To Chip or not to Chip?

by Shannon Pecora, M.A.

Stream Valley Veterinary Hospital

            It can be a pet owner’s worst nightmare: Rover runs out your front door or Fluffy escapes through your garage, dashing off across a busy roadway or into the woods.  There’s a chance that your pet will come right back or that you’ll be able to chase and catch him, but it’s more likely that you’ll have to rely on a neighbor or nearby vet or shelter to spot him and somehow get him back to you.

            That “somehow” can be the scariest part of the situation.  Rabies tags and county registration tags can be helpful, but many “indoor only” pets don’t wear those tags on a regular basis.  And in fact, though we may not realize it, our indoor pets can be more susceptible to outdoor dangers.  There are, of course, vaccines and preventative measures that are recommended for all dogs and cats and those that are more often reserved for outdoor pets.  Also, it is also relatively common practice to microchip our outdoor pets.  This chip, about the size of a grain of rice and implanted between the shoulder blades, contains your name, address, and phone number.  The information is revealed when a vet or shelter uses a scanner to locate a potential microchip on a “lost-and-found” pet.  However, some of us consider it less important or unnecessary to have our exclusively-inside pets microchipped.  They never go outside anyway, right?

            That is exactly what could be the problem though.  For pets who spend very little time out of their own homes and backyards, even a small escape across the street can become a big adventure.  Once a bit of “sensory overload” kicks in, those pets are off and running, in some cases unfortunately, never to be seen again.  While tragic accidents may occur, even having your pet found healthy can be of concern.  If someone finds your lost dog or cat without any identification and brings him to a vet or shelter, the first thing to do would be to scan for a microchip.  If your pet doesn’t have one, the vet or shelter then has no way to notify you that the pet has been found.  Your pet may become a “stray,” so to speak, potentially being adopted by another family, or even being euthanized after a long stay in the shelter.

            We most often recommend that the chip be implanted while the pet is still young, usually during the spay or neuter surgery as the needle used is larger-sized.  However, older pets can receive the microchip during a dental cleaning, and some pets have been implanted during regular office visits without any anesthesia or sedation.

            While a microchip does not offer complete, one hundred percent protection against car accidents or other such hazards if your pet gets lost, the chip can offer peace of mind.  Your pet is simply more likely to return home with this direct link to your contact information.  It’s true that you may be lucky enough to never have your pet escape on an outdoor adventure, but as the old adage says, it is certainly better to be safe than sorry.

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