Microchips
for your Pet
Every year, thousands of pets go missing, and many don’t make it back home. Even if your pet wears a collar and identification tag, collars can break and tags can become damaged and unreadable, so these forms of identification may not be enough to ensure your pet’s safe return. The doctors at Sutton Animal Hospital recommend that your pet have a microchip placed. A microchip is a safe, simple form of identification that is reliable and can’t get lost, stolen, or easily damaged. It can significantly increase the chance that your pet will return home safely.
Microchip Your Pet at Sutton Animal Hospital
A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed under your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades by a simple injection. No anesthetic is required. The microchip does not contain a GPS device. Microchip implantation takes only a few moments and is very safe. Each microchip has a unique number that, once implanted, is then registered with a national pet recovery database. Sutton Animal Hospital will complete the registration process for you to ensure that every chip placed is registered. We will register only the information that you authorize, including your name, address, phone number and e-mail contact information.
Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If your pet gets lost and is brought to a shelter or a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost pet has been identified. The pet’s owner can then be contacted and reunited with his or her pet.
Dogs and cats at any age can be microchipped. Many pets don’t wear collars or tags indoors, but even indoor pets can get outside accidentally and get lost. A microchip is a safe, effective way to help ensure your pet’s return if the unthinkable happens. In addition, most countries now require a microchip before permitting international travel. So if you plan to travel with your pet in the future, a microchip will be necessary.
