Even the best loved and well-trained animals can escape or get lost, and you can’t be sure that a collar and tag (legally required for dogs in public) will still be there and legible when your pet is found.
Every day unidentified pets are taken to animal homes and vets throughout the country. Some are rehomed, but others may be put to sleep, particularly if they are badly injured. Many of these animals could have been reunited with their worried owners if only they had been microchipped.
Microchipping is now a legal requirement for dogs in the UK aged over 8 weeks old, with the keepers name and address recorded on an approved database. At Mill House we only use proven Backhome microchips with a bar code unique to you and your pet and register you with the PETtrac database. The chip is injected under the skin in the same way that the vet regularly vaccinates against disease.
If your pet is found or brought to us injured, a special scanner can detect the microchip and read the unique code in much the same way as bar codes are read at supermarket checkouts. All your pet’s details are recorded on a central computer database, which is open 24 hours a day. When your details come up, you will be contacted immediately.
Scanners are routinely used by rescue kennels, dog wardens, vets, RSPCA homes, Cats Protection and many other welfare societies. If you have more than one pet, each one is identified separately and each will be given its own unique ID code.
The microchip is completely safe for your pet and causes no more discomfort than any other injection. In dogs and cats it is permanently placed in the loose skin at the back of the neck and can be given to pets of any age, breed or species, from Great Danes to budgerigars.
Not all chips are the same. Backhome chips have a good track record of safety and reliability, which is not the case with all chips. Backhome uses the PETtrac database which we find easy to contact and has an excellent out of hours service. You also have the peace of mind of knowing that if you have any problems we will be here to help.
Microchipping is a requirement if you wish to take your pet abroad under the PETS Travel Scheme.
You can even buy cat flaps now that read your pet’s microchip and only let your own pet into the house!
We can check the microchip regularly at booster time or whenever visiting the surgery – just ask. Please also make sure you inform PetLog, where your chip is registered, of any changes to address, telephone etc straight away.
We have reunited a large number of injured and lost pets with their owners at our hospital by using the chip. It can be heartbreaking, however, when an injured or lost pet cannot be identified.