August is Microchip Your Pet Month!

Microchips help reunite lost pets – but you have to keep them updated!

Each year thousands of lost and abandoned animals are taken in by shelters and humane societies across North America. Some of these animals never make it home because they can’t be identified.

Microchipping offers pet owners a permanent method of identifying your pet and linking the animal back to you. It’s a painless procedure, similar to vaccination, and lasts the lifetime of your pet. However, it’s not as simple as “setting it and forgetting it.”

If your contact information changes, you need to update your pet’s microchip. The chip doesn’t need to be removed; you simply update the information on the chip by contacting the manufacturer or administrator of the chip. If you’ve misplaced the documentation that you should have received when you had your pet microchipped, your veterinarian can scan your pet to determine the ID and can guide you on how to update that information.

If you haven’t had your pet microchipped, talk to your veterinarian about taking this simple step to protect your pet. The Ontario SPCA has been part of many happy reunions when lost pets have been reunited with their owners thanks to their microchip. Even if you think it can’t happen to you, it only takes a moment for your pet to become lost. Perhaps they ran out the front door when guests arrived or bolted during fireworks or a thunder storm.

Whatever the reason, pets can and do become lost. Microchips can help turn that moment of panic when you realize your pet is gone into relief and joy if someone finds your animal and knows who to call.