls hard on the
leash, his collar comes off!! He's gone with no way for anyone in Seattle
or Des Moines or Chicago to know who he belongs to--right? Not so fast.
If he has been microchipped, he can be picked up by any animal shelter,
dog pound, humane society and many veterinary clinics in the U.S. (without
any trace of I.D.) and with the wave of a wand--beep--your dog's complete
history and ownership can be quickly retrieved and your unlucky Lab becomes
Lucky the Wonder Dog again.
As a long time practicing veterinarian, I'll bet 10-15% of new pets
seen in our practice are strays which just wandered into somebody's life.
Two of our 4 pets were strays. But now there's the AVID Friendchip, a tiny
computer chip which has an identification number programmed into it. It
is small enough to fit into a hypodermic needle where it is injected under
the skin, where it remains for the life of the animal. This provides a
permanent, safe and positive identification which cannot be lost, altered
or intentionally removed. AVID stands for American Veterinary Identification
Devices.
The computer memory contained in the Friendchip is a unique number. No two animals will ever have the same number. A radio signal is used to read this number from a hand held scanner.
This all takes place in less than a second. Once injected under the skin of your pet, the AVID Friendchip becomes encased by a thin layer of protein which anchors it in place for the rest of your pet's life. It does not pass through or out of the body. The microchip has no power supply to replace or moving parts to wear down. Therefore, it can be expected to last for decades--well beyond the life span of most pets. Animals of any age can be injected with the AVID Friendchip.
Puppies and kittens are identified during their initial vaccine series, but animals of any age can be "chipped" and it causes no more discomfort than their vaccine booster.
Chipped pets are entered into PETtrac, which is a nationwide computerized tracking system for companion animals identified with AVID Friendchips. Your pet is registered for their lifetime at the time of chipping. It's that simple. Remember--the owners of most of the animals at the shelter never thought their pets could disappear.
Timberland Animal Clinic is proud to announce the start of it's Friendchip Program, which will begin April 1st. The chipping takes just a couple minutes, and costs $55.00, which includes office call, microchip, chip verification and lifetime registration. We even fill out the paperwork and make sure it is mailed and entered into the PETtrac computer system. There is nothing you have to do but show up with your pet. There are also discounts available for animals under anesthesia for surgical reasons (spays or neuters or dentals) and for multiple animal households.