What Is a Pet Microchip, and Why Is It Important?

It can be distressing and even devastating to lose your pet. Responsible pet owners protect their animals by equipping them with ID tags and collars. But pets can still go missing despite these measures, which is unfortunate.
 

Even though most pets have collars with your personal information, the collar can come off. One in three pets gets lost at some point in their life, and yours may be one of them. That is more than enough justification for microchipping your pet.
 

What Is a Pet Microchip?

A microchip is a small electronic device used to identify your pet. It has a unique preprogrammed number. Without the need for anesthetic, the chip is inserted into your cat or dog's skin beneath the surface.
 

The microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, has an identification code for the individual chip register. The chip will be scanned by a scanner, activated, and sent a unique identification code which is checked against a registry of owner details. The scanner, which displays the data, is also called a transponder.
 

How Is a Pet Microchipped?

It is administered with a needle and injected under the skin. Despite using a little larger needle than those typically used for injections, the pain is not much worse. Without anesthesia, a microchip can be implanted during a routine veterinarian visit at Boca Chica Animal Hospital & Pet Resort.
 

When your pet receives treatment requiring sedation, such as spaying or neutering, the microchip can be injected while unconscious.
 

How Does a Microchip Work?

Currently, pets only have identification numbers on their microchips. The microchip cannot locate your pet if it goes misplaced because it is not a GPS device. Even though the current-generation microchip does not by itself retain your pet's medical history, some microchip identification databases allow you to do so for easy access.
 

Some of the microchips used in research centers and those implanted in some horses and livestock convey data regarding the animal's thermoregulation.
 

Why Is a Microchip Important?

·      Among the first things a shelter or veterinarian will do after receiving a missing pet is to check for a microchip. Once the chip has been detected and scanned, they may quickly find the owner's personal information by searching the microchip registry, saving everyone involved time.

·      Likely, your pet was already microchipped if it came from a rescue facility.

·      Various anti-migration characteristics are integrated with microchips. It guarantees that the microchip remains firmly in place for your pet's lifetime.
 

How Effective Is Microchipping?

Microchipped animals are delivered back more often than those that are not. According to studies, cats are recovered 38.5 percent of the time when they are chipped, compared to 1.8 percent when they are not. Dogs without chips are reunited with their owners only 21.9 percent of the time, while microchipped dogs return home 52.2 percent of the time. 
 

For more on pet microchips, visit Boca Chica Animal Hospital & Pet Resort at our office in Brownsville, Texas. Call (956) 541-5249 to book an appointment today.