Chicago Veterinary Medical Association raises awareness of benefits regarding “chipping” pets
The month of May is designated national “Chip Your Pet” month, which encourages responsible pet ownership by ensuring that your beloved pets have been microchipped. Chicago Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) reminds pet owners that microchipping your pet helps increase the odds of a reunion in the unfortunate event that a pet is lost or stolen.
“With the onset of spring, many owners and pets are enjoying the outdoors more frequently, which can lead to pets being separated from their owners,” explained Ray McGury, CVMA Executive Director. “Microchipping pets so that they can be scanned and returned to their owners more quickly helps ease some of the anxiety that occurs when a pet escapes and cannot be located.”
Microchipping services can be performed by most veterinary clinics. Doing so has benefits that include:
- Owners and pets being reunited more quickly
- Microchips can have a long life (up to 25 years), which means that most pets need to be chipped only once
- The chip cannot get lost or be removed like a collar or tag
- Microchip information is entered into a nationwide database, which means that vacationing pets or those who have recently moved can be scanned easily
“Microchipping your pet is a relatively painless process that involves inserting the chip – about the size of a grain of rice – just under your pet’s skin,” explained Dr. Marina Jaworsky, CVMA Board President. “It’s also important to note that once a pet is chipped, owners need to keep their microchip contact information up to date if they change their phone number or move residences. Not doing so needlessly complicates the process of trying to reconnect a pet with its owner.”
Owners considering chipping their pets should be aware of three key considerations:
- It is important to understand that a microchip is not a GPS and cannot help in locating a lost pet.
- Some chips require a specific kind of scanner, and although there are universal scanners, not all veterinary clinics have them.
- It is possible for pets to experience minor, temporary swelling at the insertion site.
CVMA encourages pet owners who have not microchipped their pets to contact their local veterinary provider to learn more about the process and to carefully consider the merits of this aspect of pet ownership.