Originally published February 26 2006
Pet microchips bring more lost pets home
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Pet Microchips are fast becoming a method used to improve the chances of pets being found and returned in the event of them becoming lost, reports The Journal Gazette.
The American Veterinary Medical Association reports more than 2 million dogs and cats have either an AVID or HomeAgain implant, two of the most common microchips in use in the United States.
If a pet is lost, a scan of its microchip helps the pet return home.
For the system to work, three things must happen.
The microchip must emit a short-range radio frequency that carries an ID number; a scanning device must be able to read the information from the chip; and there must be an accessible database where the ID number can be matched to the owner's contact information.
The pet owner's name and address might be in a national database provided by the maker of the microchip, the information might be in the files of the veterinarian who implanted the chip, or it might be in an animal shelter's database if the chip was implanted there.
Pet owners unaware of this can have a false sense of security concerning their pet's safety.
We have 19 universal scanners, and officers carry scanners in the field," so they know right away whether an animal they find has a microchip.
With shelters handling thousands of animals a year, euthanasia is inevitable for many of them, another reason the microchip identification is valued.
A couple of organizations -- the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families and the National Animal Interest Alliance Trust -- have been working to establish a universal standard for electronic identification and for the adoption of a uniform system of chips and scanners.
At Animal Care and Control, any animal that comes in without a current pet registration, any animal that gets adopted and any animal that bites must have a microchip implanted before leaving the shelter, per city ordinance.
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