VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5

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According to North County Humane Society, in Oceanside, CA, 23% of cats and dogs get lost every year. Out of those pets, 95% found with identification do get home, although 95% of pets found without identification do not get home.

The most popular form of pet identification is a simple tag with basic information held on a collar around the animal's neck. Currently, this is the most efficient way to identify a lost pet and return it home. Tagging is not completely foolproof, though. A tag can be removed. A cat can easily struggle out of a collar, the tag can break off, or, in the case of theft, someone can take off the tag. They are in no way permanent. 

With technology advancing so quickly, new methods in animal care are developing to keep our pets safe, secure, healthy, and happy. One of these new technologies is the microchip for animals. This microchip is injected between the pet's shoulder blades. It is coded with a unique alphanumeric code and can be scanned by a special scanner when needed. The microchip can help you find your pet if it gets lost, sometimes even before you notice it's missing.

The process of implanting microchips in pets is inexpensive, quick, and painless. Veterinarians charge around $30, along with the cost of registration, which is $12.50 for HomeAgain, but varies with the brand of the microchip. The animal feels no difference with the injection of a microchip than it would a shot. The microchip's outer casing is glass, which is sealed to prevent moisture from entering. One end of HomeAgain's microchip is covered in a polypropylene shell. The polypropylene coating bonds with the animal's connective tissue within 24 hours, assuring the chip stays in place, where it will be detectable by the scanner.   

The benefits of this process are numerous. Each chip has a 10-digit alphanumeric code, which is unique to each animal. The code is stored in a database along with the information of the owner. If a cat is lost, and then found by a shelter or vet that scans for microchips, that pet's code is found in the database along with the contact information of the owners. The owners are then called and can easily have their pet returned. The chip works world wide, so if you are traveling and a pet is lost, the microchip can help return it safely home. 

Some organizations against microchipping pets, like the American Pet Association, claim that microchips are unsuccessful in identifying pets for several reasons. Most humane shelters do not scan

for microchips, many do not even have scanners. The microchips are not visible, so there is no way for a person to tell before scanning that the animal even has a chip implanted. This frustrates some people, because few pets have microchips and even fewer find their way into the shelter in the first place. Therefore, even when they have a scanner available, some shelters find using it a hassle. 

If more people put microchips in their pets, the process would become very successful. With more pets microchipped, more shelters would find it worthwhile to scan for them, and more lost pets would be found. Then microchips would be the optimum pet identification system, and there would not be downsides to the process. In communities where it is mandatory to microchip pets it is proven that the pets are often returned home quickly and more efficiently. 

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